Clover can be one of the hardest lawn weeds to control. But with the right strategy, and products, you can kill clover and prevent it from coming back.
About Clover
Clover is a low growing, quick spreading, perennial plant with three leaves and white or pinkish flowers. Despite its positive uses in the landscape such as food for pollinators and wildlife, it’s mostly considered a nuisance weed.
Clover is one of the most common lawn weeds and also one of the toughest to control. It’s aggressive spreading habit allows one small plant to multiply in size.
It also has the ability to create its own nitrogen which makes it thrive in an underfed lawn.
Most varieties, such as white clover, are perennial, so you can count on it coming back even stronger as you leave it unchecked. It also self seeds and can pop up in sections of your landscape that have been clover free in the past.
Clover Life Cycle
After spending the winter in a dormant state (except for southern states where it can stay green during the winter), clover begins to green up and spread when soil temps approach 50 degrees. White clover, which is one of the most popular lawn weeds, will flower from early spring- summer and spread aggressively if not controlled. Eventually the flowers turn to seeds and these seeds germinate in early fall.
How to Kill Clover
1. Post-emergent, lawn safe herbicides are the most effective way to kill clover. Using a liquid post emergent herbicide will kill the clover without killing your grass. Post emergent herbicides are also useful in killing other lawn weeds.
2. Pre-emergent herbicides are effective in preventing new clover seedlings from developing but it is important to realize it will not kill existing clover.
Pre-emergents prevent new clover seeds from germinating. If you already have clover in your lawn you will need to use a post-emergent herbicide in addition to a pre-emergent.
Pre-emergent herbicides are also the key to preventing other lawn weeds such as crabgrass, and dandelions from taking over.
3. Maintaining a healthy lawn is the best defense against clover, or any lawn weeds. When you have bare spots in your lawn, it is the weeds that will claim the real estate. Stick to a simple lawn care program to keep your existing turf lush.
Best Post Emergent Herbicides
Post-emergent herbicides are the best way to kill clover. Just keep in mind they require a little patience since it could take a couple weeks for the clover to die back. Also, repeat applications will likely be necessary, and mixing in a little surfactant with the herbicide will help the herbicide stick to the plant. Also, notice that there are different recommendations for cool season grasses vs warm season grasses.
For Cool Season Grasses:
1. Ortho Weed B Gone Plus Crabgrass Control– This is a great product to have on hand because of how easy it is to use. It comes with a battery operated wand so there’s no need for a tank sprayer. It’s the go to post emergent in my 3 product lawn care plan. It kills clover and other broad leaf weeds as well as some undesirable grasses such as crabgrass.
2. Ortho Weed B Gone Chickweed, Clover, Oxalis Kiler– This is another Weed B Gone product that has different active ingredients which are more specific in targeting clover. If clover is your main problem and you don’t have many other broad leaf weeds then this product is a great choice. It is sold as a concentrate so will require mixing with a tank sprayer.
3. Tenacity– Tenacity is a post emergent herbicide that works a little slower than other herbicides. Rather then poisoning the plant, it works by blocking photosynthesis. With Tenacity, it might take 7-10 days before you begin to see whitening of the plant. Eventually it will look like your treated weeds are bleached.
You may also see some grass blades turning white in the treated areas. Don’t be alarmed. Tenacity is a selective herbicide and in my opinion does the best job of targeting the undesirable grasses such as Poa Annua while protecting the desirable grasses.
Also note that you might see some temporary whitening of the desirable grasses but they will ultimately green back up after a couple of mows.
Check out pic below from when I treated my clover using tenacity…
The pic above is me spot treating my lawn with a 2 gallon tank sprayer. I mixed the Tenacity at a rate of 1 teaspoon per 2 gallons as according to the directions.
10 days later and the clover looked like this…
You can see the whitening of the leaves occur 10 days after the Tenacity application.
After a couple of weeks, you might have to retreat some, or all of the areas to knock it out for good.
Tenacity is a great product but it’s important to understand its pros and cons before choosing it:
Tenacity Pros:
– It’s harder to over apply and damage the good turf areas.
– Targets Poa Annua and other nuisance grasses that other post-emergents don’t.
– Can be used to spot treat, or blanket spray your entire lawn.
– It’s a great choice when you are planning on seeding. Most post emergents require you wait until 3-4 weeks after application to seed. However with Tenacity you can seed on the same day of application.
Tenacity Cons:
– Takes awhile to see results and you may need to apply multiple times
– Instead of your weeds wilting, it leaves your weeds looking bright white as if they were bleached. This can be a bit of an eyesore as your weeds die back.
For Warm Season Grasses:
1. Celsius WG– Celsius WG is a great all around liquid post emergent that kills a large number of broadleaf weeds as well as grassy weeds. It does a great job killing a variety of clovers. Best of all this is safe to use in most warm season grass types such as Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Centipede.
2. Image Southern Lawn Weed Killer– This is another great all around post emergent herbicide that kills a number of broadleaf weeds, including clover. This is actually the go to post emergent I recommend in my lawn care program for warm season grass. Even though the front label says its safe on St. Augustine and Centipede, if you look at the back it says it’s also good for Bermuda, Zoysia, and Bahia.
Pre Emergent Herbicides
While pre-emergents won’t kill existing clover, or prevent it from spreading, it will prevent new clover seeds from germinating. Pre-emergent herbicides are an important part of any lawn care program and help to prevent a large variety of broad leaf weeds from emerging.
The trick to a good pre-emergent plan is correctly timing your applications based on soil temperatures. For more on an effective pre-emergent strategy check out: Lawn Care Schedule Using Only 3 Products
How to Get Rid of Clover Naturally
Manual removal of clover in your lawn can be very difficult. Since its roots are well spread, and the plant is mixed in with large sections of grass, it can be near impossible to segregate the clover from the grass.
If your looking for more effective natural ways to get rid of clover then check out: How to Get Rid Of Clover Naturally
Check Out These Posts Next
Top Dressing Lawn: Advice and Benefits
Lime Your Lawn: A Complete Guide
How to Kill Weeds Without Killing Grass
White Grubs: Prevention and Treatment
Follow Me
Join my free email list!
Plus, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Are any of these products harmful to dogs? If so how long a period after use to wait for dog to enter yard? I have a lot of clover specific to mostly one area but spotty throughout my backyard. Large yard! Is this time of year, April, good to apply?
this time of year is definitely a great time to apply! The recommended products mention they are typically pets safe once the product has dried. Just make sure they aren’t around during spraying or right after. Dogs that do ingest the chemicals when still wet can experience vomiting and stomach ache but usually nothing more serious. I like to play things safe and keep my dog away for a full day if possible. You could always do the front yard one day and the back the next so the dog has somewhere to go out!
I need some help on what I could use to get rid of Bermuda without killing my bluegrass and fescue. The Bermuda I have had a long tap root and spreads out with a long shoot with roots about every one to two inches.
Hi Mike! That’s a common question… Look up a product called Ornamec Over the Top. It is great for controlling Bermuda Grass in your cool season lawn without harming the lawn.
We applied tenacity 19 days ago to combat clover, bentgrass, chickweed, and sedge. Nothing is completely dead yet, just white. Our main issue is clover which has barely turned white. Do you recommend a 2nd application of tenacity tank mixed with triclopyr/ortho weed b gone?
We are trying to knock out the weeds and overseer before it gets too hot here in zone 7a.
That white is exactly what you want to see at this point! It is definitely working but I always recommend a follow up treatment. The other thing I would recommend is mixing in some Surfactant which helps the herbicides stick to the leaves. If you’re looking to overseed I would stick to just Tenacity since that is the safest herbicide to use leading up to an overseeding project. Definitely do the follow up treatment and you can pretty much overseed at the same time. Let the new grass get established and then continue spot treating throughout the year. It’s definitely a process but eventually you’ll win the battle.
It’s currently October with highs in the 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Our church lawn has a ton of clover in it and was wondering if I should treat now or wait until spring? Thanks for your help.
Hi Dave. With those temperatures I’d hold off until spring. Post emergent herbicides become less effective as plant growth slows.
Hi Mark! We are in zone 7b in SC and soil temps are avg 37degrees now. We have a fescue lawn, with large patches of clover now. Should we treat with the ortho weed be gone concentrate for chickweed, clover & oxialis now or when or what soil temp should we treat it?
HI Kim! Great question because it’s kind of a tough call. This herbicide, like most post emergent herbicides work by moving through the cells of the plant. That’s why weeds need to be actively growing for post emergent herbicides to grow. When they are dormant the cells are not active and therefor the herbicide wont work. Now, if your clover is still green and is actively growing, post emergent herbicides could still work but it won’t be as effective as when your weeds (and lawn) are really in a growth spurt. This is when soil temps are closer to the 50’s. You’re kind of on the border of dormancy which means that cellular activity is very slow, or barely active. If you’re trying to watch your wallet and get the best bang for your buck I would wait until soil temps are at least in the mid 40’s. With clover, it might take 1 or 2 follow up treatments to really knock it out.
Thank you! We will be patient til then, and get after it big time when it warms up a little more.
sounds like a good plan, good luck!
Would it be better to put a pre emergent down and then spot treat the clover or vice versa? Spring here and not sure how long I need to wait between the treatments if at all and/or if the order matters. Thanks!
put pre emergent down once your soil temps average 50 degrees for 24 hours in early spring. I use Green Cast Online to check soil temps. For clover, start spot spraying when you see it green in growing. Here in NH that time is now. Don’t forget, clover is a perennial. Pre emergents will only block new seed from germinating, it will not prevent last years clover from coming back. That can only be done with the liquid herbicide you spot spray with.
Thank you! So sounds like pre emergent now since the soil temp is right and then spot treat the clover? Wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be more effective if I treated the clover before putting the pre emergent down.
Will tenacity kill wild strawberries and ground ivy?
Tenacity will kill ground ivy but it’s not labeled for wild strawberries. You can use Ortho Weed B Bone for both wild strawberries and ground Ivy, so that would be my recommendation.