Creeping Charlie Control: What Works—and What to Avoid

October 30, 2026

“Is creeping Charlie taking over your lawn or creeping into your vegetable beds? In this episode of You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath revisits this persistent weed, explores the risks of the old borax treatment, and discusses iron-based weed control, edging, and lawn-care habits that help keep it in check. Plus, learn how to preserve your homegrown garlic by making garlic powder or freezing it for winter cooking.”

Courtesy Wikimedia (CBaile19)

Mike pretty much dismisses an ancient answer as he delivers new ideas for lawn owners who feel plagued by ‘Gill Over the Ground’—but he, feeling peer pressure, does reprint the ‘secret recipe’ many listener/readers ask for; under pressure!

Q. A different Mike recently sent this short email with the headline “Creeping Charlie”: {quote} “I’m trying to find the recipe for the borax-based mixture referenced in an old article I found on your new Gardens/Alive Gurney’s website.”https://www.gurneys.com/pages/ybyg-chasing-creeping-charlie

A. First, I thank the other Mike for supplying my previous article on this topic, which he found while searching through the past article titles at our Gardens Alive—slash--Gurney’s Seeds and Nursery website.

Note: That list is under the ‘resources’ tab at said website, and, because Mister Genius here never thought about alphabetical order when he gave the show a name that begins with a Y, is therefore dead last in every listing—including here—so you have to scroll all the way to the end of those resources to find us. Or for all I know we may be on Gurney’s opening page. (You’re listening to a guy who likes computers as much as getting Christmas Coal in his tick-proof socks.)

So I emailed back asking for his location. NOBODY ever includes their location! I think you’re all conspiring against me! Or is the treacherous A1 (that I began warning you about a year ago) involved?

His response led off with “First--congratulations on your retirement. It’s well deserved. {Thank you, Mike, but as you can see, I only retired from the rigors of pulling together an hour-long NPR show every week. I continue to babble sometimes useful advice on a somewhat irregular 30-minute show on a somewhat irregular schedule right here. (Thank you, GA & Gurney’s!) Anyway, that other Mike replies that he is in Doylestown, PA—a suburb of Phil-elf-ya, and writes “The infestation is confined to one half of our back yard but is starting to find its way into the raised beds where we grow veggies.

“I suppose the birds gifted us, as it mostly surrounds the bird feeders.”

{Interrupting McGrath here to remind all a youse that, while fun for you, crowded seed feeders spread nasty diseases (you could look it up); and the spilled seed attracts and feeds rats, mice, raccoons, deer and other unwanted aminals; AND disrupts the education of baby birds, who need to learn how to find food in the wild.

But you don’t have to stop watching your local birds. Late Fall is a great time to take down your seed feeders and replace them with suet cages, hung where you can watch the wonderful winter birds feast on the high fat, high protein food they crave during the colder months.

And if you want to be a real mensch, put a heated bird bath out where you can see it, as finding fresh water can be difficult for wild birds, winter or summer. And if you MUST have seed feeders, don’t put them out in the Spring until the baby birds have learned to find food in the wild, be sure to clean and disinfect them weekly during the summer, AND try and use feeders that capture spilled seed.}

Other Mike ends with: “I would welcome any advice. Thanks!”

Again, thank YOU, Mike for saving me the trouble of finding out how I covered this topic years ago. Here’s that age-ago exchange from the YBYG archives:

Q. ----Holly in Silver Spring, Maryland wrote:

“I unknowingly made a huge mistake by mowing over a patch of creeping Charlie last fall and it has now taken over almost ALL of our backyard. We have small children so we wanted to solarize the entire yard with clear plastic sheeting instead of spraying poison. When should we start? Are there any other methods that are "safe"?

Q. ---Susana in Minneapolis wrote:

“My lawn is two-thirds covered with Creeping Charlie. My lawn guy recommended applying weed killer this Fall, but I'm balking as I hate chemicals—and he says my lawn would be all muddy in the Spring. So—If I use the 20 Mule Team Borax home-made herbicide solution as described in your article on creeping Charlie, when would be the best time to apply it? Or would you just leave Charlie alone to finish overtaking the lawn and be happy ever after?”

My response back then:

A. Don't beat yourself up too much about the mowing, Holly. This weed (also known as 'ground ivy, 'lawn ivy' and 'Gill Over the Ground') mostly spreads via underground rhizomes, often overtaking lawns that are cut too short [AHEM Mister Lawn Care Guy!] or that have to tolerate a lot of shade.

Now, soil solarization? Yes, it should work in Holly's near-to-DC region if the lawn gets full sun, but like her Nationals (and the Dodgers, and Atlanta, and the Phillies, and the Mets, and the Yankees, and everybody else but the Brewers (their WS winning game was last night as I finish writing this)), you'll definitely have to 'wait until next year'. But now is the time to buy the plastic and any other supplies you’ll need to get ready, teddy.

As we explain in detail in a (very popular!) previous ‘Ask Mike’ {JB: please link}, solarizing really can destroy the absolute worst weed seeds, disease spores and invasive rhizomes lurking in soil, but it has to be done precisely and correctly. The area must be tilled up—or at the very least, scalped down to bare soil (we want to see dirt blowing out the back of the mower!). Then it has to be leveled, absolutely saturated with water and covered tightly (held down with bricks on overflow plastic down the sides) with clear plastic (1 or 2 mil thick is ideal) for an entire growing season.

Yes, it takes an entire sunny summer to achieve the desired result of cooking every bad thing in the soil to death; making this a technique much better suited to reviving a single bed than an entire yard. AND effective solarization requires full sun or close to it. If the area or growing season is shady, solarization won’t work.

But 'creeping Charlie' loves shade. It also does well in the sun, but its specialty is to thrive in the kind of shade that makes lawn grasses struggle.

Borax: Yes, researchers did find a very specific concentration of the element Boron—in the form of the classic laundry additive 20 Mule Team Borax—to be effective on creeping Charlie. I will soon (don’t worry; it’ll be before this episode is over) reveal the exact recipe.

But that cure—made famous by Iowa State Turfgrass Professor Dr. Nick Christians (who also discovered the pre-emergent properties of corn gluten meal to kill crabgrass on cool-season lawns) {JB: link to Wow!}—was popularized many years ago, before the new Iron-based broadleaf herbicides hit the market. And based on modern-day updates, iron might be a better bet here. Most herbicides work best on weeds when the weather is hot and dry, but that's not the case here. Most sources specify that Charlie is much more vulnerable to this kind of attack right now—in the fall, when the plant is storing energy—than in the summer. So if you are going to go after Charlie with the Mule Team or Iron, don't delay. Do a first run ASAP, and then repeat it next Spring.

And be warned that if the lawn IS almost all creeping Charlie, it will turn out just like the lawn guy said—the area will be all muddy in the Spring because you killed the only viable plant with roots out there.

So first, let us make the pitch for leaving the bad thing alone; because while creeping Charlie is invasive, it's also a very useful ground cover. That's how it got its start here in the US—sold to homeowners as an attractive groundcover that would thrive in the shady spots where lawn grasses struggle. (An ‘escaped ornamental’)

Although it may be a weed to you, Charlie prevents erosion, needs no mowing and produces beautiful purple flowers in the Spring that attract pollinators like 'the hairy-footed flower bee' (which like Charlie, emigrated to the US from Europe) and several species in the Osmia genus—the prime pollinators of blueberries and orchard fruits. Very good bees to have around—and gentle!

So one option is to consider making peace with Charlie. Install strong deep edging to keep it out of flower beds and neighboring yards and then enjoy the minty aroma when you mow or walk on it, the beautiful flowers, and the pollinators it attracts.

BUT: It is difficult to keep this plant contained. And while I would love to say it makes an ideal lawn alternative, many people suffer allergic-like skin reactions to the plant, making it a potentially poor choice for an area with lots of child activity. (But if it's in a low-to-no traffic area and you're diligent about keeping it in bounds, it does look very nice.)

Back to getting rid of it. A direct assault now should weaken it, but there will probably be survivors in the Spring. (Once established, this is a tough plant to control using any kinds of tactics.) Repeat the iron and/or borax next spring, then a round of pulling (wearing gloves so you don't get a rash) could be very helpful if you're careful to go slow and low and get it out roots and all.

Then how do we establish the new lawn?

If our questioners were in warmer climes, they could install a warm season lawn in the Spring. If this is you, go with an aggressive, spreading grass that will have the ability to out-compete any missed rhizomes.

But in the mid-Atlantic and North, you probably have a cool-season grass. If the area is smallish (or if you have the money) laying sod in the Spring is your first shot at a fast cure. Sod is much more expensive than seed, but high quality cool-season sod is widely available in the Spring and provides an instant lawn for children and/or dogs to play on.

And the installers will remove any Charlie rhizomes as they prepare the soil for installation (several inches of soil need to be removed for the sod to be level with its surroundings). And then the (surprisingly) thick sod and its roots should prevail.

But sod is expensive. And heavy; VERY heavy. I HIGHLY recommend you hire someone with experience to do the (hard) work of installation. (I had a hard time lifting a roll of sod when I was younger and stronger; not a high bar maybe, but sod for thought.)

To get the best results from seeding a cool-season grass, you have to wait for a window of August through the end of September to spread the seed.

Now, I'm not sure if soil solarization is viable up in "Minnie-Snow-Ta" (the sunny season might be too short) but if Holly in Silver Spring wants to pursue this path, just be aware that the area would be covered in clear plastic and unusable over the summer.

Otherwise, do what you can to knock Charlie back now and again in the Spring; and DON'T TILL! Tilling would essentially cut up and replant the rhizomes and make the problem worse. Maybe hit it a couple of times with a non-toxic herbicide like Iron-X {link?} now, and try to encourage the existing grass over the summer.

Then, clear away as much of Charlie as you can, apply an inch of topsoil or compost, sow your new seed and keep everyone off of it for a month while it establishes. After that, it is critically important to care for the lawn correctly:

That means: Never cut the grass lower than three inches; use a mulching mower to return the clippings to the lawn; and be vigilant! If Charlie starts to creeps back in, pull and/or spray with an Iron based herbicide right away.

OK—ta da!: The recipe!

Many sites have picked up and reprinted sections of my previous (i.e. old) advice on this topic, but the recipe itself originates from the aforesaid Dr. Nick Christians, who I interviewed many times back in the early days of You Bet Your Garden.

Here we go:

In the early Spring, completely dissolve ten ounces (by weight) of Twenty Mule Team Borax in two and a half to three gallons of warm—NOT hot—water. Then, stirring constantly (you MUST keep the Borax in a completely dissolved solution), mix it into enough water to end up with five gallons. Keep stirring.

Then use that five gallons to apply your solution to exactly 1,000 square feet of turf (using a hose end or backpack sprayer [Note: Backpack sprayers are WAY cool—and they make a great holiday gift; just sayin’]).{JB: Link?} Measure carefully; too light a solution and it might not hurt Charlie. Too heavy and it could damage the turf.

This tactic can only be used once a year for two years. That’s it.

Boron is an essential element (Number Five on the Periodic Table. I now have to quote Wikipedia, where it is explained that all of our Boron arrived entirely by cosmic ray spallation and supernovas and not by stellar nucleosynthesis, so it is a low-abundance element in the Solar System and in the Earth's crust).

It is essential to plant health to be able to utilize this outer space element in the right concentration; a solution that’s too Boron heavy acts like a non-selective herbicide. If you are going to err, do so on the light side—especially if the lawn is mostly Kentucky bluegrass, which is especially sensitive to high concentrations.

A final note (maybe): Over the years, using borax (aka Boron; aka sodium tetraborate) as a weed control seems to have dramatically fallen out of favor—probably because of too many reports of damaged bluegrass.

My opinion is that strong deep edging (especially to protect raised beds) and proper lawn care (especially respecting the cutting height limit of never cutting lower than three inches of grass blades remaining AFTER you cut; ONLY using a blade that’s freshly sharp every season; NEVER cutting the grass when it’s wet; and watering correctly (a several hours long, deep watering once a week when the lawn has not received an inch of rain) will give you a great looking lawn.

I know it’s not the DIY mad, ‘you can use things you already have around the house to solve garden problems!’ advice that was popular towards the end of the last century, but dull and correct generally wins the race….