Garden & Home Team
Keep your garden happy and healthy with these homemade weed killers you can whip up using common kitchen ingredients
Weeds are unsightly, deprive other plants of food and light, harbour pests and are generally a nuisance, so it’s tempting to simply reach out for a commercial weed killer.
Fortunately there are more natural, eco-friendly ways to control them, like using these weed killers which you can make from ingredients you’ve probably already got on hand.
Homemade herbicide
Mix 4 cups of 5 percent household vinegar (or use 2 cups of stronger 10 percent vinegar) with 1 cup of salt. Add ½t liquid soap; this helps the herbicide to adhere to the leaves of weeds.
Paint, spray or drizzle it on weeds; take care to protect any nearby desirable plants as it’s non-selective and may kill these along with the weeds. It can be sprayed on weeds in paving, but it’s best to do a spot check first to see if it will damage or stain your pavers, bricks or stones.
Vinegar
The acid in vinegar damages the leaves of weeds. For the best results, use it neat on a hot sunny day; never use it when rain is forecast. Persistent weeds or those with leathery leaves will need repeat applications.
Vinegar is non-selective so spot treat specific weeds and protect any nearby plants. Also do a spot test before using it on paving or stone as it can stain.
Boiling water
This is simple to use but is only effective on young sappy weeds; it may also kill beneficial organisms in the soil.
Salt
Drizzle a little in the centre of the rosettes of leaves of weeds like dandelions, between pavers or where any run off won’t affect the soil.
Although salt is a natural ingredient it should be used with caution: if too much is used, or if it’s applied too frequently, it can poison the soil.
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