Does Lemon Oil Kill Creeping Charlie Weeds (And Should You Try It?)

Removing weeds from your yard or garden can be difficult, especially if you're trying to be mindful of the environment. And one weed that is the bane of many gardeners' existence is creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), which is a perennial weed that grows fast and is particularly hard to get rid of. While many chemical herbicides are available for purchase, perhaps you want to try a more natural route. If so, you may be wondering if lemon oil could be an all-natural weed-killer alternative. Well, there unfortunately aren't any reliable studies or experts that prove lemon oil's efficacy in removing creeping Charlie weeds for good, despite what some gardeners may claim. Therefore, it may not be worth it for you to use lemon oil on creeping Charlie weeds, as it most likely won't be as effective as other methods.

Citrus oil could potentially be used as a natural herbicide because citrus peels contain d-Limonene, which has some anecdotal support for killing weeds. Most of the time it is mixed with vinegar, another natural weed killer. However, it should be noted that your typical household vinegar only has 5% acetic acid (the effective ingredient for killing weeds), which may not be strong enough. A concentration of 20% to 30% would be more effective. Still, these treatments generally only kill the parts of the plant they're sprayed on, so weeds with deep roots or ones that spread quickly like creeping Charlie weeds will likely grow back. This is one reason why you should think twice before using vinegar to kill weeds. Luckily, there are other solutions for getting rid of creeping Charlie.

First, identify this weed in your yard. Look for round green leaves and purple trumpet-shaped blooms. Once you've discovered it, decide how to get rid of creeping Charlie. Many gardeners swear by mowing over or pulling out the weeds by hand, but both these methods typically leave behind seeds and roots, so the problem will eventually pop up again. One way to remove them manually — roots and all — is to make sure the ground is very soft by watering it beforehand. You'll need to remove the weed repeatedly to keep it from growing back.

While a mix of lemon oil and vinegar could help in the short-term, you should prepare for the weed to pop up again unless you attack the roots. You should also avoid using other weed killing products like salt or bleach. If the weed growth is extensive, a chemical herbicide that contains dicamba or triclopyr might be necessary so you don't have to keep fighting the same problem over and over again. It's important to be careful when applying this treatment, however, because some types of herbicides can kill the plants around the weed, not just the weed itself. 

The best time to treat weeds like creeping Charlie is before the plants start to grow, during the seed stage. By the time you've started to notice the plant growing, it could already be too late. A good prevention method, like covering the soil with mulch, could help stop weeds from growing altogether.