How To Get Rid Of Mint Growing In Garden? | Take Back Your Herb Beds

Mint smells lovely in tea and salads, but once it runs through a flower bed the plant quickly turns from helper to headache. Thin roots and runners slip under edging, pop up between paving, and crowd out slower herbs. If you typed “How To Get Rid Of Mint Growing In Garden?” you are likely tired of pulling stems that grow back stronger every time.

This guide lays out a clear, realistic plan to clear a bed full of mint, keep it from coming back, and still enjoy the herb in safer spots. You will see how to combine hand work, smothering, and, only if needed, careful herbicide use. That mix gives you the best chance of taking your space back without tearing up the whole yard.

Quick Comparison Of Ways To Remove Mint

Before you start, it helps to pick the methods that fit your soil, time, and patience. The chart below compares the main options gardeners use to control mint that has broken loose.

Method	Main Task	Best Situation
Hand Digging	Dig out crowns and as many roots as possible	Small beds or new patches
Repeated Pulling	Pull new growth every week through the season	Mixed beds where you must work around other plants
Smothering	Cover area with cardboard or tarp plus mulch	Large solid patches or neglected corners
Root Barriers	Install deep edging or buried containers	Beds where you still want a small mint clump
Container Growing	Move mint to pots or raised tubs	Patios, decks, or narrow strips near paths
Herbicide Spot Treatment	Paint or spray leaves with systemic weedkiller	Stubborn regrowth in hard-to-dig spaces
Full Bed Renovation	Strip soil surface, sift roots, replant from scratch	Heavily infested borders you want fully reset

Why Mint Takes Over Garden Beds

Garden mint spreads through tough underground stems called rhizomes. They sit just below the surface, send up new shoots at every node, and quickly knit through loose soil. Many guides from groups such as the Royal Horticultural Society and the University of California Integrated Pest Management program describe mint as very invasive and suggest containers as the safest home.

Each little piece of root can form a new plant. When you chop the soil with a shovel or tiller, you may actually help the herb by cutting those roots into dozens of pieces. The more fragments you leave in place, the longer the clean-up takes.

Mint also enjoys rich, moist spots that many other herbs like. If you water well and mulch deeply for the rest of the border, you create perfect conditions for those runners to push farther each year. That is why strong control has to tackle both the plants and the growing conditions they enjoy.

How To Get Rid Of Mint Growing In Garden? Step-By-Step Plan

When you search “How To Get Rid Of Mint Growing In Garden?” you are really asking three things: how to remove what you see, how to stop hidden roots, and how to stop the herb from sneaking back in from nearby beds. The steps below deal with each part in turn.

Mark The Area And Protect Nearby Plants

Start by walking the full bed and marking how far the mint has run. Follow stems on the surface and gently scrape the soil to find hidden runners. Mark the edge of the patch with string, sand, or small stakes so you know where you must work.

If other plants share the space, decide which ones you want to save. Perennials with shallow roots near the mint may need to come out for a season. Pot them up in spare containers while you clear the area. This step saves favorite plants from damage when you start digging.

Loosen Soil And Lift Big Clumps

Use a garden fork rather than a sharp spade so you lift soil without slicing roots into small pieces. Work in short sections, rocking the fork back and forth to loosen the top 20–25 cm of soil, then lift the whole section onto a tarp.

With gloved hands, shake soil off and pull the pale, rope-like rhizomes out. Keep going until you see far more bare soil than roots in each lifted slice. This part is slow and a bit messy, yet every extra minute here saves weeks of dealing with regrowth later.

Hand Sort For Remaining Roots

Once the big clumps are out, sit with each lifted slice and comb through by hand. Look for thin tan or white roots that smell strongly of mint when snapped. These are the runners you need to remove. Drop every piece into a bucket instead of leaving them on the ground.

Do not add these roots to a regular compost heap. Hot commercial composting may kill them, but most home piles do not reach steady high heat. Bag the waste and send it with rubbish, or dry the roots on a hard surface until they snap cleanly before you discard them.

Refill The Bed And Level The Surface

After sorting, return the cleaned soil to the border. Break up clods with your hands so you can spot any leftover roots. Rake the surface smooth but avoid deep cultivation. The goal is a level bed with fewer mint fragments, not a finely tilled seedbed.

At this point you can replant any saved perennials, keeping them slightly closer together than before. Dense planting with non-mint herbs and sturdy perennials helps shade the soil later, which slows new mint shoots that try to break through.

Getting Rid Of Mint Growing In Your Garden Long Term

Even after a careful first clear-out, mint often sends up new stems from pieces you missed. Long term control means wearing the plant down year after year until the root system runs out of stored energy.

Smother Stubborn Patches

Where runners still appear in open ground, smothering works well. Cover the soil with a layer of plain cardboard, then add 8–10 cm of wood chips or other coarse mulch. The cardboard blocks light to the stems underneath while the mulch keeps the bed tidy.

Leave this cover in place for at least one full growing season. Lift it only when the cardboard has broken down and you no longer see mint shoots. If stems push through gaps, add another layer of cardboard or overlap edges with extra mulch.

Use Regular Cutting To Drain Roots

In lawns or paths where digging is hard, steady cutting weakens mint slowly. Set a mower high and cut the patch each week, or trim plants at soil level with shears. Every time you remove the leaves, the plant loses its food source and the roots shrink a little more.

This method takes patience, yet it works well beside fences or in rough ground where you do not mind living with a thin green carpet while it fades over a couple of seasons.

Consider Careful Herbicide Use

Some gardeners choose a targeted herbicide for mint that grows through gravel, walls, or dense shrubs. A systemic product based on glyphosate moves from the leaves down into the roots, which helps where digging is not possible. Always follow the label, wear gloves, and shield nearby plants from spray drift.

Many extension services suggest painting the chemical onto leaves with a sponge or brush rather than spraying, especially near desirable plants or ponds. This direct method lowers the chance that wind or splash will hit other foliage.

Safer Ways To Grow Mint After You Clear The Bed

Once you regain control of the bed, you might still want fresh mint for drinks and cooking. The trick is to change how you grow it so the same problem does not return.

Move Mint To Containers

Growing mint in pots keeps those wandering roots inside a firm boundary. Use wide containers with drainage holes and a rich, moisture-holding mix. Groups such as the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management program suggest containers or buried pots as the best way to stop spread.

Set pots on hard surfaces, gravel, or inside larger decorative planters. If you stand them directly on soil, runners can slip through drainage holes, so place a paving slab or thick saucer under each pot during the growing season.

Sink Pots Or Root Barriers In Beds

If you like the look of mint in a border, contain it with barriers. One option is to plant into a large bottomless pot sunk into the ground, with the rim sitting several centimetres above the soil. Another option is to install stiff edging 30–40 cm deep around a small patch.

Whichever barrier you use, inspect the edges twice a year. Cut off runners that leap over or under the barrier so they do not start a new colony beyond your chosen area.

Choose Less Aggressive Relatives

Some herbs in the same family stay neater than common spearmint. For instance, certain varieties of Corsican mint form low mats that suit cracks between paving stones. Before planting, check advice from trusted groups such as the Royal Horticultural Society on how big each variety grows and whether they advise pots.

Seasonal Plan For Mint Control

Mint control works best when you break the work into chunks through the year. The chart below gives a simple schedule you can adapt to your climate.

Season	Main Actions	Goal
Late Winter	Plan work, mark patches, gather tools and mulch	Be ready before strong new growth starts
Spring	Dig out main clumps, lift soil, remove roots	Reduce root mass while soil stays soft
Early Summer	Watch for shoots, pull new stems each week	Stop fresh plants from building strong leaves
High Summer	Add cardboard and mulch, mow or cut problem edges	Smother growth and weaken hidden runners
Autumn	Check for gaps in mulch, clean up stray stems	Head into cold months with few green shoots left
Second Spring	Repeat digging in any hot spots, top up barriers	Finish off remaining pockets of mint
Ongoing	Grow mint in containers, inspect barriers twice yearly	Enjoy the herb without another full-bed invasion

Putting It All Together In Your Garden

Getting rid of an invasive herb takes more than one weekend, yet it is completely possible with steady effort. Start with careful digging, follow up with smothering or cutting, and move any plants you keep into firm containers.

By pairing advice from local extension services with the steps above, you can turn a patch filled with stray mint into a neat, productive border again. You will still have plenty of leaves for tea and cooking, just not running wild through every corner of the yard.