What Is The Best Way To Kill Clover In Lawn

Make Your Own Clover Killer

Its easier than you may have thought to get rid of clover in flower beds or spots in your lawn. We have a variety of simple methods and homemade recipes that show you how to get rid of clover and prevent it from coming back.

Well show you how to make a natural acetic acid weed killer spray and how to perform weed control by maintaining a healthy lawn. Visit your pantry and the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink for the ingredients for this simple weed killer.

Feed Your Lawn Regularly To Control Clover

Controlling any weed is best done by stopping the problem before it starts. Nobody wants to regularly battle weeds in their lawn, and if you are, that is a sure sign of a problem with the way you are caring for your lawn.

Clover thrives in yards that are underfed as the weed makes its fertilizer, as it pulls nitrogen from the air, not the ground. Proper lawn care requires feeding it with the appropriate fertilizer four times a year. These fertilizers provide your lawn with all of the nutrients necessary to grow strong and thick.

You can use commercial or organic fertilizers when fertilizing your lawn, as both produce excellent results. Always follow watering instructions included on each bag of fertilizer for a healthy and happy yard. The thicker your lawn the better, as lush greens crowd out weeds like clover.

After killing clover, if you have large patches of dirt, lay down some grass seeds and cover with a thin layer of mulch. Water the seed regularly to promote new growth. Follow the instructions on the package for fertilizing and mowing.

Best Post Emergent Herbicides

Post-emergent herbicides are the best way to kill clover. Just keep in mind they require a little patience since it could take a couple weeks for the clover to die back. Also, repeat applications will likely be necessary, and mixing in a little surfactant with the herbicide will help the herbicide stick to the plant. Also, notice that there are different recommendations for cool season grasses vs warm season grasses.

Don’t Miss: How To Take Out Grass From Lawn

How To Get Rid Of Clover In A Lawn By Hand

It is possible to get rid of clover without resorting to anything more than your own efforts and some garden tools.

Simply use a hand fork to dig out the plants. Pluck the clover up, ensuring you have removed all the roots along with it, advises Samantha Richards of Gazeboshop . This method ensures you havent killed your grass, and is a cheaper method of removal than buying a new spray product.

Deprive Clover Of Sunlight

If youve been wondering how to get rid of clover, weve got you covered. If youre dealing with a large clover patch and youre willing to sacrifice your grass, place plastic sheeting, or a large garbage bag, over the clover. Be sure to secure the perimeter so the plastic doesnt fly off. Keep the clover covered for a few weeks. Depriving it of sunlight and oxygen should do the trick will kill it .

To start over with new grass, first youll have to determine if you want to use seed or sod. This discussion will help.

Read Also: How To Keep Rabbits Off Your Lawn

Also Check: How To Make Lawn Green Again

Adjust Your Mowing Height

Mowing over clover with a lawnmower is a temporary way to control clover growth. Most people think that lowering their mowers height, so it sits closer to the ground is the most effective way to control clover. The opposite is true.

Clover is a low-growing weed and offers a shallow root system. Allowing your grass to grow taller blocks the sunlight clover needs to grow.

Why You May Want To Keep Clover In Your Lawn

You may not like the look of clover, but it can actually benefit your lawn.

• Natural Fertilizer: Clovers symbiotic relationship with beneficial bacteria allows it to absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere. Ultimately, it can make your lawn greener and more lush. However, this will keep it growing and outcompeting your grass.
• Weed Prevention: Mowing your lawn high will prevent weeds from growing, including clover. But if you like short, neat grass thats under 3 inches, letting clover flourish is a solid option. Clovers leaves cast shade over the soil, making it hard for other weeds to take root and grow and compete with your grass.

Read Also: How Much Does Stewart’s Lawn Care Cost

How To Kill Clover

1. Post-emergent, lawn safe herbicides are the most effective way to kill clover. Using a liquid post emergent herbicide will kill the clover without killing your grass. Post emergent herbicides are also useful in killing other lawn weeds.

2. Pre-emergent herbicides are effective in preventing new clover seedlings from developing but it is important to realize it will not kill existing clover.

Pre-emergents prevent new clover seeds from germinating. If you already have clover in your lawn you will need to use a post-emergent herbicide in addition to a pre-emergent.

Pre-emergent herbicides are also the key to preventing other lawn weeds such as crabgrass, and dandelionsfrom taking over.

3. Maintaining a healthy lawn is the best defense against clover, or any lawn weeds. When you have bare spots in your lawn, it is the weeds that will claim the real estate. Stick to a simple lawn care program to keep your existing turf lush.

How To Kill Clover In Lawn Without Killing Grass

• How To Kill Clover In Lawn Without Killing Grass

Use the weed control that the professional do b. If you dont want to pull clover by hand, you need an effective weed killer that wont harm your grass.

How To Get Rid Of Clover Naturally How To Get Rid Lawn Care Tips Clover Lawn

• Btw tree huggier love clover in lawns because it help keep it green with out fertilizer.

Read Also: How Often To Fertilize Lawn

How Do You Kill Clover Fast

10 Easy-to-Follow Remedies to Remove Clover in Your Lawn

Preventing Lawn Clover Weeds Through Proper Lawn Care

After using one of our recipes to kill clover, there are steps to take to ensure that your lawn is healthy and full and remains weed-free. Weeds have a hard time thriving in a healthy yard, so this form of weed control is essential. If your grass has mossy patches in it, try using a moss killing soap to remove it.

A natural ingredient that is considered a pre-emergent herbicide is corn gluten meal, which prevents clover weeds from germinating. Not only that, but corn meal is also an organic fertilizer with nutritional properties such as nitrogen.

In early spring, spread 20 pounds of powdered corn gluten meal for every 1,000 square feet of lawn. Follow this by watering the grass and then ensure that it remains dry for three days after treatment.

When mowing your lawn, set the mower height to three inches to prevent damaging the grass. The tall grass blades prevent the sun from feeding clover, therefore, preventing it from thriving.

Your lawn grass needs approximately an inch of water per week to remain healthy. Anything less than that will cause weeds to begin taking over your lawn. During dry times of the season, use a sprinkler to ensure the grass is getting the water it needs.

Re-seed bare areas of your lawn to prevent weeds seeds from germinating. If you live in a warm climate area, spread a warm-season grass such as St. Augustine. For cooler climate areas, spread cool-season grass seed such as fescue. You can find many of these grass seeds at local garden centers.

Also Check: How Often Should You Put Weed Killer On Your Lawn

Dish Soap Is What Kills Clover But Not Grass

If you are looking for a natural weed killer to kill off your clover problem, you can create a home made weed killer. Many gardeners have reported excellent results when used as a spot treatment.

To make this simple DIY weed killer spray, fill the spray bottle just shy of full with vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap. Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients.

Spray generously on clover as a spot treatment for clumps or use it as a spray for dandelions or other ugly weeds that sprout where you dont want them to. When spraying, do so with caution, as this weed killer may kill surrounding plants.

What Is White Clover

White clover , a perennial weed of the legume family, is found throughout the United States. It is closely linked to the alfalfa and sweet clover crops. Clover thrives in under-nourished lawns because it makes its nitrogen.

While some people enjoy having clover on their lawns, others wish to keep it under control because it looks messy, or they are worried about their children being stung by bees visiting the blossoms.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Battery Powered Lawn Mower

Kill Clover In Grass With Plastic

A surefire way to kill clover is to deprive it of what it needs to thrive, which are oxygen and sunlight. Use a garbage bag or other type of plastic sheeting to cover the clover patch. Secure the sheeting down with stakes or heavy objects to prevent it from blowing away.

For best results and to increase your chances of not killing the surrounding grass, only use this method on more extensive patches of clover. Within a few weeks, the plastic sheeting will kill off the clover and any future seeds.

This is also a great way to get rid of crabgrass patches in the lawn or other weeds that occur in a specific area. It also requires very little effort. If you have the time, smothering is an ideal solution for weeds.

Tips To Kill Clover In Your Lawn Naturally

May 15, 2020

Organics

Clover is far from the worst weed to run into, as its relatively easy to kill using chemical herbicides. But what if you have children and pets who frequently play in your yard? The last thing you want to do is risk harming them by applying chemicals in their play area.

This is where natural clover herbicides can step in and handle weed control, sans chemicals. Below are four tips to kill clover in your lawn naturally without resorting to strong chemicals. Plus, you may already have some of these items sitting around the house.

You May Like: Does Autozone Sell Lawn Mower Batteries

Block Oxygen & Sunlight

All plants, including clover, need oxygen and sunlight to survive and thrive. Depriving the clover of these resources by covering the patches with a garbage bag, plastic sheet, or small tarp will slowly kill the clover. Prolonged deprivation of these resources will also destroy most lawn grasses, so make sure to remove the cover after the clover has withered.

Also Check: Trugreen Cost Per Acre

Have A Clover Problem

As the weather begins to warm up in Spring and Summer, your garden and lawn will begin to grow. Unfortunately, along with your yard, other common weeds such as dandelions or clovers will likely begin to sprout.

Before you realize it, the entire lawn is a blend of blades of grass and clovers, and at that point theres not much you can do. So the key is to prevent the problem before it spreads.

Killing clover can be difficult because it is a stolon plant, which means it forms an intense and thorough network of roots under the dirt. And because they are so little and grow in large clumps, its hard to manually rip out every single root.

The good news is that if you address your clover problem at the first sign of growth, its much more manageable throughout the year. But first what exactly is clover?

Don’t Miss: How To Start Up Lawn Care Business

Homemade Clover Killer With Vinegar

White vinegar contains the active ingredient, acetic acid, which is useful to use as an herbicide. Spraying certain weeds with vinegar causes them to turn brown and eventually die after repeated applications. Try this homemade weed killer for killing clover with vinegar as a safe alternative to using herbicidal chemicals such as dicamba found in Roundup.

To make this DIY organic weed killer, pour vinegar into a garden sprayer or spray bottle and add a squirt of dish soap. Shake gently dont make too many bubbles/ The dish soap helps the white vinegar stick to the clover weeds, enabling the acetic acid to work better.

This method works best to get rid of broadleaf plantain and other weeds if performed on a non-breezy and sunny day with no rain in the immediate forecast. Set the sprayer nozzle to stream to prevent over-spraying other plants in flower beds and spot-treat the weeds by spraying them directly with the vinegar solution.

Repeat every couple of days until the weeds are dead. Use a shovel to remove the dead plant, making sure to remove the root system to prevent regrowth.

When To Use Corn Gluten To Kill Crabgrass

Use Corn Gluten Pre-Emergent Herbicide One of the best crabgrass control methods you can use is a pre-emergent added to the soil before seedlings begin germinating. The best time of year to use this crabgrass preventer is in early spring or when soil temperatures rise over 60°F.

What kind of herbicide do you use to kill grass?

Selective herbicides target specific weeds or plant categories, such as grassy plants versus broadleaf plants. Non-selective herbicides kill all plant types, including lawn grasses and other plants you want to keep.

You May Like: Can Someone Mow My Lawn

Getting Rid Of Clover In Lawn Naturally

What kills grass and weeds permanently? The most natural way to control clover is by removing it manually. As soon as you spot a clump of the three-leaf weed, pull it out, root and all.

To remove, loosen up the soil at the base and gently pull the clump out of the ground. Repeat until you successfully remove all clover plants from your lawn.

This is actually the best way to get rid of clover, crabgrass, and almost every other type of weed or grass that grows where it shouldnt. It does take a little time but the reward is knowing that the weeds wont pop up again.

Of course, if you try to kill poison ivy by pulling it by hand, it is very important to wear protective clothing to keep from getting the urushiol on your skin. Thick gloves, long sleeves, and long pants are a must.

Deprive It Of Oxygen And Sunlight

You can kill clover by blocking it from all oxygen and sunlight. Take plastic sheeting or a garbage bag and place it over the patch, securing the corners with rocks to make sure it doesnt fly up. This should get rid of the clover in a few weeks. Be mindful that this approach will also kill any grass that gets under the plastic.

Read Also: How To Identify Weeds In My Lawn

How Do I Identify Clovers In My Yard

Clover is a legume that made its way to North America in the latter part of the 17th century, and its origins can be traced back to Europe. Edenapp brings the three most common types of clover and their distinguishing characteristics to help you identify them.

• White clover : White clover is the most common clover species found in lawns. It is a perennial, low growing and hardy clover species that spreads really quickly through stolons. You can identify it by its distinguishing characteristics, which are the florets that grow on its ends in shades of white and pink.
• Red clover : Red clover can thrive in both dry or moist conditions. This type is bushier and taller than white clover, and you can identify rec clover by the florets, whose color ranges from red to magenta. Red clover is also called meadow clover, wild clover and cow clover.
• Strawberry clover : The growing patterns of strawberry clover are similar to white clover, the difference being that strawberry clover can thrive in coastal areas or near river estuaries as it has a higher salinity tolerance. You can identify strawberry clover by its pink and white florets that are smaller than those of white clover.

For Warm Season Grasses:

1. Celsius WG Celsius WG is a great all around liquid post emergent that kills a large number of broadleaf weeds as well as grassy weeds. It does a great job killing a variety of clovers. Best of all this is safe to use in most warm season grass types such as Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Centipede.

2. Image Southern Lawn Weed Killer This is another great all around post emergent herbicide that kills a number of broadleaf weeds, including clover. This is actually the go to post emergent I recommend in my lawn care program for warm season grass. Even though the front label says its safe on St. Augustine and Centipede, if you look at the back it says its also good for Bermuda, Zoysia, and Bahia.

Read Also: What Is The Best Lawn Edger

How To Kill Clover Without Killing Other Plants

To not harm your lawn and surrounding plants when you are trying to kill a clover weed, make sure to take your time with the product you end up using.

Spray an inch or two away from the clovers to ensure control over where the clove killer is being dispersed. We also dont recommend applying your product on a windy day, as it can accidentally blow into your garden or other parts of your lawn.