How To Fix A Chickweed Infestation

While there are plenty of lawn weeds that homeowners need to keep a careful watch for, chickweed is regarded as one of the worst – but how do you get rid of it?  

Originally used as a vegetable crop and ground cover for poultry consumption in many parts of the world, chickweed can also be grown for its edible and medicinal properties. Despite the potential benefits, it’s a different story when chickweed is unintentionally allowed to thrive in a residential lawn. 

While the white flowers of a chickweed cluster may look harmless enough on face value, when left unchecked, this notorious Australian weed can quickly consume large areas in a backyard or front lawn. As this perennial flowering weed is known to grow at ferocious speeds, it’s important to deal with the presence of chickweed before it gets a chance to get too comfortable. 

Why Chickweed Is Bad News For Lawns 

Notorious for its fondness of damp environments and moist soil, chickweed is distributed by seeds. While this makes it easier to stay on top when compared to other noxious varieties, it does mean that chickweed is easily spread by wind, water, mud, vehicles and even pets. In addition, an unseasonably wet year in Australia means that chickweed is currently running rife in lawns right around the nation. 

Also known as drymaria, heartleaf drymary or whitesnow, common chickweed is an annual weed, meaning that each plant only lives for one year at a time. While this sounds ideal for gardeners to control it, the danger of this weed is that before it dies, each plant produces thousands of seeds that are designed to germinate the following year to start the cycle all over again.

In contrast, mouse ear chickweed is a perennial, which means that it will continue to produce seeds for years at a time. If left unchecked, a mouse ear chickweed plant will continue to reseed itself and can produce new roots at each node, or the point where the leaf meets the stem, when the stem meets bare soil. For gardening enthusiasts, this makes it much more difficult to remove by hand. 

In addition, trying to remove chickweed by hand can disrupt and disperse seeds, meaning that the plant will germinate again next year even if you manage to remove the primary parent plant. Instead, prevention is often the easiest approach at avoiding chickweed, and a well maintained lawn that’s regularly mowed yet kept reasonably long in length will help to discourage its presence. 

It’s also worth noting that the presence of chickweed might indicate that you have compacted soil that isn’t getting enough oxygen or nutrients. This weed is very competitive, as it tolerates drought and lawn mower wear and tear well. Although chickweed is an annual broadleaf weed, it’s known to grow throughout the season and can transform from flower to seed to plant in roughly five weeks. To help encourage better soil health so that the earth can defend itself from an infestation, consider aerating your lawn. 

However, if the ship has already sailed and you have a reasonable amount of chickweed in your lawn, then your next option is a herbicide. Much like many pesticides, these eradication methods often have some dangerous chemicals that can negatively affect the health of your lawn and the residents of your household. 

The solution? A glyphosate-free weed killer like Bioweed. As a non-residual solution, this naturally derived product will break down into the soil in as little as 72 hours and can combat over 200 invasive weed species, including chickweed. 

While healthy soil invites your turf to thrive, it can also act as somewhat of an open invitation for lawn weeds to make themselves at home as well. To further complicate matters, the ideal lawn should have one or two species of grass at most in order to achieve a consistent and aesthetic greenspace. To safely banish unwanted invaders in your lawn, opting for a chemical free alternative can get the job done while still keeping members of your household safe. 

Introducing A Safer Way To Spray 

Bioweed is an organic, non selective weed killer that works fast on contact with the weed, in order to rapidly desiccate and burn even the most stubborn of plants. It can be used anywhere around the house including garden beds, veggie patches, paths and driveways, and is safe to use around children, animals and even native wildlife. 

The best part? Bioweed is the brainchild of well established agricultural leaders greenPRO, and is backed by over twenty years of research and development. Owned and manufactured in Australia, the primary ingredient of Bioweed is actually sustainably sourced pine oil, and is even approved by NASAA, ACO and APVMA for use around organic farms and food production. 

If you’re on the hunt for a nature friendly weed killer, or simply want to know more about eliminating weeds safely – check out other tips and tricks in our online advice forum, or contact us for any further queries.