We have been having some serious weed issues at our house. With all of the little kids running around, it make me nervous to use the harsh weed killers sold in the big box home stores. I thought I would have a go at making my own weed killer this season. Do you know how to make homemade weed killer?
I have made a lot of things on my own before, but honestly, I did not know how to make homemade weed killer myself. I am now happy to report that I have tried it and it is not as difficult as I thought! There are loads of different concoctions available, so I thought I would compile a list of homemade weed killers here. Good luck! Let us know which of these you use (or try) and which works best for you.
1. Boiling Water
Believe it or not, boiling water works great on killing weeds (and most plant life). Pour directly on the offending growth and allow time to do the trick. Be careful not to pour on items you would like to keep. Also be extremely careful to not burn yourself while carrying the boiling water outside.
2. Popular Organic Weed Spray
Mix together 1 gallon vinegar, 2 cups salt (can use epsom or table salt) and 1/4 cup Dawn dish in a large pump sprayer. Be very careful to limit the exposure of this weed spray to your other plants. This concoction will kill any plant life it comes into contact with. I also do not recommend repeated exposure as adding too much salt to your soil will cause long term issues with your plants.
3. Equal Parts Vinegar and Castile Soap
Mix together equal parts castile soap and vinegar in a spray bottle. This is fairly weak as far as homemade weed killers go, but it does seem to be effective on new weeds (this does not work so well on weeds that are established).
4. Pure Vinegar
You can pour vinegar directly on any offending weeds, but be careful! This is best used in flower beds instead of grass as vinegar will kill any plant life it comes into contact with. If you have a planter or flower bed with a few weeds popping up here and there, this may be a viable option for you.
5. Peanut Shells
Crush natural peanut shells and sprinkle them around the base of flowers or plants in your beds. I have not tried this one before, but I am very curious if someone has. I would love to know how well this works.
6. Natural Weed Killer
Mix 1/2 gallon white vinegar with the juice of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap. Mix together and and spray directly on offending weeds. Be careful to avoid overspray. This works best if sprayed on a hot sunny day as the sun will do its part to kill the sprayed weeds.
7. Sugar
You read that right. Some people claim that using sugar (powdered or granulated) helps root out weed problems. This is especially effective on grass as it can help the grass flourish while draining the weed of the nutrients it needs to survive. Sprinkle a light amount of sugar on your lawn and lightly water in. Do not oversaturate or forget to water in. If you leave sugar on the blades of the grass this could attract unwanted pests. I have not tried this method before so I might suggest starting with a small area to see how this works for you.
There are a handful of homemade weed killer ideas for you. I do have to share a few tidbits of information with you.
If you have been looking for how to make homemade weed killer, you’ve probably come across suggestions for using only salt or only baking soda. I have been advised (by a knowledgeable person) that using salt or baking soda is not that great. Yes, both will kill the offending weeds (and surrounding vegetation) quite well. They can also seep into the soil and spread to surrounding areas – areas where you (or your neighbors) may be trying to grow plants or grass.
Too much salt and/or baking soda can be quite harmful to the soil, for a long period of time. If you decide to go one of those two routes for killing your weeds, please use an abundance of caution.
All that being said, I can’t wait to hear which homemade weed killer you like to use. Which have you had the most success with?
If it is not something from this list, please share it by leaving a comment. I’m sure other Coupon Closet readers would love to try it, too.
Make sure you read our other gardening posts:
margaret maida says
where have you been all my life ? I cannot wait to try these Thanks so much, Patti
carrie says
Thanks Patti!
Diane says
I have been making the weed-killer “brew” for years; however instead of the 2 cups of salt as suggested in the article, I use one cup of salt to one gallon of vinegar, I boil them together, then add about a shot-glass (approx. 3 tbs) of dish soap pouring the mixture into a heat-proof watering-can. Pour over the cracks in your walkway or directly on the weeds/grasses that you want to kill. I agree that a warm/hot sunny day is best. Works great at killing the weed/grasses, but the dead weeds will still have to be pulled out.
carrie says
Thanks for sharing Diane!
Martin Turner says
Used the peanut shell method on plants a few tears ago. Worst mistake, as I attracted every squirrel in the neighbourhood and they did a number on my plants as they were digging looking for the peanut. LOL….wife thought that it was funny!!!
carrie says
Thanks for sharing Martin!