This May Shock You, But These All-Natural, Homemade Weed Killers Really Work
Learn how to kill pesky weeds as safely as
possible with homemade weed killers made of natural ingredients you
probably already have on hand.
By
Brooke Showell Kasir
Yes, your lawn is manicured and beautiful and your
lawn care regimen
is polished to perfection, but did you know that such care can actually
make a lawn more susceptible to weeds? Dandelion, crab grass—basically
anything with a seed—loves to work its way into neatly clipped grass and
Pinterest-worthy gardens.
One natural weed killer to keep those
unsightly greens at bay? “Keep the lawn long, so it takes longer for
seeds to work their way down the ground,” says Leslie Reichert, founder
of Green Cleaning Coach. Or try the old-fashioned,
labor-intensive method: “Sometimes you can’t control exactly where the
weed killer disseminates when sprayed. If you’re afraid of brown spots
in your lawn, a weed puller and a bucket can be your best bet.”
For
something a little stronger than old-school weed pulling, but still
natural and toxin-free, try these do-it-yourself, homemade weed
killers to wage the war on weeds with ingredients most likely laying
around the house.
Try this homemade weed killer as part of your
spring lawn care: a gallon of vinegar, a cup of salt or
Borax,
and a tablespoon of dish soap. To apply, use a spray bottle where you
can toggle the nozzle between a spray or a stream. If it’s a small area,
shoot a stream; if it’s an all-over weed situation, go for the spray.
Don’t go crazy, though.
“Be careful with it,”
Reichert advises. “It doesn’t know the difference between a weed and a
flower.” Especially when using the more potent Borax (a naturally
occurring substance that doesn’t cause lingering harm to an ecosystem or
absorb through skin), the solution can also kill the soil so that
nothing else will grow around it. This method works best on a sunny day,
as the natural acid will burn the plant and the salt will shrivel it up
by sundown (the dish soap helps the solution stick to the weeds). For a
quick
curb appeal fix, this one is also lasting.
Even professional
landscapers are known to use this simple, natural weed killer. If your
garden is infested, use a weed whacker to address the culprits, then lay
down yesterday’s headlines. Newspaper blocks beginning weeds from
growing and new seeds from forming by shutting out sun and air. Top it
off with mulch and the weeds won’t show up, Reichert says. The newspaper
will break down eventually, too, so there’s no clean-up.
Talk about a DIY weed
killer: This one is inexpensive, simple, effective, and completely free
of chemicals. For areas like cracks in sidewalks and driveways, take a
pot of boiling water and pour it on the weeds; it will kill them right
away, Reichert says. Be sure to get close to the plant and pour slowly,
to avoid being splashed. If the weeds re-grow, repeat the process until
the area is free and clear.
Note that boiling water won’t kill the weeds at their roots, according to Chris McGeary, chief marketing officer at
Lawn Doctor,
a lawn care company. This option isn’t a permanent one, as the plants
can grow back, so use it only as needed. And, of course, take safety
precautions to avoid burns.
RELATED: Have the Best Yard on the Block This Year with These Trending Landscape Design Ideas
This pretty fruit not only
grows in the garden; it also helps keep it pristine, since lemon juice
serves as a natural acid to kill weeds. Fill a spray bottle with lemon
juice and saturate any perpetrators—the natural solution will dry up and
kill the leaves within one or two days. If you don’t have an abundance
of lemon trees in the backyard, a bottle of ReaLemon also does the
trick. For an extra-strong formula, mix the lemon juice with acidic
vinegar. The kind sold at garden stores or nurseries is stronger than
supermarket options, so there are ways to make this homemade weed killer
more potent.
