How to Kill Strawberry Plants

Wild strawberries look innocent enough – pretty white flowers, those distinctive three-leaflet leaves, and tiny red berries. But leave them unchecked and they’ll carpet your borders, smother your lawn edges, and pop up in every gap they can find.

The problem isn’t the plants themselves. It’s the runners. Those wiry stems that creep along the surface, rooting wherever they touch soil to create new plants. Pull one strawberry plant and you’ve barely started – the runners connect them all together in an underground network. Wild strawberry is one of the most common weeds in UK gardens.

If you’ve got strawberry plants appearing where you don’t want them, here’s how to actually get rid of them.

Why Strawberry Plants Are Hard to Control

Strawberry plants spread in two ways, and both make them frustrating to deal with.

First, there are the runners (technically called stolons). A single healthy plant can send out 15 or more runners in a growing season. Each runner grows along the soil surface, and wherever a leaf node touches the ground, it puts down roots and forms a new plant. Those new plants then send out their own runners. One plant in spring can become a colony of 50+ by autumn.

This runner-spreading habit is shared by other frustrating weeds like creeping buttercup, ground elder, and creeping cinquefoil – all require you to trace and remove the entire network, not just individual plants.

Second, there are seeds. Birds eat the berries and deposit seeds throughout your garden. Each berry contains around 200 seeds on its surface. The seeds can remain viable in soil for years, germinating when conditions are right.

This combination of aggressive runner spread and seed dispersal is why wild strawberries are such common garden weeds – and why they keep coming back even after you think you’ve cleared them.

Wild Strawberry vs Mock Strawberry

Before you start treatment, it’s worth checking what you’re actually dealing with. There are two plants commonly called ‘wild strawberry’ and they’re quite different.

Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a native UK plant. It has white flowers with five petals, produces small red berries that taste like sweet, concentrated versions of shop-bought strawberries, and spreads mainly by runners. The berries hang downward and the seeds sit in small pits on the surface.

Mock strawberry (Potentilla indica, sometimes called Indian strawberry) is an introduced species from Asia. It has yellow flowers, produces round red berries that are completely tasteless, and also spreads by runners. The berries point upward and the seeds stick out from the surface, giving them a bumpy appearance.

Both spread aggressively and both respond to the same control methods. The main practical difference is that wild strawberry fruits are edible and quite tasty – so you might decide to tolerate them in some areas. Mock strawberries have no culinary value whatsoever.

How to Remove Strawberry Plants

Manual Removal

For small infestations, hand removal can work – but only if you’re thorough about following the runners.

The key is to trace each runner back to its source and forward to every plant it’s produced. Don’t just pull individual plants; follow the connections. A single runner can link five or six plants across a metre or more of ground.

Work when the soil is moist (after rain is ideal) so the shallow roots pull out cleanly. Use a hand fork to lift the roots rather than just tugging at the leaves. If runners snap, the rooted sections left behind will regrow.

This method works best for isolated plants or small patches. For larger infestations, you’ll spend hours crawling around and probably still miss connected plants hidden under other foliage.

Smothering

For areas you can cover completely, blocking light will kill strawberry plants over time. Lay cardboard, black plastic sheeting, or thick layers of mulch over the affected area and leave it in place for at least one full growing season.

This works well for clearing a bed before replanting, but it’s not selective – everything underneath will die, including any plants you want to keep. It also won’t help with strawberries that have spread into your lawn or between established plants.

Weedkiller for Borders and Beds

For strawberry plants in borders, beds, paths, and patios, a glyphosate-based systemic weedkiller is the most effective solution.

Glyphosate is absorbed through the leaves and transported throughout the plant – including through the runners to connected plants. This is actually an advantage with strawberries: spray one plant and the weedkiller travels through the runner network to kill connected plants you might not even have spotted.

Apply when plants are actively growing (spring through early autumn) and the leaves are dry. Avoid spraying in windy conditions or when rain is forecast within 6 hours. The plants will yellow and die over 2-3 weeks.

For particularly stubborn or extensive infestations, you may need the strongest weedkiller available.

Important: Glyphosate kills any plant it contacts, so keep spray off plants you want to keep. For strawberries growing close to desirable plants, use a small brush to paint weedkiller directly onto the strawberry leaves rather than spraying.

Strawberries in Lawns

Strawberries growing in lawns are trickier because you can’t use glyphosate without killing the grass. Your options are more limited:

Manual removal is still effective for small patches. The shallow roots come out easily with a hand fork, and regular mowing weakens the plants over time (though it won’t eliminate them entirely).

Improve lawn health to outcompete them. Thick, vigorous grass leaves less space for strawberry runners to root. Feed your lawn in spring and autumn, overseed thin patches, and mow at the right height for your grass type.

Selective lawn weedkillers containing ingredients like 2,4-D or dicamba can kill strawberries without harming grass. These are available from garden centres – look for products labelled for broadleaf weed control in lawns.

Preventing Regrowth

Once you’ve cleared strawberry plants, take steps to stop them returning.

Maintain healthy, dense grass. Wild strawberries struggle to establish in thick turf. A well-fed lawn that’s mowed at the correct height (not too short) naturally resists invasion.

Mulch your borders. A 5-7cm layer of bark mulch or wood chip makes it harder for runners to root. Top up annually to maintain the depth.

Check regularly. Strawberry seeds can remain viable in soil for several years, and birds will continue depositing new ones. Walk your garden monthly during the growing season and remove any seedlings before they can send out runners.

Watch the boundaries. If your neighbour has wild strawberries, runners will keep crossing into your garden. Maintaining a clear edge – whether mown grass, paving, or a physical barrier – helps contain the spread. This is also good advice if you’re battling weeds growing through from neighbours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do wild strawberries keep coming back?

Runners and seeds. Even if you remove visible plants, any runner sections left in the soil will regrow. And strawberry seeds can survive in soil for years, germinating whenever conditions are right. You need to follow every runner connection and be prepared for seedlings to appear from the existing seed bank for a season or two after clearance.

Will mowing get rid of wild strawberries?

Not completely. Wild strawberries grow in low rosettes that sit below typical mowing height, so the mower passes right over them. Regular mowing does weaken the plants and reduce berry production, but it won’t eliminate an established patch. You’ll need to combine mowing with manual removal or targeted weedkiller for full control.

Are wild strawberries safe to eat?

True wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are completely edible and taste like small, intensely sweet versions of cultivated strawberries. Mock strawberries (Potentilla indica, the ones with yellow flowers) are also technically edible but have virtually no flavour – they’re not worth eating. Neither plant is poisonous.

How do I tell wild strawberries from mock strawberries?

Look at the flowers. Wild strawberries have white flowers; mock strawberries have yellow flowers. If they’re not flowering, check any berries present. Wild strawberry berries hang downward and have seeds sitting in small pits. Mock strawberry berries point upward and have seeds sticking out from the surface, making them look bumpy.

When is the best time to spray wild strawberries?

Late spring to early autumn, when plants are actively growing and have plenty of leaf surface to absorb the weedkiller. Avoid very hot weather (over 25°C) as the plants may be stressed and uptake will be reduced. For lawns, early autumn is often ideal as plants are storing energy in their roots and will transport the herbicide more effectively.

The Bottom Line

The frustrating thing about strawberry plants is how connected they are. Pull one and you’ve barely started – the runners link them all together beneath the surface.