# Stopping my neighbor's weeds from creeping over?!



## Lawnmower_Man

Hello,

My next door neighbor's lawn is pretty much 80% weeds and I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions to prevent weeds from creeping over to my lawn via underground root system.

I've posted below what has been happening lately.

I initially controlled the weeds by individually brushing them with 30% vinegar (which worked pretty well) but it's a losing battle due to the fact that my neighbor's lawn is pretty much entirely comprised of these weeds and they are likely coming over via the root system that is creeping underneath our fence.

*My Proposed Solution:*
I was thinking of digging 6 inches below (along the property line) and inserting galvanized sheet metal (6 inches deep) all along the property line to prevent the weed roots from creeping over.

It's kind of a laborous thing to do, but I can't really think of any alternative ideas. Plus, if it works, it will pretty much save my lawn and save me a lot of time and money from having to keep painting these weeds every two weeks or so.

Questions
1. Is this a good idea? Will it even work to prevent this weed spillover?
2. Any other suggestions?
3. What are these weeds called anyway?


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## rob13psu

That's good ole' Ground Ivy (aka Creeping Charlie). Your basic weed control product such as Ortho Weed-B-Gon should take care of it, though it may take multiple applications. I've had success with it in the past.


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## ctrav

When I spray my lawn I just make sure I overlap onto my neighbors lawn. This applies to anything I put down.


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## GMM

ctrav said:


> When I spray my lawn I just make sure I overlap onto my neighbors lawn. This applies to anything I put down.


Ditto, my neighbors lawn is a weed salad, I spray 3 feet into his yard when putting down pre-m and weed killer.


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## MichiganGreen

ctrav said:


> When I spray my lawn I just make sure I overlap onto my neighbors lawn. This applies to anything I put down.


Have you used Tenacity? I'm curious how people would use tenacity in those situation s given the very obvious effects of it in action. My neighbor might come at me with a pitchfork thinking I'm killing his lawn...


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## TN Hawkeye

How is your relationship with your neighbors? If you have a good relationship then maybe just explain to them your concerns. With KBG if you get the weeds under control like suggested by spraying 3' into their property the KBG may spread and choke out the weeds.


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## JDgreen18

Just curious you folks that spray into your neighbors yards do you ask them first if they mind. Seems your kind of opening yourselves up to a potential issue if they dont want herbicides on thier properties. What if they have animals and they walk them in that area without knowing or even worse kids?
I say either talk to them and see if its ok or just deal with any weeds that pop up. Or you can take my approach and put up a fence.


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## ctrav

Good concerns JD...I only have a neighbor to one side and yes he knows. Good neighbors only stay good neighbors if they are good neighbors


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## Lawnmower_Man

Actually, as I was brushing my weeds, I actually sprayed the 30% vinegar onto my neighbor's lawn too. Killed a bunch of it, but it all just comes back.

So...would my idea of digging down 6 inches and putting in some sheet metal or pressure treated boards work to keep the weeds on their side of the fence?


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## Green

JDgreen18 said:


> Just curious you folks that spray into your neighbors yards do you ask them first if they mind. Seems your kind of opening yourselves up to a potential issue if they dont want herbicides on thier properties. What if they have animals and they walk them in that area without knowing or even worse kids?
> I say either talk to them and see if its ok or just deal with any weeds that pop up. Or you can take my approach and put up a fence.


I have 4 neighbors who border. 3 of the neighbors don't care if I occasionally spray over about a foot or two. One of them is totally clueless about lawn stuff and has "Chemlawn", which gets their fertilizer several feet into my yard sometimes (lol. anyone who doesn't know what that is can look it up). Another one knows I sometimes spray over a bit, and is fine with it, especially when they're away for extended vacations, as they're not there to control weeds. I still don't overtly spray way over though, in case someone else watching gets the wrong impression. The other one who is ok with it just doesn't care at all...he knows whatever I do on my side will possibly help his yard at the border. We kind of share the border area, for whatever reason. And the 4th one, I have no idea, so I try not to spray over unless I really have to, and even then, I make it look like I'm aiming at my yard and go over as little as possible. But at least their kids never play in that area...they stay in the fence, so no danger there. Finally, if I'm using something like a chemical fungicide on the entire front near the road (rare) I put up a pesticide sign. None of these people currently have outdoor pets.


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## ken-n-nancy

Lawnmower_Man said:


> I actually sprayed the 30% vinegar onto my neighbor's lawn too. Killed a bunch of it, but it all just comes back.


 That's partly because vinegar is only a contact herbicide -- it doesn't translocate into the roots and kill those too. Applying vinegar is just about no different than mowing it real short or trimming the plant off near ground level -- it will "kill" the foliage that is above the ground, but the plant will come back from the roots. If you were using a systemic herbicide like triclopyr on the creeping charlie, the roots will actually be killed, too, and that specific plant won't come back again. (There'd still be others spreading in from your neighbor's lawn, but you'd have a longer reprieve before that happens again.)



Lawnmower_Man said:


> So...would my idea of digging down 6 inches and putting in some sheet metal or pressure treated boards work to keep the weeds on their side of the fence?


 I think that would work pretty well to keep plants that spread via rhizomes from making their way into your lawn. Personally, I'd avoid wood, as even pressure-treated will eventually rot when buried in the ground and will be a pain to deal with then. I'd also avoid sheet metal, as unless you roll over a nice edge at the top, it will be a sharp edge that could cut children walking in the lawn in bare feet or rolling in the grass.

If doing what you describe, I'd be inclined to use the plastic "landscape edging" from your favorite big box store or garden center. It tends to be about 5" tall, which should be deep enough to stop creeping charlie, will last a long time without rotting or rusting, and has a rounded edge which is much less likely to cut bare-footed people who step on it by accident. One such sample product is shown / linked below; I have no experience with that specific product, but have used stuff like that to separate lawn/garden areas with good results.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Valley-View-Industries-Royal-Diamond-60-ft-L-x-1-in-W-Black-Lawn-Edging-RD-60/100058957


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## Mozart

JDgreen18 said:


> Just curious you folks that spray into your neighbors yards do you ask them first if they mind. Seems your kind of opening yourselves up to a potential issue if they dont want herbicides on thier properties. What if they have animals and they walk them in that area without knowing or even worse kids?
> I say either talk to them and see if its ok or just deal with any weeds that pop up. Or you can take my approach and put up a fence.


100% agree with JDGreen here.

Would you guys mind if your turf was damaged/destroyed by glyphosate drift?

How would you feel if you found out a toxic chemicals was just sprayed on the turf your kids are playing in?

Don't assume you know what's best for your neighbor; ALWAYS ask before applying chemicals to *your neighbor's property*! :thumbup:


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## Delmarva Keith

Mozart said:


> JDgreen18 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Just curious you folks that spray into your neighbors yards do you ask them first if they mind. Seems your kind of opening yourselves up to a potential issue if they dont want herbicides on thier properties. What if they have animals and they walk them in that area without knowing or even worse kids?
> I say either talk to them and see if its ok or just deal with any weeds that pop up. Or you can take my approach and put up a fence.
> 
> 
> 
> 100% agree with JDGreen here.
> 
> Would you guys mind if your turf was damaged/destroyed by glyphosate drift?
> 
> How would you feel if you found out a toxic chemicals was just sprayed on the turf your kids are playing in?
> 
> Don't assume you know what's best for your neighbor; ALWAYS ask before applying chemicals to *your neighbor's property*! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Agreed. I do the same. My neighbor and I are good friends but I keep to the line. One mistake or coincidence can kill a friendship. Thinking back, I had a bad nutsedge infestation at one point that he also had. His wife started asking me what type of seed I planted because it (understandably) looked to her that something was spreading from my lawn to theirs. I had to show them it was a weed caused by excess water in that area and not anything I did. They are really great neighbors and I wouldn't want a misunderstanding to come between us.

If a neighbor had weeds spreading into my lawn I'd spray to the line and get what I could. The plastic edging seems like a pretty good idea too. A row of trees and a mulched bed, even better :lol:


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## Mozart

I had the exact same problem as OP - my neighbor's weeds were extending into my yard. Creeping Charlie everywhere.

I treated my side only, to the property line. Takes a while before the grass will fill in enough to act as a weed barrier but after one season I have (relatively) thick grass all the way to the property line.

Without trespassing :thumbup:


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## Harts

@Lawnmower_Man I've never tried that solution before so I can't help you with that.

Is the ground ivy the only weed that spills over from your neighbour? If there are more, I suggest a pre-emergent (I suggest this either way). Your only source will be Seed World USA. I bought dimension in granular form. Shipping can kill you, but I applied to my front yard in August (did an over seed in the backyard) and I am completely weed free. I live in a semi, so only share grass on one side, and that neighbour does NOTHING with her lawn. Hers and every other lawn on my street is infested with weeds.

Well worth the money and time saved from having to constantly spot treat.

Neither dithiopyr (Dimension) or prodiamine list ground ivy as a controlled weed, but it will prevent just about anything else we get up here.


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## Sinclair

Do what I did.

Reno your neighbour's lawn. :lol:


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## coachpaul77

Harts said:


> @Lawnmower_Man I've never tried that solution before so I can't help you with that.
> 
> Is the ground ivy the only weed that spills over from your neighbour? If there are more, I suggest a pre-emergent (I suggest this either way). Your only source will be Seed World USA. I bought dimension in granular form. Shipping can kill you, but I applied to my front yard in August (did an over seed in the backyard) and I am completely weed free. I live in a semi, so only share grass on one side, and that neighbour does NOTHING with her lawn. Hers and every other lawn on my street is infested with weeds.
> 
> Well worth the money and time saved from having to constantly spot treat.
> 
> Neither dithiopyr (Dimension) or prodiamine list ground ivy as a controlled weed, but it will prevent just about anything else we get up here.


Will Dimension work to prevent weeds from coming up next year if they've been infesting my lawn all this year? I did a reno on the back lawn but only overseeded the front/renod the edges that were all crabgrass. The rest of my front lawn has a bunch of broadleaf weeds though. I couldn't stomach a total reno on the front this year in case it didn't work. LOL


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## Harts

@coachpaul77, your broad leaf weed problem and crab grass....yes. Those will die with the impending cold. To control them next year, put down an app in April. You can then do another in June. To control Poa A, you will want to do a final app sometime in August (poa germinates during the Fall). It's too late to control poa now.

Keep in mind, weeds come from seeds. Dithiopyr and prodiamine put down a barrier on your soil to prevent them from germinating. By putting an app down in April, before these seeds germinate, you will be able to control your weed pressure.

You might still get the odd weed pop up. But that's easy enough to take care of.

I have ZERO weeds in my front lawn right now. Dimension went down in August. Every other lawn is littered with weeds right now. I have had two random people walking by stop me to ask why I don't have any weeds!


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## coachpaul77

@Harts thanks for the info. I'm gonna have to grab me some of that.


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## NoslracNevok

@Sinclair Ditto, I just reno'd my whole hell strip, including my neighbors (with their consent). I just took on the other side of the sidewalk as well.

@Lawnmower_Man If it's a small area, I'd ask them to care for it, including mowing. A divider would be a tripping hazard and eye sore in my opinion.


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## Lawnmower_Man

So, I ended up going to Lowes the other day and this happened to be on sale:



It's a landscape border that you can bury into your lawn 5 inches deep.

*I assume 5 inches should be deep enough to keep the neighbor's root system at bay, no?*

I have never actually sprayed herbicides onto my lawn. I've only ever applied some RoundUp near the edges of my lawn. I think that installing this landscape border on the property line (and occassionally spraying a touch of RoundUp onto the property line) would keep things under control.

As for the existing Creeping Charlie on my lawn, I can just remove that area of sod (as I have some extra grass on an area that I plan to remove, as I am adding paving stones there).

Thoughts on this plan?


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## Delmarva Keith

Lawnmower_Man said:


> So, I ended up going to Lowes the other day and this happened to be on sale:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a landscape border that you can bury into your lawn 5 inches deep.
> 
> *I assume 5 inches should be deep enough to keep the neighbor's root system at bay, no?*
> 
> I have never actually sprayed herbicides onto my lawn. I've only ever applied some RoundUp near the edges of my lawn. I think that installing this landscape border on the property line (and occassionally spraying a touch of RoundUp onto the property line) would keep things under control.
> 
> As for the existing Creeping Charlie on my lawn, I can just remove that area of sod (as I have some extra grass on an area that I plan to remove, as I am adding paving stones there).
> 
> Thoughts on this plan?


I have a similar plan for a landscape bed and row of trees along one prop line to keep my mulch out of the neighbor's KBG and his KBG out of my landscape bed. Obviously I think it's worth a try. 

For creeping charlie, I'd be more inclined to zap it with three way plus triclopyr. Might take a few tries and it's more vulnerable in Spring but digging up turf and replacing it is generally unappealing.

Do you have the sku or a link for what you got? Looks like exactly what I'm looking for.


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## Lawnmower_Man

Here it is on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004RA18/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

It's extremely overpriced on Amazon. I got it for a quarter of this price at Lowes. Maybe due to the season being over.


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## Delmarva Keith

Lawnmower_Man said:


> Here it is on Amazon.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004RA18/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8
> 
> It's extremely overpriced on Amazon. I got it for a quarter of this price at Lowes. Maybe due to the season being over.


Thanks. Too rich for my blood though.  I'll look for it on sale but I hate buying stuff I can't get (or afford) more of down the road. :nod:

Looks like a sturdy, quality product but the price also reflects that.


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## GoPre

Lawnmower_Man said:


> So, I ended up going to Lowes the other day and this happened to be on sale:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a landscape border that you can bury into your lawn 5 inches deep.
> 
> *I assume 5 inches should be deep enough to keep the neighbor's root system at bay, no?*
> 
> I have never actually sprayed herbicides onto my lawn. I've only ever applied some RoundUp near the edges of my lawn. I think that installing this landscape border on the property line (and occassionally spraying a touch of RoundUp onto the property line) would keep things under control.
> 
> As for the existing Creeping Charlie on my lawn, I can just remove that area of sod (as I have some extra grass on an area that I plan to remove, as I am adding paving stones there).
> 
> Thoughts on this plan?


Very interested in this. I have the same problem with creeping charlie. I'll wait till spring to spray, but if you have a nice install and seem to like it I may follow your lead.


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## Suburban Jungle Life

What about burying this flush with the ground?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-20-ft-Green-Landscape-Edging-Roll/50092434


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## Lawnmower_Man

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> What about burying this flush with the ground?
> https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-20-ft-Green-Landscape-Edging-Roll/50092434


Yea, it seems like that would work.

My only concern was using a material (like wood) rotting if I bury that, wheres something like aluminum sheeting is too visible, expensive and (as someone mentioned) possibly dangerous due to sharp edges.

The other concern was if 5 inches was not deep enough, but it seems like it should be fine.

A high quality, green-coloured plastic seems like the best way to go.


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## Suburban Jungle Life

Lawnmower_Man said:


> Suburban Jungle Life said:
> 
> 
> 
> What about burying this flush with the ground?
> https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-20-ft-Green-Landscape-Edging-Roll/50092434
> 
> 
> 
> Yea, it seems like that would work.
> 
> My only concern was using a material (like wood) rotting if I bury that, wheres something like aluminum sheeting is too visible, expensive and (as someone mentioned) possibly dangerous due to sharp edges.
> 
> The other concern was if 5 inches was not deep enough, but it seems like it should be fine.
> 
> A high quality, green-coloured plastic seems like the best way to go.
Click to expand...

Good point on the 5" part. I'm not sure if that is enough to stop bermuda. That stuff is evil!!! If you have a wide enough space, another option is to make a narrow and long flower bed. I've done that before to keep things separate. I then maintain with glyphosate and pre-m. Though, it might look a little funny if it is really long.

You can also try this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-40-ft-Black-Landscape-Edging-Roll/50092426
I would bury it up to the round lump so that is the only thing exposed. It'll keep stuff from creeping on top and you can use a string trimmer to buzz it if anything creeps over it. Makes a really easy and obvious line. Though, try to make it straight since it'll be really obvious if it's wavy. Of course, if both you and your neighbor maintain your grass at sub 1" it won't look so good sticking up.


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## 20jlr

I feel your pain. I took this picture this morning after mowing today


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