5 Natural Weed Killers

It happens every summer. You plant a beautiful garden or flower bed and those pesky weeds start showing up and taking over. It can be infuriating! There are a lot of weed killers on the market but I like to use natural weed killers just because it is better for the environment. It is also better for my wallet! You probably already have a lot of these items around your house. Here are 5 natural weed killers that I like to use in my garden and lawn.

Newspaper

This is something that most of us already have laying around the house. I like using this method to kill weeds because it is very eco-friendly and you recycle your old newspapers. You simply wet the dirt or soil, put down the newspaper around the plants you want to grow, wet the newspapers, and cover with soil or mulch. This helps smother the weeds and prevents them from getting any direct sunlight.

Mulch

Mulch does the same thing that newspapers do, smother and prevent sunlight, but it helps your other plants by retaining moisture and it just makes your garden look a lot prettier.

Salt

This is another method that you can pull right out of the pantry. You can use table salt or that left over rock salt from last winter. Salt basically burns the weeds. You just put some right at the base of the plant and they will wither in a couple of days. Be very careful where you put salt because it does not discriminate which plants it burns. Don’t let it get close to your flowers or vegetables. This is best used for the weeds on walkways, driveways, and around the border of your yard.

Hot Water

Boil some water in a pot or tea kettle and take it right outside to your garden. Pour the hot water at the base of the weeds and it will burn it down to the roots. Don’t let the water get close to the plants you want to keep though, it will burn them too. Also, make sure you wear closed toe shoes so you don’t burn yourself too. From searching around online, this method seems to be the most effective and environmentally friendly.

Vinegar

You can spray vinegar at the base of the weeds to kill them. You can even use the leftover juice from your pickle jar. Be cautious when using this method. Just like salt, it does not discriminate which plants it kills. Use this for walkways and other places that don’t have a lot of other plants around. For the best results, spray on a hot, sunny day. The vinegar reacts to sunlight and you don’t want it to get washed away if it rains within a day or two of application.

I have used all of these natural weed killers in my own garden, except for the boiling water. I am going to have to try that one soon. I would love to hear of any other natural weed killers you might know of. Just leave them in the comments below, I love learning about new ways to keep my garden looking great.

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