Updated Oct 24, 2022
Updated Oct 24, 2022
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Most of us put lots of time, effort, and money into making our lawns look rich and beautiful, so there are few things more upsetting than finding weeds growing on your property. Clover is one of the more common weeds that pop up, and while some homeowners don’t mind how it looks, others think it detracts from their lawns’ beauty.
If you know how to get rid of clover in your lawn naturally, it’s a relatively straightforward and quick process. Once it’s gone, you can use a professional lawn care company — we recommend TruGreen — to keep your clover problem at bay. Below, you’ll find the most straightforward methods for removing clover from your lawn and how to prevent it from coming back.
Most homeowners look for natural remedies to remove clover, as doing so ensures your lawn doesn’t become unsafe for children and pets. Additionally, natural solutions won’t kill the surrounding grass, and they aren’t bad for the environment. Below are four simple, natural methods for dealing with clover on your lawn.
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.
If you have small patches of clover, one of the easiest and least expensive solutions is to remove them by hand. You can use a small garden shovel or another gardening tool to gently loosen up the soil and pull up the root system to prevent clover growth going forward. If using this method, be sure to get all of the clover roots otherwise they may grow back in the future.
Vinegar is another easy household solution for killing clover. When plants are exposed to the acidity of the vinegar, the cell membranes break down, resulting in plant death. You can mix water and white vinegar in a one-to-one ratio with a drop of dish soap and use a spray bottle to apply it to the affected areas on your lawn. Unfortunately, vinegar will kill any surrounding plants — including grass — so use this solution with care and apply only to clover patches.
Finally, you can use an organic herbicide, like A.D.I.O.S, to get rid of clover. These solutions are safe for human contact, and they’re non-toxic, so they’re great if you have children or pets. You’ll need to mix most natural weed killers with water and then apply with a spray bottle to the clover. Options like A.D.I.O.S. — available on Amazon or at your local garden center — won’t kill your grass but will work wonders for clover and other weeds, like dandelions.
From our top recommended lawn care service, TruGreen
Whether you’ve managed to remove the existing clover on your lawn and want to stop it from coming back, or you just want to prevent it from appearing altogether, there are several things you can do. Below are the safest and most effective methods for avoiding clover and keeping it from returning to your lawn.
Corn gluten meal is considered a “pre-emergent” herbicide, which prevents weeds from becoming established. Specifically, it stops clover from getting rooted in your lawn, so it won’t be able to uptake nutrients and thrive. You can simply use a seed spreader to apply corn gluten meal to your yard. Keep in mind that, as a pre-emergent herbicide, this won’t kill existing grass or existing clover, so it’s only effective for keeping clover from appearing on your lawn. It will, however, prevent new grass from rooting, so don’t use this method if you recently put down grass seed or have sprouting grass.
As mentioned above, clover thrives in soil with low nitrogen levels, so fertilizing your lawn and bringing up the nitrogen concentration will help prevent clover from setting in. Nitrogen is also a significant nutrient for your grass, so using a weed and feed will improve your lawn’s aesthetic in multiple ways. Opting for a slow-release organic fertilizer will offer long-term protection and won’t be dangerous for kids or pets to come in contact with.
Finally, you can opt to raise the mowing height on your mower and leave your grass a bit higher than normal. Clover needs abundant sunlight to thrive, so leaving your grass three or more inches tall at all times will help prevent clover from taking root and spreading.
Some homeowners don’t mind clover in their lawns, so removing it is a matter of personal preference. There are some benefits to keeping it around, and you’ll have to weigh them with the potential downsides to decide the best course of action for your property.
Clover is hearty and quickly spreads, but it needs the right conditions. Understanding why clover is growing in your lawn can help you eliminate it or prevent it entirely.
If you’re looking for a professional lawn care company to help remove or prevent clover and other weeds, TruGreen is one of the best options. This company offers comprehensive lawn, plant, and tree care. It uses natural fertilizers that can kill off and prevent clover from taking over your property, and its other products and services will further beautify your grass even beyond weed removal.
TruGreen is a massive national lawn care company that services 48 states and Washington, D.C. Homeowners in just about every corner of the country will have access to the services, except for Hawaii and Alaska. The plans are plentiful and varied, with affordable options for maximizing lawn health, garden appearance, pest prevention, and more. Browse TruGreen’s customizable plans to learn more about the company and how it can serve you.
Clover is an invasive and rapidly growing weed common throughout the United States. While some homeowners choose to leave clover on their properties for the benefits — like natural fertilization — many want to get rid of it or prevent it all together to improve their lawn’s appearance. Natural solutions for removing clover include depriving it of sunlight and oxygen, removing it manually, or spraying it with a vinegar solution or natural herbicide.
You can employ some DIY solutions to prevent clover from overtaking your lawn, including putting down corn gluten meal, keeping your grass tall, and adding nitrogen via natural fertilizers. Suppose you’re looking to avoid the hassle of DIY weed control and want professional help. In that case, TruGreen offers a variety of service plans to eradicate clover and other weeds and add natural beauty to your lawn and property as a whole.
Natural fertilizers that nitrogenate your lawn will make your soil inhospitable for clover but will help your grass thrive. Organic weed killers like A.D.I.O.S. will kill clover but not your grass, and pre-emergent herbicides can prevent clover from setting in but won’t damage your existing lawn.
Leaving clover on your lawn or killing/preventing it is a personal preference. There are some benefits to leaving it, including natural fertilization for your soil and drought resistance for your lawn. You’ll have to weigh these against the downsides — like increased bee activity and patchy appearance — to decide what is best for you.
Clover thrives in nitrogen-depleted soil and in areas where it has minimal competition. Clover could be growing because your soil hasn’t been fertilized appropriately, and it could be thriving if your grass growth is limited by soil compaction or acidic soil pH.
Manually removing small patches of clover is a good option and, provided you get the roots, will likely prevent it from growing back. However, failing to utilize prevention methods after the clover removal will likely result in the clover growing back.
At House Method, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. That’s why we took the time to create an objective rating system and score each lawn company/service according to our methodology.
Our research team dug deep into the fine print of contracts, combed through more than one hundred customer reviews, and thoroughly investigated all of the services, costs, and products of each lawn care service. We’ve done the homework for you by researching nearly all of the lawn care companies on the market so you can have the information you need to make the best choice for your home.
We developed a formula to objectively determine the best lawn care companies and give each a score out of 100 based on the following criteria:
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