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There are organic herbicide options that will kill grass but not flowers, including white vinegar or a dish soap solution. Commercial selective herbicides can also target grass over other plants, but read the instructions carefully to avoid damaging your garden. Herbicides that kill grass but not flowers usually include ingredients like clethodim and sethoxydim. Otherwise, your best bet will be to weed by hand.

All herbicides come with risks, but you can control and mitigate risks by discussing your options with your weed service company before application. Some companies use milder or sustainable herbicides more times per season to control weeds rather than one to two herbicide sprayings annually. You can also ask your professional about pet-friendly and kid-friendly services. In most cases, though, you can wait a few days after the application for the herbicides to soak into the ground, at that point they shouldn’t pose a risk to you or your family.

A spot herbicide for weed control is effective at killing crabgrass and not grass, but it depends on the type of herbicide. Always check the label to ensure that your herbicide is safe for grass but tough on crabgrass. Overall, spot treatment is ideal because it puts fewer herbicides into the soil, which can damage the soil. If you’re wanting a natural remedy to crabgrass that also won’t harm surrounding grass, you can also hand-remove crabgrass or even pour boiling water or 5% vinegar over crabgrass as a spot treatment.

Purchase a selective herbicide that targets clover and similar weeds but doesn't take out your grass. You can also keep it from growing with corn meal gluten or remove clover from your lawn manually at the start of the season as part of your lawn maintenance checklist.