Wild garlic (Allium vineale) and chives (Allium schoenoprasum) growing in your yard can quickly become troublesome weeds. Both wild garlic and chives are perennial bulbs that have a tendency to spread quickly. Like other weeds, garlic and chives steal important nutrients from other plants, and if not dealt with can suffocate the wanted vegetation. Pulling small patches of garlic and chives will eradicate the problematic plants only if you have removed all traces of the bulbs. Instead, take a more aggressive approach to ensure you eradicate the garlic and chives from your lawn.
Dig the garlic and chives out of the soil with a thin trowel, removing as much of the bulbs as possible. Stuff the removed plants into a garbage bag. Composting the garlic and chives can lead to accidental spreading if you do not remove all the bulbs or seed. Refrain from tossing the plants on the ground, which can cause new growth in that area.
Examine the area regularly for new garlic and chives sprouts. Missed bulbs can sprout weeks later and even remain dormant in the soil for years.
Remove new plants that sprout by digging them out of the ground with a thin trowel. Place the garlic and chives in a garbage bag for disposal.
Mow the garlic and chives as close to the ground as possible. Mowing will not kill the plants but will help weaken them.
Apply a three-way broadleaf herbicide that contains dicambe, 2,4D or mecoprop to the garlic and chives immediately after mowing. Do not mow that area for two weeks.
Continue mowing the garlic and chives, applying the herbicide and waiting two weeks until the plants no longer sprout. Alternately, skip the mowing and apply the herbicide directly on the plants during November, late winter and again in early spring. This will prevent the chives and garlic from producing their next generation of bulbs.
Things You Will Need
- Thin trowel
- Garbage bag
- Lawn mower
- Three-way broadleaf herbicide