The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers

Hey – great list (and site)! I’ve tried vinegar before – and it took ALOT to get anything to happen – but eventually the plants did die. Newspaper is great. Oh – sorry about the frost, I agree – there should be someone easily available to complain about that sort of thing!

[Reply]

Oops, just saw the link in your sidebar for how to make a soda bottle spray shield.

[Reply]

Here’s a weed killer. Hot sauce. I like to stick with name brands so Tabasco is my hot sauce of choice. I use a little spray bottle with water, hot sauce and a little soap detergent to hold it on the leaves. The soap makes it a little sticky so it doesn’t run off.

[Reply]

My routine is to make tea or french press coffee and then carry the teapot out to our stone walkway and boil any weeds brave enough to come up between the stones! I do this regularly enough that they don’t have a chance to take over. Glad you shared these with your readers.

[Reply]

im a grade 11 biology student, and we have to design our own experiment, and i have chosen to go with home made weed killers… this site has given me some good ideas, and i’ll be sure to mention it in the bibliography! thanks

[Reply]

I went out with some table salt and drenched an area of weeds with it. I did the rock salt, but it only killed where the ‘rock’ itself was. Does anyone know how long the salt takes to work? If it works, I have a lot of weeds to kill and I will be getting salt by the case. This is a great site by the way!!!

[Reply]

So glad I found this site. I spent last weekend pulling weeds and now and covered in some kind of rash. Love the part of murdering the weeds. Exactly what I was looking for. Hope they really scream!!!!

[Reply]

This is great….I’m going to start attacking today. I already have the products at home!

[Reply]

[...] Nothing like a Google search: The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers [...]

[...] But first you might want to visit This Garden is Illegal to check out Hanna’s list of seven deadly homemade weed killers. You may be able to kill weeds and save money at the same [...]

This Garden Is Illegal: The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers | Deliggit.com…

\r\nThe always readily-available, cheap methods to kill those stupid plants t…

“it will eventually be washed out.”

No it goes into the ground and enters your reserve of groundwater. But who gives a rat’s ass about groundwater when you can have pretty oh so pretty flowers in your little burgeois garden…

[Reply]

Pave Stiletto Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 5:56 pm

Comment removed for failing to follow rule #2.

[Reply]

boiling salted water, the way to go. The water kills the weeds, the salt keeps them from returning for a lont time. The only thing to remember is that the salt tends to stick to your soles, and this is not very friendly to your marble floors, if you have any.

[Reply]

[...] The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers (tags: gardening garden diy howto tips **) [...]

People should be very careful about “corn gluten” vs. “cornmeal” because each serves a different purpose in the garden!

CORN GLUTEN MEAL is a byproduct of corn processing. Its proteins are able to inhibit seed germination, therefore it can be used as a pre-emergent weed killer. It works by stopping root formation. It also breaks down over time to become an organic nitrogen source.

CORNMEAL is flour ground from dried corn. It’s not a weed killer but can be used as a fungicide. Grocery stores’ “food grade” cornmeal works fine but it’s expensive and usually comes in small quantities. “Horticultural” cornmeal is generally used for animal feed. It’s a good choice to use as fungicide because it’s cheap and available in bulk. Cornmeal is also a source of nutrients for the soil.

[Reply]

Found this article through LH. I wanted to add it to my RSS feeds, but you don’t print the whole article through them. Too bad, b/c I don’t have time to click through on the blogs…I wish you’d send the full articles through RSS.

[Reply]

Kristen R. – Thanks for the clarification.

Everybody else – thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation.

[Reply]

I understand that corn attracts rats. I was told not to throw out corn cobs in a composting place near my house. Maybe you should find out if corn meal also attracts rats.

[Reply]

Marlene- I had the same problem down in Florida but was able to get the grass under control after some work. What I did was take my shovel and slice into the ground all around the area in whcih I wantd to kill off the grass. Doing this killed off the arms of the grass that was growing into the space I wanted cleared. I next put black plastic on the area I want to clear out and held is in place with stakes, bricks and even had a layer of sand on the perimeter of the plastic. After a few weeks I rolled the plastic back and everything- EVERYTHING- was dead under neath it. It was just a matter of raking it up and throwing it out.
As long as you keep an eye on the border of the cleared area and chop off any amrs trying to grow into it, you will be fine. A neighbor suggestd spraying Round Up lightly on the space you want to clear prior to putting down the plastic. It seems like overkill to me, not to mention a bit “chemically” but he swears by it. I have not tried it but I am suplyig it as an FYI. Just make sure you wait a few weeks before you plant anything in there though if you do use Round Up. Good luck!

[Reply]

hey…nobody mentins about the bleach does it work ,i would like to know thanks …..jay

[Reply]

THANK YOU! I have a very shabby looking driveway that is about to be boiled.

[Reply]

Can you please explain to me what exactly is “green” or “environmentally friendly” about putting bleach, salt, acetic acid, and alcohol into the ground? Not only do these things make CO2 during their manufacture and transport, most of them will wash down into the groundwater.

What’s wrong with good old-fashioned hand picking of weeds with a removal tool, followed by a good layer of mulch to suppress new growth?

[Reply]

superC Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 8:59 pm

Seriously? co2? Yes I understand the bleach… But everything else you mentioned shows a complete lack of any understanding at all.

Alcohol will evaporate very rapidly mostly within seconds, if you somehow happen to dump the whole bottle on the ground it will be broken down with in the soil in a matter of hours.

Salt, aka Sodium Chloride will be slowly dissolved by water and is beneficial for ground water in small amounts even for lakes and streams.

acetic acid is a naturally occurring chemical in the decomposition of certain plant sugars after the fermentation process, also would be easily broken down within the soil after a few days short of dumping an entire 55gallon barrel.

My compost pile creates more co2 than both of my vehicles, so please become more educated about these topics.

[Reply]

Marlene Reply:
May 28th, 2010 at 6:52 am

“Salt, aka Sodium Chloride will be slowly dissolved by water and is beneficial for ground water in small amounts even for lakes and streams.”

In small amounts, yes. In large amounts no. When the ground is poisoned with salt large amounts are used and it takes years to naturally filter out. Most lakes and streams are not able to handle large amounts of salt and the life in and around the lakes and streams will also die. We’re talking pounds of salt not salt shakers from the table.

Used in small amount it is safe and that’s what has been said here. Moderation. Whether you need to call it sodium chloride or are just happy calling it salt, used in small amounts it’s fine, just don’t be heavy handed.

[Reply]

[...] I ran into a website that lists natural weed killers. I’ve not tried any of them because I’ve been too busy [...]

Great tips on how to kill weeds. I have a whole bunch to get rid of before summer!

[Reply]

hi, this is a great site with brilliant info. but what i want is the most potent of all home made weed killers so i was wondering if combining all of the ingredients was a good idea. i wondered would the salt/bleach neutralise the vinegar or vice versa if not completely then partially making it less effective and also if i am combining is there a perfect mix as far as quantity of each ingredient goes? im very keen to know as i jet washed out all the weeds in my block paving drive and it took around 8 hours and after a meer 2 weeks the beasts have returned with friends!

[Reply]

[...] The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers I can certainly think of the 7+ weedy sins of the garden but knowing how to cleanse my garden of these weeds is even better. Especially if it can be done cheaply and with household items. Murdering weeds is a fun past time. [...]

I have a few tree stumps left from hurricane wilma that have not stopped growing. May I pour a bag of salt on them to kill them for good?. Just this morning I bought some weed killer. I will try you ideas first though.

[Reply]

The best thing I’ve found so far is to leave your kid’s pool up for a year. That’ll kill back the Bermuda grass for about another year and by that time you could have other deterrents in place. Plan it right and you’ve got your start on a key-hole garden.

Carlos – Be very careful with salt. It can poison the earth. Never broadcast salt. For the stumps try bleach first. You need to be careful with that too. Try to keep the bleach only on the open wounds of the trees.
Marly

[Reply]

After I cook pasta or potatoes, I take the pan outside to throw off the water. We have a pebble path with weeds. I add salt afterwards. This way I use no extra energy and don’t steam up my house. I live in a wet climate and struggle to keep the house dry. It’s not all done at once but it keeps it clear!

[Reply]

Another thing to remember is the definition of a weed. Any plant that is where you don’t want it to be. We have loads of plants that others consider weeds, we have 3 acres so we have the space. Many of these plants are important to butterflies for food. Example, milkweed is essential for monarch butterflies. Milkweed is considered a weed by very many people and it’s removal has endangered the monarchs. Having 3 acres we can devote a large spot for these sorts of plants but even with limited space you can enjoy a few milkweeds or Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot). Just another point of view. Marly

[Reply]

[...] While catching up on the long list of blog posts that have been building up for days I came across this article that might be of interst to a few people. Of course you can always just pull them out but I like [...]

I wanted to thank everyone for the ideas and website! I went out and spent around $8.00 on 3 gallons of vinegar and 4 bottles of salt and 1 bottle of dish soap and took the directions of 1 cup of salt , 1 gallon vinegar 1 tablespoon soap and my weeds all shriveled up within 2 hours after just a light spraying. Never have we had this kind of success even with roundup or other name brands. I am a huge believer in organic weed killer and would love to see all the poisons stay out of our ground and stay natural.

[Reply]

Thanks Hanna for some great suggestions. I do have concern in regards to your suggestion of using salt to kill weeds and that “It will kill the plant but will dilute down to harmless in the next few rainfalls.” Here in New Hampshire we are combating salt in our ground waters and surface waters and have impaired waterbodies for chloride primarily due to salting of roadways and parking lots in winter. In addtion, salt in our groundwaters from cooking and water softeners does contribute a small amount. Salt does not go away into the ground. It goes through the soil and into our groundwaters or in the case of treating a driveway, may run accross impervious areas into stormdrains to streams and other waterbodies. There is no practicle treatment for salt in our waters (or soils) and we are seeing enough salt in some of our New Hamshire fresh waters to make it the salinity of seawater. Lastly, one grain of salt ingested by a song bird can be toxic enought to kill that bird. Although decreasing the use of herbacides is a positive for our environment, please research the impacts of salt in our environment and re-consider suggesting homeowners contribute to this environmental problem.

[Reply]

I am so sick of reading about the supposed harms of using salt on weeds. Look, most of the weed killing applications here are done on such a small scale that it may only increase the salt concentration of a typical underground aquafer or groundwater by a few parts per billion, essentially with no dire impact. Furthermore, water treatment plants will filter and reduce the level of most harmful ionic species from the water before distribution, so unless you’re drinking untreated well water (which may also contain water-borne parasites), chances are your water supply is relatively safe.

And for New Hampshire’s water issue, that’s the result of winter after winter of salting the roads…which is a practice we never need here in southern CA and other warmer climate regions of the nations. So I do believe I can put a few tablespoons of salt on my lawn and not risk salinating the county’s watertable to seawater salinity levels. Besides, if NH’s water gets to a point where the salt levels in the water supply is absolutely adverse to health, I’m sure the state will provide for a few desalination plants to make sure the citizens of the US will have water to drink.

In closing, I will be salting my earth.

[Reply]

Inagreement Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 8:47 am

I agree! I have my fair share of concerns, but let’s pick our battles. The idea is that all of these ingredients combined are NOT near as potent and toxic as the marketed weed killers! Ppl keep complaining abt this concern or that, yet I’m certain they all drive cars and use electricity or throw away trash! I’d much rather boil a bit of water or sprinkle a drop of salt than to have Round Up in my ground!

[Reply]

To the poster above:

Your logic of the snowballing effect with salting is flawed. Under the binomial distribution model, there’s a 50% chance of salting and 50% of not salting for any given individual looking for a herbicidal solution should the decision be made. However, if we factor in confounding factors such as the need to salt–conditions where salting would be beneficial, having the knowledge of salting, and other unforeseen variables, we can safely assume that less than 50% of people will salt their soil, which puts the practice of salting at a lower probability of occuring. Thus the impact of salting would not be as you claim: one person does it, another person does it some more, then it gets as bad as Russia’s scorched earth. Which by the way, Napoleon’s army was defeated by a combination of the harsh Russian winter and Russian troop’s retreating/scorched earth policy–not purely by salting farmlands.

As for the US government’s response to the tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, yes it was imperfect because we have casualty counts. But I ask you, what government in this world would be able to provide the response that people who are critical of our government expect in a situation like that? Would the Indian government have done any better in the tsunami of 2004? How about the Chinese government in the Sichuan earthquakes of this year? For disaster of those magnitudes, we would be foolish to expect the perfect rescue from any government. These are experiences that humble ourselves in the knowledge that even a developed country like the US cannot respond perfectly to a natural disaster of that scale. Could the response have been better? Of course, but to what degree short of perfection will it satisfy critics?

If you are able to take warm showers, drive on paved roads and the highway system, enjoy near-uninterrupted electricity, benefit from health care provided in an emergency, and drink from the tap and not risk death from systemic sepsis of parasitic infections, then I say the faith in our government is well founded. I invite you to visit a developing country and see if you’re able to find these spoils that our government has either directly or indirectly provided for. Most Americans have no idea how fortunate they are to have infrastructure that provides for the most basic and granted necessities. An infrastructure nurtured by a government such as ours. I respect your opinion of our government, but I also want you to realize why some of us still have faith and trust in our government.

[Reply]

Meshel Reply:
March 25th, 2010 at 6:33 pm

5 Star Answer! Thank you for speaking the truth!

[Reply]

Inagreement Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 8:58 am

Well said!!!!! AMEN! The poor lady was just posting a few helpful tips on how to eliminate a weed and ppl get all emo abt it! I was just reading the comments to see if there were any posts on these solutions actually working and found a mini eco/earth war going on. If those folks feel so passionate why don’t they work on inventing other solutions to the salt trucks that come down my emergency snow route several times a winter? I appreciated the article and while I don’t particularly like to use chemicals (for fear they’ll enter my veggies~~ which are completely organic) I do have a truly nasty poison ivy issue that I may resort to using the bleach on. Unless u’ve had poison ivy in the creases of your neck and eye lids you have no idea what lengths I’ll go thru to rid my yard of it!

[Reply]

Dave Reply:
July 10th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

I agree with at least the principle of what you were saying at the start… I fully intend to go and pour some salt on my weeds right now. But as for trying to sound clever – binomial distribution wouldn’t really be a good statistical method to assess this. There are not 2 factors “salt” vs “herbicide”… i suppose you could argue for salt vs non-salt, but that isn’t really very helpful. For example, on this site alone there are 7 possible weed solutions – if chosen evenly, that would give a probability of about 14% of people going for salt. Far too many confounding factors in addition.

[Reply]

Oh yeah, the pine shavings also add a water retention barrier to the soil which means watering less.

[Reply]

Giday all, this is an awsome site. I am a keen veggie gardener and am always looking for good ideas for my garden, and ways of recycling things into the garden,looks like I have found a good site here one that looks after our planet too.

We have some real hard strong grasses in Aus. and the way we kill them ( naturally)and plant a garden at the same time is by using putting old house carpets down first, this stops weeds in their tracks, ( saves on dumping into land-fill), then we just lair the garden from there on.About 8 lairs.
First up some wood chips, ( no wood chips lots and lots of cardboard soaked with water, but wood chips would be better or a mixture of both) followed by blood and bone, water well,
Next pile on all the weeds you may have pulled/torn up, grass cuttings and lime( lime helps to break down and aids composing, about 250 gm to one sq. metre of garden, and you will only have to do the lime thing to your garden once a year).
Next old leaves, straw, old horse stable straw,( make friends with a horse owner) twigs( not big branches they can be used for a another start-up garden later) and leaves cut from old/felled tree branches, more blood and bone.
Next some sheep,or cow,or horse, or chook manure, or a bit of them all. Lay it on thick, some more lime on top of that.
Next up more straw or mulch or grass cuttings. More blood & bone.
Next more manure lay it thick and more lime.
Next more grass/straw, of leaves (dried) weeds or what ever is lying around in the yard,( organic that is) more blood & bone.
Next and for the final lair, all the compost you can find and soak with water right through. Leave this tall ( about 60cm high) for a week or so to break down and you will have the best rich planting soil ever. Lay on some straw or mulch thickly when you start to plant your seedlings, just make a hole in the straw where you want the plant to go, add a little soil and water and plant. The carpet will take some time to eventually break down, but you will have no weeds in your veggie patch, and when it is time to grow a new seasons crop, all you have to do is top it up with mulch, manure, grass cuttings etc.You may not have noticed, but, No digging is ever needed in this garden, just a light rake to spread things around as you lay them. Old tree branches, washing machine parts, bikes, wheels, baby prams, everything ( not rubber or batteries or chemicals though) can be used to Raise the garden bed from the start to keep from bending and there by preserving the back/knees.

[Reply]

It is very hard to eradicate weeds from Bahai grass, it being a tough drought resistant grass, which needs very little if Any watering and fertilization. The only way I have found to get rid of the weeds is by digging them up by hand. Back breaking, knee cracking for sure, but you could get through it by, On with the ear phones with great music blasting like Hard Rock, Country, Heavy Metal which keeps you moving at a good pace, plenty of water at hand to drink (no excuse to leave the weedy area)some suncream on the exposed skin area, a hat (not a baseball cap), a box to collect and hold the weeds (keeps them from blowing away and perhaps resow themselves) a good spade, and strong boots to help you push the spade right down to the roots and away you go.
Good excerise too. Before you know it, you will have dug up those weeds.

Cut of the roots of the weed and discard into a bucket for a boiling later on to kill them, but keep the rest of the plant and use for your mulch/compose, heap or to start one going.

Or you could try the salt & vinagar treatment, but be warned salt, vinagar, weed killer, and pouring of boiling water onto your weeds will damage/kill the surrounding grass/plants too, as it gets splashed with the liquid or absorbed from the run-off.

Salt & Vinagar treatment; 1 cup salt, I use cheap own brand cooking salt, 4 litres white own brand cheap vinagar, mix in a Plastic container until salt is dissolved then spray or use a an old cup and pour on the weeds, taking care if possible not to wet the surrounding grass. I have found it easier to fill an old drinking bottle (the kind you buy milk drinks or drinking water, the ones with a spout) the water flow is more direct to where you want to place it, and you are reusing/recycling the bottles. I also wear rubber gloves when using S&V treatment as both can dry out the skin.

I have been using both methods on my garden for over 40 years and both have worked for me. Itcould be the music I listen to.

[Reply]

[...] that I could swipe my wife’s household materials to kill the weeds!  You should see this list of home grown weed killers that Hanna posted at her “This Garden is Illegal” blog.  Not only has she [...]

Does anyone know enough info about eradicating Houttuynia cordata? This plant is VERY invasive. Please advise…

[Reply]

Grea infomation. I did my own concoction. 1 part Bleach 1 cup Salt 1 part vinegar, 1 part Shower Power mould remover, Detergent, my poor weeds are screaming, can u hear them? i can haha

Scott, Newcastle AUS

[Reply]

Message for Joe:

When you sprayed the salt/vinegar mixture was the liquid still hot?

Your mixture sounds great, I want to get a headstart on the weeds this season.

Thanks, Roberto

[Reply]

I had some roofing shingles left over from a recent re-roof of my house. I had an area that I wanted to kill grass and weeds, also an area along a wood fence that I did not want to have to use the weed eater everytime I moved.

So I laid down one shingle next to each other until I had the area covered. Also I cut the shingles in half -length wise and laid along the fence for a permanant kill area where I could just run my lawnmower wheel on it and ‘mow’ my fence line, and no follow-up weedeater, ever again, needed.

The ‘area’ that I wanted to kill out and replant, I just came back later, two or three weeks, to insure roots were dead, and removed the shingles and planted again. …saved the shingles for later use.

[Reply]

Yep the water was boiling. It since split the pump in my sprayer, so now I just fill the 2 gallon jug for the sprayer and pour in on the area. I bought a better sprayer and still use that, but for a large area pouring is faster. There are no signs of new growth for almost 2 months now.

[Reply]

shirah bell Reply:
June 15th, 2010 at 1:09 pm

how much boiling water do i use on a weed? i poured about 1/2 on a weed and it didn’t do anything to it. How much will work? thanks
shirah bell´s last blog ..Gardener Down! Gardening While Disabled

[Reply]

Hanna Reply:
June 15th, 2010 at 3:11 pm

It only takes a small amount, really just contact will do it. The weed will turn bright green at first (like when you cook spinach or greens) and then will turn brown in a day.

[Reply]

Thanks for the tips – I’m going to carpet-bomb some areas with bleach this weekend.

Also – PLEASE DON’T MIX BLEACH AND VINEGAR unless you also want to kill yourself with the resultant chlorine gas that’s produced by the combination…

[Reply]

[...] I read an article on the 7 Deadly homemade weed killers.  These sounded like a great organic way to control some of the weeds around my fences and [...]

thank you, i was going to buy industrial strength weed killer but now will try boiling water on my driveway.

I know not exactly eco friendly but might add a bit of salt too.

[Reply]

[...] 11th, 2009 · No Comments Saturday I started an experiment to see which of the Seven Deadly Homemade weedkillers would be the most effective at killing weeds along my fence line.  I started with Bleach and you [...]

Thanks for the information….I thought of bleach and salt but I never considered simple boiling water! I love your site and have added you to my favs.

[Reply]

[...] came across This Garden is Illegal’s list of the 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers and came up with a homemade concoction to kill those nasty [...]

I’m just wondering if using a small steam machine would work as well as boiling water. This way all you would have to do is plug in the machine with an outdoor extension cord instead of carrying hot pots of water back and forth. Has anyone used this method?

[Reply]

Do not use Round up or Zero in your gardens. It has a chemical in it called GLYPHOSATE which was originally designed to kill humans. They engineered it in germany spraying it on 300 prisoners a week later the grass area where they had been sprayed died. Later they used this in the vietnam war as an ingredient of Agent Orange. It is linked to Non Hodgkins Lymphoma( cancer of the Lymph Glands). Glyphosate is not to be sprayed in a water shed area. Are you sure the fruits that you buy at the supermarket or markets have not had round up used near by??
The world will have to start growing their own veges in their back yards- to avoid any toxic residues.

Use alternative natural remedies whereever possible in your lifestle. Add oil to Vinegar Salt weed killer, instead of soap. The oil helps the vinegar bind to the plant if you also mix molassas the blackness will attract heat to the plant burning it.

[Reply]

YES!
Too much salt poisons the land making it unfit to grow anything.

Check your history. Russia were victorious over the invading French by burning the crops and salting their fields. Thereby starving the French army the deeper into Russia they went.

Marlene

[Reply]

I have a brick and sand (and weed)patio…. We’ve had a lot of rain and just finished weeding it again… Fingers sore and knuckles scraped. I keep avoiding pesticides… Very interested in some of the methods mentioned, especially the salt method…I don’t have any inground plants nearby. Thinking of sprikling first with cornmeal, then brooming rock salt between the bricks… Thought the white would look nice to start, and after it rains the weeds would be taken care of… Would appreciate your thoughts… Many thanks.

[Reply]

Great site, great tips!

To those screaming about the effects of salt on groundwater, you contribute to the problem just by walking, driving or riding the bus to commute. The materials used to pave the roads and sidewalks are harmful to the groundwater as well, but I am willing to bet you use them.

Further, I bet if you dig deep enough, you will can find a reason internet use harms groundwater or the environment, if so, would you stop using it?

[Reply]

hey gang, dun mean to sound crude, but store ur piss in a bottle n fill it, place in direct sunlight for 2-3 days then add nail varnish n shake, the strength is incredible, it will kill grass, plants, anything, within days my brambles n thick thistles dried up n have stayed away for nine months! be careful tho, as animals n insects may fall really ill, dont ask how i came about this but i use it all the time, hope it helps, p.s dont boil the water, natural sunlight is fine, good luck

[Reply]

[...] http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2006/05/7-deadly-homemade-weed-killers.html [...]

I found it quite amusing that you mentioned salting someone else’s property is illegal and called vandalism. I had the vision of Bre Vandecamp from Desperate Housewives salting someone’s yard. Hehe.

Also– I was not aware that boiling water did such a great job at killing plants. Thanks for the idea.
-Sylvia

[Reply]

When is the best time and the worst time to put these killers down? Before a rain, after a rain, sunny day, hot day, etc… Killing weeds at work, landlord only does county required ground maintenance and weeks in the 5yr old mulch does not count.

[Reply]

Comments: Sounds great to kill weeds with what we can find in our home and very effectively. I will definitely try boiling water and salt.
Question:
Is it safe to kill weeds by these home made remedies on a grown up lwan? As it might effect the roots of Bermuda grass.

[Reply]

After reading all these comments and scouring the internet for the best solution, I’m here to tell you NOTHING beat the hot water method for making it easy 2 attack the dandelions. I am disabled so I needed a solution that wouldn’t cause more pain and fatigue than necessary (I have Fibromyalgia and already deal with enough of that). I got scared because I was using the vinegar, salt and dishwashing liquid fearing it keep the stuff I WANTED to grow from growing. I didn’t like what was left as I now had a lawn full of burn spots. However, I found that the hot water loosened the soil enough that the whole dandeliion flower, root and all just surrendered. I did pour the vinegar solution (minus the salt) in the holes and now I’m just gonna give my lawn a good round of cornmeal gluten. As far as the dandelions go though, DEATH BY HOT WATER has proven to be the BEST method.

[Reply]

tired of spending 100′s of $ buying stuff from store. going to try this on my driveway next few days and hopefully works. will keep you posted. best site i ever came across. with the money i save lets party. thanks a bunch.

[Reply]

Thankyou for this…

I used to use sodium chlorate but the E.U. banned it across the entire European union so due to a couple of hundred idiots who *might* use it to make bombs, 500 million people apparently can no longer be trusted. Pencil nibbling paper pushing bureaucrats. I do hope they have car accidents.

Luc – UK.

[Reply]

i have a motocross track on about a half acre of land and the weeds will never die no matter what i seem to use. ive tried your total vegetation killers like round up and others and there pricey!!! and dont seem to work very long! will using these cheaper household methods work???? and should they be mixed strong?? thanks for any advice willing to try anything!!!!

[Reply]

I have a huge problem with cane poles or bamboo poles. i want to get rid of them. I heard you can use rock salt does anyone know what would work? Please let me know, thanks Misty

[Reply]

Boiling water! So so simple, yet deliciously effective on my patio weeds, thanks for the tip! I haven’t tried it on the lawns yet, but I like the idea of digging a channel around the dandelions (it’s always dandelions, isn’t it?!) and protecting the grass a little bit.

Happy gardening, people.

[Reply]

[...] Here’s an article I found really helpful about weed killer for FREE (almost)! [...]

I have been reluctant to use boiling water as I do not wish to kill any earth worms in the process of killing weeds (yes, I know I am a wimp ) … does any one know if the vinegar/salt combinations will kill worms? I let my globe thistles go to seed 2 years in a row to let the birds feast on them, and now my back yard is covered in them; my poor dog can hardly go out there for all the prickly plants irritating his paws. I am now going to have to get tough with them, but wish to impact the insects/wild rabbits in my hard as much as possible (I am assuming the rabbits would smell the salt/vinegar and not touch the plants, but I could be wrong about that)

[Reply]

Thanks for the great solutions to weed killing. I really like that these are things you have around the house on a regular basis. We have a branch (water) running through our property and the weeds overwhelm us every year, especially since we have gotten alittle older. But I’m going to try this anyway. I have grandson’s who would love to play in the branch and I would love for them to be able to. So any suggestions for large scale weeds email me.

[Reply]

I have a 1 + acre of gravel I would like to kill weeds for good. boiling water not available what has some one else used
and worked I have tried commercial ground sterilizers and only works about 6 weeks then everything starts to grow back very quickly I use the gravel area for storing RVs and boats I need something to keep it clean and safe (snakes) looking for my customers any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Reply]

Salt serves a s a sterilant for a time, vinegar, alcohol, and bleach are contact type chemicals that will kill only the parts of the plant they come in contact with. If boiling water is hot enough, it can kill the entire plant, root and all. I like to use a sheet of plastic on the area where I garden for a while before anything is planted, allowing the ground to be solarized, which will cause almost all the weed seed in the ground to germinate and die beforehand.

[Reply]

[...] person’s property. It’s called vandalism.) Check out the other homemade weed killers: http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2…d-killers.html "Truly in the heart there is a void that can not be removed except with the company of [...]