Homemade Clover Killer

Killing perennial weeds seems to be a never-ending battle, whether they are broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions and Creeping Charlie or other lawn weeds such as crabgrass. While white clover is a harmless weed, you may not want it inhabiting your grassy lawn. Making a homemade clover killer is not only inexpensive but an effective method to eliminate clover from your yard.

Clover plants are short-lived perennials that grow low to the ground and produce white, purple, yellow, or red flowers. Their blooms produce large amounts of nectar that attract bees. If you’ve ever walked barefoot through a lawn filled with clover, then you may have already discovered this.

White clover, or Trifolium repens, is beneficial in many ways. It creates nitrogen in the soil, which encourages grass growth as it decomposes. However, you may not want this weed growing in your yard because it is an aggressive and fast-growing weed.

Make Your Own Clover Killer

It’s 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.

We’ll 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.

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 to get rid of thistles 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 – don’t 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.

DIY Clover Weed Killer

Here is a DIY clover weed killer that uses water, the most natural ingredient to kill weeds and clover plant. While water is essential to plant life, when used differently, it is also a natural weed killer. Many home remedies for dandelions also work to kill clover.

Bring a stockpot of water to boil and carefully pour the boiling water into a watering can. A metal watering can works better than a plastic one for this method due to the high temperature.

For killing weeds and to remove crabgrass, nutgrass, or clover, immediately take the can outside before it has a chance to cool and pour the water onto patches of clover. Be careful not to get any of the water on adjacent grass and desirable plants since it will kill them, as well.

Repeat daily until the weeds die, whether you are using this DIY remedy as a natural Creeping Charlie killer or are taking care of clover and dandelions. Remove the dead weeds and deep taproots from the ground to prevent any of the plants from returning next year. Fill the holes with dirt and re-seed or mulch.

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.

Keeping a lawn free of weeds by using a homemade recipe and through proper lawn care techniques will not only save you money and time but give your grass a chance to flourish into the thick, green lawn you desire. Eliminating clover from your yard will also ensure that you do not accidentally step barefoot onto a busy bee collecting nectar.

Recipe for Homemade Clover Killer

We hope you liked learning how to make a homemade clover killer, and we’d love it if you shared our clover killing tips with your family and friends on Facebook and Pinterest.