How to Kill Ground Ivy

Ground ivy is also known as creeping Charlie and gill-over-the-ground. It's often used as ground cover, but as its nicknames suggest it can creep into other areas of your lawn. It does sprout flowers in the spring that provide food for bees, but it can be an annoying weed. Ivy is also known to be a host for rats, which can be a health issue for your family. With the right products and persistence, you can get rid of unwanted ground ivy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Weed whacker
• Weed killer

1. Rip out or use a weed whacker to remove the ground ivy from your lawn. Try to remove all of the roots and pieces of the ground ivy so that it doesn't grow back.

2. Spray a weed killer like Weed Be Gone, which is specifically meant to kill creeping Charlie. Ground ivy can be difficult to kill, but weed killers are the best management. You might have to apply the spray in the spring and fall as well as a few times in between depending on how persistent your ivy is.

3. Monitor your lawn and watch for any new sprouts of ground ivy. If you see any, pull them out and spray more weed killer.

4. Till the soil during the spring and plant some grass seeds after the ivy is completely gone. Put hay over top of the grass seeds to prevent them from blowing away or being swept away by the rain. Planting grass can help blend in the rest of your lawn with the area where the ground ivy was.

Tips & Warnings

• Borax can be used to kill ground ivy, but it's highly toxic to the environment and can kill the rest of your lawn.
• Wear gloves and goggles when applying weed killers, because they are poisonous.
• Wash your hands immediately after you apply the weed killer.

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[vernk]

on 8/18/2009 lets hope this helps my ivy problem. thanks!