I purchased Spectracide Grass & Weed Killer (available at the big box stores) and poured an ounce or two into a plastic cup. I then took a Q-tip swab and dunked 1 end into the Spectracide and carefully dabbed the weed killer onto the leaves of the violets. I used the Spectracide sparingly, only brushing a little on each leaf. The Q-tip allows you to target the Spectracide on the violet while sparing the grass. I used plastic gloves while doing this.

After 1 day, the violets began to have a wrinkled appearance.
After 2 days, the violets turned white. At this point it was very easy to see any violets that I missed.
After 3 days, the violets began to shrivel up.
After 6 days, no more violets!

I’m optimistic that the weed killer is getting to the roots and the violets will not come back next year. Time will tell.

Overall, this didn’t take that much time – maybe 40 minutes to cover 5,000 sq ft. Also since I used the Spectracide sparingly, I only needed a few ounces of the weed killer.

I hope this helps…and good luck with your violets. You can win the fight.