Ground ivy is a perennial plant and thrives in moist, shady areas, so it’s safe to say that ground ivy is having a banner year. Ground ivy is a member of the mint family and produces a minty odor when cut or crushed. I have two neighbors with a healthy crop of ground ivy, and by smell alone I know when they are mowing the lawn.

GROUND IVY CONTROL STRATEGIES

NON-CHEMICAL CONTROL If you have a small amount of ground ivy, you can try hand-pulling. It most likely will continue to reappear, but with persistence, small amounts can be controlled. In flower and vegetable gardens, hand-pulling, hoeing and persistence is the best way to control ground ivy. In the lawn, maintaining a dense, healthy turf will prevent the undesirables from competing with the grass. In shaded areas, ground ivy will almost always win out over grass. One can also try to reduce the shade and/or soil moisture to promote growth of turf.

CHEMICAL CONTROL The most effective way of controlling ground ivy in the lawn is with a post-emergence broadleaf herbicide. As with any pesticide, always read and follow the label directions. For many years, dicamba was regarded as the most effective herbicide in controlling ground ivy. However, research at Purdue University found that a good nitrogen fertility program (3 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year) and the use of herbicide products containing 2,4-D or triclopyr are more effective on ground ivy.

Herbicide applications on ground ivy are most effective in the fall (between mid-September and November 1.) At least two applications are usually required, with the second application 28 days after the first.

For lawn areas that are heavily infested with ground ivy and contain little grass, it may be more practical to completely destroy all growth in the area. This can be accomplished by using the non-selective herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) or by tilling and removing the plant debris. The turf can then be reestablished by seeding or sodding.

The research at Purdue also discovered another interesting finding. They took samples of ground ivy from 9 populations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Through DNA analysis, they found 52 different genotypes of ground ivy in these samples from the 9 populations. The results of testing different herbicides on these different types of ground ivy concluded that populations of ground ivy vary in their susceptibility to broadleaf herbicides.

For example, one population of ground ivy may be highly sensitive to 2,4-D, while another population may be somewhat tolerant to 2,4-D. Therefore, it may be necessary to alternate broadleaf herbicides when attempting to control ground ivy.