Ground Ivy AKA Creeping Charlie is one of the hardest weeds to control in the lawn for many homeowners.  The secret to reliably eradicating this weed is TIMING.  The best time for an effective kill of this weed (and many other broadleafs) is in the late Fall.  Spot spray your ground ivy and other weeds after the top-growth in the lawn has stopped but before complete dormancy sets in.  For me that’s Thanksgiving weekend.  Second best time is in the Spring when it’s purple flowers are present.  The best weed killer to use is Ortho® Weed-B-Gon® Chickweed, Clover and Oxalis Killer for Lawns. 

The Concentrate contains 8% Triclopyr.  Follow the label instructions carefully.  Two applications 10 days apart are recommended.  Cheaper 2,4,D formulations of herbicide may be effective with late Autumn application, but will only insult (not kill) Charlie when applied in the Summer months.  Keeping your lawn fertilized and cut long (3 inch minimum) is the best strategy to keep creeping charlie and other weeds at bay.  

 Here’s a link to the MSU  article with  more detail  on what I  just said  above.  MSU Turf Tip Ground Ivy.        

Also useful:      Dandelions and Broadleafs      -        Spring Cleanup 

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 Bill Hill