Stopping weeds from their roots may seem like a job for herbicides, but it’s not. You can get rid of all the unwanted vegetation using a homemade weed killer that doesn’t harm the soil or surrounding plants.
For this, you won’t need more than a few ingredients that you can find in any home, such as vinegar, newspaper, salt, alcohol, and the like. Even other types of vegetation like mulch and fruits like lemon can help you reduce weeds at home. Here, we’ll teach you how!
Below, we explain how you can use each type of Homemade Weed Killers to achieve the best results possible and the precautions you need to use. Check these methods and learn!
10 DIY Homemade Weed Killers:
1. Mulch
Dead material that remains after mowing or dethatching may seem like the worst weed killer. Doesn’t mulch also work as a fertilizer? Well, that’s right – but you won’t be using it that way.
To get the most out of mulch as a weed killer, you need to pour it over the plant you want to get rid of. Your focus is to prevent the plant from getting even the slightest amount of sun exposure or air, which will kill it over time.
Be aware that mulch only works on small weeds. You need to be careful where you use it, trying to keep it away from other plants and your grass as well. Once the weed has died out, you can use the weed as mulch to feed the plants you don’t want to kill.
2. Newspaper
No need to store or get rid of those old newspapers in the attic. Instead, use them to cover the weeds and kill them slowly but surely.
Just like mulch, newspaper works as an excellent tool to cover weed from the sun. The advantage is that the newspaper is not harmful to the vegetation surrounding the weeds, but it can still block air and sun rays.
This is an excellent way to kill massive amounts of weed at once. If they’re covering a large area of your garden, placing newspaper over it could work wonders.
Another advantage is that the newspaper works as a fertilizer. Once it decomposes, your grass and other plants can use it as food. That should make it a must-have alternative.
3. Landscape Fabric
It is no surprise that this material made it into our list. Landscape fabric is one of the most suitable products you can use to prevent weed from growing (or kill it if necessary).
Like newspapers and mulch, this fabric covers the weeds, keeping them away from sun rays and other external resources.
The advantage of landscape fabric over both mulch and newspaper is how durable it is. Instead of eventually wearing down and becoming fertilizer for the plants, this fabric can last months or even years without degrading – making it a long-lasting and reusable weed killer to consider.
4. Stones & Edges
You can always use rocks, stones, or simple edges to keep the weeds from spreading around. If you’re willing to go the extra mile, building a garden fence may get the job done to kill the weeds and prevent their spread within a few days or weeks.
The focus should be on making something that directly blocks the weeds from growing. It is a cheap, easy, and effective way to do so. But be aware that it depends heavily on where you place the edges, rocks, or stones – as you may end up blocking grass and other vegetation from growing as well.
5. Lemon& Vodka
Do you have a lemon tree in your garden? Don’t let a single one go to waste by mixing it with vodka (or any similarly strong liquor).
You may not believe this, but the citrus acid on lemon and some liquors can kill plants. The advantage is that both are pretty affordable. And the more acidic and stronger they are, the faster and more effectively they kill those weeds.
Once again, you need to be super-precise when pouring over the plants. If you spread over grass and other types of vegetation, then you may kill them as well.
6. Borax& Baking Soda
Sodium borate (Borax) and sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) are also excellent household items you can use to eliminate weeds in your garden.
The advantage of borax and baking soda is that they leave a long-lasting effect whenever you applied them. Due to the low biodegradability compared to other methods, they may prevent weed from growing after killing it.
That’s why both of these powders are heavily recommended to use on cracks, crevices, and places where other methods of killing weeds don’t work.
Both are incredibly toxic for plants, though. Be super-careful when applying them.
7. Vinegar
Now we start with the most conventional types of weed killers, coming up with vinegar first.
The same logic behind lemon and vodka, the high acidity of the vinegar is also effective at killing vegetation. In high concentrations, vinegar can even affect the skin, clean plastic, metals, and more.
There are various kinds of vinegar, though. It is heavily recommended to use the horticultural type for better results. It contains 20% acetic acid, which is more potent than standard vinegar.
Apart from all that, it is essential to note that vinegar is heavily acidic, causing severe soil pH problems. That’s why it is advised to only use a small amount on the area with weeds, and that’s it.
8. Rubbing Alcohol
Another traditional and effective way to eliminate weeds is to pour rubbing alcohol on the undesired plant.
But pouring rubbing alcohol directly on plants may eventually backfire, causing damage to the soil for a long. So it is highly advisable to mix it a couple of tablespoons with a quart of water and pour on a sprayer or spray bottle. Then you can spray it directly on the weed to kill it within a few days or weeks.
What alcohol does is remove all the moisture from the plant. It slowly dries it out and makes it impossible for the plant to keep growing. Be aware that the same effect could happen on the grass and other plants around, so don’t over-spray the mixture.
9. Salt
The cheapest household item you can use to remove weeds from your garden is salt. Thanks to salt’s acidity and alkalinity, it is super-effective at changing the soil pH and affecting plants directly.
But because it is so strong as a damaging element, you need to use salt safely. For that, try mixing a solution of three times more water than salt. This should help you make a powerful enough mixture that doesn’t harm nearby plants.
Even then, it is important to apply enough of the mixture directly to the weeds to achieve ideal results. After a few weeks, the weeds will start to die.
10. Boiling Water
Lastly, you can always use boiling water. Probably the easiest thing you can do if you don’t want to spend any money or time preparing the mixture – boiling water gets the job done.
You will need to fill a pot or heater with water and let it boil. Then pour directly on the weeds you want to kill. The scorching hot water should affect the skin of the plant directly, causing permanent and irreversible damage.
Scalding water is super-helpful, but it can also be dangerous to yourself and other plants. Once again, be as careful as you can be when using this method.
Use a Homemade Weed Killer Today!
As you can see from the different ways to create a homemade weed killer, it is not rocket science. Anyone can prepare them with household materials and ingredients within a couple of minutes.
The best of all? They work ultra-fast. You can start seeing results within a few hours with some of these methods. That’s why it is worth considering each one for excellent results.
Either way, pick the one that best meets your needs. There’s a homemade weed killer for everybody!