Weeds Need Killin!

Weeds… A gardener’s nemesis. It’s about time for them to meet their fate. In this post we will cover every angle and secret and teach you how to kill weeds. We’ll go over the following tactics: how to kill weeds naturally, there are plenty of ways to fight these pesky things that don’t require worrying about your pet or child getting into harms way. Another tactic we will cover is how to kill weeds with vinegar, this method can work wonders for killing weeds quick. Then best of all, how to kill weeds in lawn, this can be a real pain as many weed killing products won’t just eliminate those pesky weeds, but also take your lawn down with them. So hang on, we’re about to go for a wild ride of Weed Killing 101.

How to Kill Weeds Naturally: Funny Non-toxic Tricks

After this short post you will know how to kill weeds naturally in a very non-toxic kind of way. There are a ton of professional grade chemical products that work well (and we’ll discuss those in a minute), but you might as well give some of the natural solutions a shot first because they are generally believed to be better on your lawn, in your garden, and for the environment.

(1) Understanding how to kill weeds naturally starts with your hands. I know people that find it therapeutic to go outside and dig up weeds with their bare hands and with small garden tools. This, quite frankly, is not for me. But if you would like to give this caveman approach a shot, make sure you don’t just yank the weed out of the ground. An important principle in learning how to kill weeds is to focus on the roots. The roots are where the evil lies; you must dig up and destroy the root or the weed will come back. Try using a small knife or simple gardening tool.

A Great Weed Killing Tool

Also, there is a no-bend weeding tool that allows you to dig up the root of the weeds without having to bend over. Older people with bad backs and younger people who are lazy (like me) enjoy these types of products.

(2) In my journey to learn how to kill weeds naturally, I learned that weeds, like all other plants, need sunlight and fresh air to survive. What some people do is place either a newspaper or a plastic bag over each weed and then put a small rock on top to keep the material down. This basically suffocates the weeds and they die. It does take some patience, though, typically taking around a week or two to completely kill the weed.

(3) It would be a travesty to discuss how to kill weeds without talking about boiling and soapy water, both of which can be used as natural weed killers. They aren’t incredibly powerful, but they work, especially on younger weeds. Just boil the water and dump it; or get normal temperature water, put some soap in, and then dump on the weeds.

(4) Mow your lawn at appropriate lengths and do this frequently. This is an often overlooked strategy that has proven very effective for people trying to figure out how to kill weeds naturally and how to kill weeds in lawn. If your grass gets too long, weeds flourish; and if you cut it too short, the weeds are better at out-competing the grass grains for soil resources. This website has a nice chart which will help you discover what type of grass you have and its ideal height.

(5) The last strategy for the “How to Kill Weeds Naturally: Non-toxic Tricks” category is cornmeal. This doesn’t really kill weeds as much as prevent them. You can scatter it around your lawn and somehow it prevents weeds from growing as often.

How to Kill Weeds with Vinegar and Other Quasi-natural Resources

A lot of people have the question and want to figure out “how to kill weeds with vinegar,” and while this is a natural solution, it can also affect other plants in your yard so you have to be careful. The active ingredient that is doing the killing from vinegar is called acetic acid. Household vinegars have a 5% acidic ration. This is good enough to strip plants of their waxy cuticle, and then they die within about 24 hours due to dehydration. The more mature the weed, the harder it is to kill it with straight vinegar; but younger ones are easy prey.

There is a product called Weedpharm that is really effective. It has 20% acidic rate and so it’s like household vinegar on steroids. You just spray it on the weeds and you’re done. If you are brand new to gardening and learning how to kill weeds for the first time, then you might want to try putting a plastic cup at the end of your spray bottle (with the bottom cut out). That way you won’t spray chemicals off to the side and sprinkle acidic acid on your good plants.

How to Kill Weeds in Lawn

The best method for how to kill weeds in lawn is to use the advice above and mow it at the right height and frequency. Use the cornmeal to help prevent weeds and then vinegar or Weedpharm on more mature weeds. You have to be really careful to isolate the acidic acid on the weed itself or you might kill some grass. The best way to do this is to spray in the the morning and evening because wind levels are lower. Then of course there are the manual tools to dig just the weed itself out, also a product discussed below for killing weeds in flower beds, (the Ortho Weed-B-Gon) works great when trying to figure out how to kill weeds without killing grass.

How to Kill Weeds in Flower Beds: Pulling Out the Big Guns

Nothing is worse than having a beautifully cared for and crafted flowerbed only to have some weeds pop up and try to ruin everything. When this happens, I like to pull out the professional products and get to work. Ortho’s Weed B Gone and Roundup are the best in my opinion. They are easy to use, simple, and get the job done. Also, they both have a pre-emergent ingredient that destroys the next batch of weeds that try to grow. You definitely need to be careful not to spray any of your flowers, but you don’t have to worry about these products getting in the soil. Also as mentioned above, some of these brands have great products that will kill weeds, but not lawn, so they work great when figuring out how to kill weeds without killing grass.

How to Kill Weeds: Bonus Tips

If all you want to do is learn how to kill weeds and you don’t care about other plants, then some of these home remedy solutions might be perfect for you. I would suggest using these only in areas like sidewalks and driveways.

(1) Baking Soda. This stuff really works and will dominate the weeds. Just dump it in the cracks on the concrete and watch the weeds shrivel up and die.

(2) Vodka. Vodka and other alcoholic products have long been known to kill plants, and they don’t hold back on weeds. If you are a drunken sailor type and want to figure out how to kill weeds in places grass or other plants are close by, then just dump some of your extra alcohol on them. It will surely do the trick.

(3) Try this successful weed-killing cocktail: 4 cups of vinegar, 1 cup of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap. Mix together and apply. People swear by this method. But again, it’s not for planting areas, but rather for concrete/brick spots.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, folks. That is pretty much a comprehensive list answering the question of how to kill weeds. You have natural remedies, homemade chemical ones, and store bought products that can all be effective. Try out some and let me know how it goes. And by the way, in your quest to learn how to kill weeds, if you discover anything else, please let me know in the comments so I can update my list. Also be sure to check our other “how to kill” guides out. Did you spot some pesky ants around your lawn or sidewalk while figuring out how to kill weeds? Then check out this guide that will show you how to kill ants. Good luck in your weed killing quest, and thanks for checking out this guide.