Killing dichondra takes a combination of the right herbicide, physical disruption, and long-term cultural practices that starve out regrowth. The small, kidney-shaped weed spreads aggressively through both creeping stems and a stubborn seed bank in the soil, which means a single herbicide application rarely finishes the job. Broadleaf-selective products containing triclopyr or combinations of 2,4-D with dicamba are the most widely used chemical options, but preventing dichondra from returning requires understanding why it keeps coming back even after the visible plants are gone.
What Makes Dichondra So Persistent
Dichondra (most commonly Dichondra repens) is a creeping perennial that hugs the ground and roots at every node along its stems. That growth habit is the first reason it is hard to get rid of: pulling one section leaves rooted fragments behind, and each fragment can regenerate into a new plant. The leaves are small, usually no larger than a coin, and sit low enough that a mower blade passes right over them. A healthy dichondra patch can form a dense mat that shades out competing seedlings, effectively building its own territory.
The second reason is its seed production. Dichondra produces small, inconspicuous seeds that drop into the soil and remain viable for years. Research on topsoil seed banks in Australian woodland found that dichondra was one of only five species that germinated at significantly higher rates in heat-treated soil compared to unheated soil, suggesting the seeds may actually respond to soil disturbance or warming by breaking dormancy more readily.1New Zealand Journal of Botany. Topsoil seed banks in grazed and ungrazed eucalypt woodlands at Newholme, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia That means tilling or solarizing the soil can actually trigger a flush of new dichondra seedlings rather than eliminating them, which catches many homeowners off guard.
Choosing an Effective Herbicide
If dichondra has invaded a lawn you want to keep, you need a broadleaf-selective post-emergent herbicide that kills dicots without damaging turf grasses. The most reliable active ingredients for dichondra are triclopyr and fluroxypyr, both of which target broadleaf weeds through synthetic auxin activity that disrupts growth in dicot plants while leaving grasses unharmed. Products sold as “tough broadleaf weed killers” or “clover and oxalis” formulas at garden centers often contain one or both of these. Three-way lawn herbicide blends containing 2,4-D, dicamba, and MCPP also work on dichondra, though they can be slower-acting on mature, well-established mats.
Timing matters. Dichondra is most susceptible to herbicide uptake when it is actively growing, which in most climates means mid-spring through early autumn. Applying herbicide during dormancy or drought stress leads to poor absorption because the plant’s metabolism has slowed down. For best results, apply when temperatures are between roughly 15 and 30 degrees Celsius, the soil is moist, and rain is not expected for at least 24 hours. Spot-spraying individual patches rather than blanket-spraying the entire lawn reduces chemical use and limits stress on the surrounding turf.
Expect to spray more than once. A single application will cause visible wilting and yellowing within a week or two, but the creeping stems often survive at ground level and reshoot. A follow-up application two to four weeks after the first catches regrowth before the plant rebuilds its energy reserves. If the infestation is severe, a third round may be needed in the same growing season.
Herbicides That Dichondra Tolerates
Not every herbicide works. Trials assessing which chemicals dichondra can survive found that it tolerated a surprisingly long list of active ingredients, including clopyralid, tribenuron, metsulfuron, oxadiazon, oryzalin, and propyzamide.2New Zealand Plant Protection. Establishment techniques for dichondra ground covers in orchards Several of those are broadleaf herbicides that you might reasonably expect to kill dichondra, so reaching for whatever bottle happens to be in the shed can lead to frustrating results. Clopyralid, for instance, is highly effective on clover and thistles but dichondra shrugs it off. Metsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide commonly used in pasture and turf, is another one that dichondra can withstand at standard application rates.
Oryzalin and oxadiazon are pre-emergent herbicides, meaning they target seeds and very young seedlings. The fact that dichondra tolerates both of them is worth knowing if you were counting on a pre-emergent barrier to stop regrowth from the seed bank. These products work well for suppressing annual grassy weeds like crabgrass, but they will not prevent dichondra seeds from germinating and establishing. If you want a pre-emergent strategy against dichondra specifically, you need to look at products with different chemistries and confirm efficacy on the label, because the usual suspects in the pre-emergent category may let dichondra right through.
Non-Chemical Removal Methods
Hand-pulling works for small infestations, but only if you are thorough about removing the runners. Dichondra roots at every node, so snapping the stems and leaving behind rooted sections just creates multiple new plants from one. Use a hand fork or a fishtail weeder to lift sections from below, following the runners outward until you reach the edge of the patch. After pulling, rake the area to collect loose stem fragments and discard everything in the green waste bin, not the compost pile. Dichondra can re-root from small stem pieces left on moist ground.
Smothering is effective for larger areas where you are willing to sacrifice the existing lawn or garden bed for a season. Covering the infested area with black plastic sheeting, thick cardboard topped with mulch, or a dense layer of wood chips blocks light and creates heat that kills the top growth. However, remember that dichondra seeds respond to heat-triggered germination. When you remove the covering, you may see a fresh wave of seedlings, which will need to be dealt with through a follow-up herbicide application or another round of physical removal before they root deeply.
Solarization, which involves laying clear plastic over moist soil during the hottest weeks of summer, can raise soil temperatures high enough to kill seeds in the top few centimetres. The technique works best in climates with strong, sustained sun. In cooler or cloudier climates, solarization may not generate enough heat to sterilize the seed bank thoroughly, and you should plan for post-solarization spot treatment of any surviving seedlings.
Preventing Regrowth Through Lawn Health
Dichondra exploits thin, patchy, or stressed turf. A dense, vigorous lawn is the best long-term barrier against reinfestation. After you have killed the existing dichondra, the bare patches left behind are open invitations for the seed bank to fill in. Overseed those bare spots with your lawn grass species as soon as possible. A thick grass canopy shades the soil surface and blocks the light that dichondra seedlings need to establish.
Mowing height plays a real role. Dichondra is a low-growing plant, and it thrives when the surrounding grass is cut short. Raising your mowing height by even a centimetre or two gives the grass a competitive advantage, casting more shade at ground level. For warm-season grasses like buffalo grass or couch grass, a mowing height of around 3 to 5 centimetres is typically enough to suppress low-growing weeds without making the lawn look unkempt. Cool-season grasses like tall fescue or ryegrass can be kept at 5 to 7 centimetres.
Fertilization timing also matters. A well-fed lawn fills in gaps quickly and competes more aggressively for space. Apply fertilizer in the season when your grass species grows most actively: spring for warm-season grasses, autumn for cool-season types. Avoid fertilizing when your lawn is dormant but dichondra is still growing, which can happen in mild autumn or early spring conditions depending on your climate. In those windows, any fertilizer you apply feeds the weed more than the grass.
Why Dichondra Survives Drought Better Than You Might Expect
One common assumption is that withholding water from a weedy area will stress dichondra into dying. That strategy has limits. Research evaluating 33 different dichondra genotypes under drought conditions found wide natural variation in drought tolerance, with some genotypes ranking as highly tolerant and others much less so.3Grass Research. Evaluation of genetic diversity and drought tolerance among thirty-three dichondra (Dichondra repens) genotypes The genotypes also varied in leaf size, plant height, and leaf thickness, which means the dichondra growing in your lawn may or may not be a drought-sensitive type. If it happens to be one of the hardier forms, it will survive dry spells that kill off your grass and then spread into the weakened turf when water returns.
The same study highlights that natural populations of dichondra are genetically diverse, so blanket assumptions about the plant’s weaknesses can be unreliable. What works to stress dichondra in one region may fail in another simply because the local genotype is better adapted. This is one more reason why relying on a single control method, like just reducing irrigation or just pulling by hand, often falls short. Combining a targeted herbicide with cultural practices that strengthen the desirable plants is more dependable than trying to find a single environmental pressure that dichondra cannot handle.
Killing Dichondra in Garden Beds and Paths
Outside of lawns, the approach changes. In garden beds where you do not need to protect grass, a non-selective herbicide containing glyphosate is the standard option. Glyphosate kills most actively growing plants it contacts, and dichondra is no exception at full label rates. Apply it directly to the dichondra foliage on a calm, dry day, keeping spray drift away from any plants you want to keep. A shield or a wick applicator can help in tight spaces near ornamentals.
For gardeners who prefer to avoid herbicides entirely, thick mulch is the frontline defense in beds. A layer of at least 7 to 10 centimetres of organic mulch (bark chips, shredded hardwood, or straw) blocks light and physically impedes seedling emergence. Replenish the mulch as it breaks down, because a thinning layer lets light through and gives dichondra another chance. In paths and paved areas, dichondra creeps into cracks and along edges where soil accumulates. Boiling water poured directly on the plant kills the foliage and shallow roots on contact, though the stems running under pavers may survive and reshoot. Combining boiling water with follow-up crack filling or joint sand replacement prevents re-establishment.
For areas where you want a permanent solution and the ground will not be planted, laying landscape fabric under gravel or mulch creates a physical barrier. Dichondra cannot push through quality woven landscape fabric the way some rhizomatous grasses can, because its stems are thin and not strongly invasive. Pin the fabric tightly at edges and overlaps to prevent the plant from sneaking in from the side.
A Realistic Timeline for Full Eradication
Clearing a heavy dichondra infestation from a lawn is not a weekend project. A realistic timeline looks more like six to eighteen months of active management. The first herbicide application knocks down the visible growth in one to three weeks. The follow-up application a month later catches the regrowth. But then you wait, because the seed bank is still there. Over the following months, new seedlings will appear, especially after rain or irrigation. Spot-treating each flush as it emerges is tedious but essential. Each round depletes the seed bank a little more. By the second growing season, the frequency of new seedlings drops noticeably if you have been consistent.
Skipping even one cycle of seedling removal can set you back, because a single mature dichondra plant produces enough seed to restock the bank. The goal is to break the cycle: kill mature plants before they seed, suppress seedlings before they root deeply, and keep the lawn dense enough that any survivors face stiff competition. Patience with this process pays off more than any single product or technique.
Fungal Diseases That Attack Dichondra
Dichondra is susceptible to several fungal pathogens that cause visible leaf damage. Surveys across lawns in southern France and northern Italy documented leaf spots caused by Alternaria dichondrae and a Cercospora species, as well as rust caused by a Puccinia species.4Plant Disease. Occurrence of Alternaria dichondrae, Cercospora sp., and Puccinia sp. on Dichondra repens in France and Italy The Alternaria and Cercospora infections appeared as small brownish spots on leaves, while the rust pathogen showed a tendency to become more prevalent over time in surveyed areas.
If you are trying to kill dichondra, disease pressure is working in your favor, and you would not want to treat it. A dichondra mat weakened by rust or leaf spot is easier to outcompete with a healthy lawn. In some situations, gardeners who notice their dichondra looking sickly and patchy in late summer are seeing the effects of these fungi, which thrive in warm, humid conditions. Rather than treating the fungal damage, this is the ideal moment to overseed the bare patches with grass and apply a post-emergent broadleaf herbicide to the surviving dichondra, hitting it when it is already stressed. On the other hand, if you are growing dichondra intentionally as a ground cover and notice browning leaves, the same research found that specific fungicides at low concentrations could control both Alternaria and Cercospora, so targeted treatment is possible if you are on the keeping side rather than the killing side of the equation.4Plant Disease. Occurrence of Alternaria dichondrae, Cercospora sp., and Puccinia sp. on Dichondra repens in France and Italy