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This tool eliminates creeping charlie, de-thatches, and eliminates poisons, and the need to go to the gym. A good tool for turf management.

Yes that is a dethatching rake, but eliminate Creeping Charlie? How does it do that?

Most definitely eliminates the need to go to the gym. Get some good gloves for that tool.

I've found it to be very effective against creeping charlie. I use it on lawn patrol. If you go after it every time you see it you can get it under control. It grows sort of like on long strings. The de-thatching rake tears them out, but doesn't harm the grass..

I have PTSD just looking at that thing.
I heavily dethatched around 2k a few years back. It really put the ticker to the test.

FWIW:
Last fall I helped a friend seed a small lawn that had a moderately dense infestation of Creeping Charlie. I almost dont like using the word "infestation," it's really a cool weed, and apparently tempermental with its nectar output; keeps the bees guessing.

We were too close to seed down for triclopyr, which would be my normal go-to, so I tried pulling some up. We had over 7 foot long runners come up very easily. The soil was/is VERY sandy and VERY compacted, so maybe the roots were struggling.

Anyway, I'm thinking all along that all we accomplished was just a quick cosmetic fix, and that any root remnants would cause a reemergence to deal with the following spring.

April 1st of this year we started the preemergent. To date there is zero Creeping Charlie in that renovated area. It still feels like a dice roll, but apparently it can work sometimes.

My experience with the Charlie is constant diligence. Charlie wins the complacency contest.

I feel the same about nimblewill. It's an easy kill with tenacity, a couple 4oz/A apps and good deal of patience, but it you don't keep your eyes on it it'll make a run for it.

Nimblewill is pretty easily managed with the de-thatching rake too. When I began lawn care a couple of years ago I had an entire section 100% nimblewill (I thought it was a shade grass). I hadn't heard of Tenacity and got it eliminated with the rake and hand pulling. Tenacity is easier.

Masbustelo, would you mind posting a picture of your creeping Charlie? I might be envisioning a different weed.

Speaking of different, but similar weeds, at least similar to the long strings you describe, is bind weed.



Bindweed is a vine with arrowhead shaped leaves and morning glory flowers. It grows from a central root system. You can take any one of the extended vines, dip it into a small vial of RoundUp, and in a few weeks the entire plant will die. Nothing else is affected by the targeted dose of RU. I used a bud vase to test it out. I propped up the bud vase with some rocks and left it there with the vine in the juice. It was extremely satisfying to see a 30 ft diameter patch of weed killed without doing hardly anything.

I saw this post and use the rake dethatcher all the time. I too found it do well on Charlie and kept it under control.

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote: ↑

August 9th, 2020, 2:21 pm

Masbustelo, would you mind posting a picture of your creeping Charlie? I might be envisioning a different weed.

Speaking of different, but similar weeds, at least similar to the long strings you describe, is bind weed.



Bindweed is a vine with arrowhead shaped leaves and morning glory flowers. It grows from a central root system. You can take any one of the extended vines, dip it into a small vial of RoundUp, and in a few weeks the entire plant will die. Nothing else is affected by the targeted dose of RU. I used a bud vase to test it out. I propped up the bud vase with some rocks and left it there with the vine in the juice. It was extremely satisfying to see a 30 ft diameter patch of weed killed without doing hardly anything.

I think you're confusing creeping Charlie with creeping Jenny. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember somebody calling field bindweed creeping Jenny. I used to call it wild morning glory, but they're not related.

Dchall I can't post a picture of my creeping Charlie because it is exterminated for the moment. Regarding Creeping Charlie, up North we are referring to Glechoma Hederacea. However, here is a photo off the internet.

Masbustelo wrote: ↑

August 25th, 2020, 3:53 am

Dchall I can't post a picture of my creeping Charlie because it is exterminated for the moment. Regarding Creeping Charlie, up North we are referring to Glechoma Hederacea. However, here is a photo off the internet.

That's definitely not the weed David was thinking. David was thinking of field bindweed. I've got some experience in getting rid of that, and it's not easy. Dethatching would actually make it worse.

bp, when he said it grows in long strings, it made me wonder if he had real creeping Charlie. It's the long strings of field bindweed that lend it to the use of RoundUp in a bud vase.

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote: ↑

August 26th, 2020, 2:43 pm

bp, when he said it grows in long strings, it made me wonder if he had real creeping Charlie. It's the long strings of field bindweed that lend it to the use of RoundUp in a bud vase.

There's an epic thread on gw (or its successor) on bindweed. It hit the max of 100 posts. Then the max was removed and the thread revived. I don't think I've posted there in a decade, but I get notices about posts to that thread every ove in a while.