Keeping up with weeding is a challenge for any gardener, but when weeds are left unchecked, they can quickly overrun your vegetable and flower gardens and affect the appearance of your lawn. To get the upper hand on weeds, many gardeners and commercial growers opt to use the herbicide glyphosate for weed suppression. However, this controversial product has been linked to health issues and the decline in pollinator populations. Considering the risks of glyphosate, it’s no wonder why more and more gardeners are opting to use homemade weed killer recipes instead.
While some DIY herbicides work great, others can cause more harm than good. This simple guide includes three of the best homemade weed killer recipes that are both effective and safe for the environment. By following these basic recipes and application steps, you’ll find these natural herbicides are easy to use and budget-friendly.
The Advantages of Homemade Weed Killers
Most homemade weed killer recipes contain common household ingredients, such as dish soap, distilled vinegar, and salt, which are readily available and easy on your wallet. However, many of the most common recipes are not effective, and if they’re used too often, they cause a buildup of salt in your garden and reduce the soil's fertility. The weed killer recipes in this guide won’t cause these problems, and they offer particular benefits to the home gardener.
- They’re safer for the environment. Commercial weed killers can spread into the surrounding environment and local waterways, affecting the health of wildlife like trout, bluegills , and amphibians. However, when properly applied, homemade weed killers don’t pose these same risks.
- They don’t harm pollinators. Glyphosate products have been linked to the decline in bee populations, but homemade weed killers are much safer for pollinators.
- They’re easy to use. Homemade weed killers are easy to make and simple to apply. Some recipes don’t require any special equipment at all, while others can be applied with a basic garden sprayer, found at any home improvement store.
- They’re budget-friendly. Since homemade weed killers are made from ingredients you already have in your home, many of these recipes are inexpensive (or even free).
Homemade Weed Killer Recipes
Unlike some other homemade herbicides, these three treatments use ingredients that are proven to kill weeds, and they’re easy to use.
Recipe 1: Horticultural Vinegar
Many homemade weed killer recipes employ standard household vinegar, which has a low acidity level (around 5%) and isn’t very effective for managing weeds. If you want to bust through tough culprits like dandelions, clover, and poison ivy, look for horticultural vinegar, which has a higher concentration of weed-killing acetic acid. Horticultural vinegar that boasts a 20% to 30% acidity level can tackle an assortment of weeds with ease.
You need to use proper safety gear when applying horticultural vinegar, as the spray can cause skin and eye damage.
What You Need
- Horticultural vinegar (20% to 30% acidity)
- Water
- Dish soap
- Garden sprayer or spray bottle
- Protective eyewear, gloves, and clothing
Some horticultural vinegars are listed as organic, while others aren’t. If you’re committed to organic gardening, be sure to shop around.
How to Apply
1. Prepare the weed killer.
Put on proper safety equipment, including gloves and eyewear, and then pour 4 parts horticultural vinegar and 1 part water into a gallon sprayer. Go slow to prevent splashes and spills. Add a tablespoon or two of dish soap into the mixture, which causes the vinegar to adhere better to the garden weeds you want to remove. Stir the mixture to combine.
2. Apply at the right time.
The best time to apply weed killer is during a stint of hot, dry weather when rain isn’t expected for several days. While horticultural vinegar starts working on weeds immediately, it won’t be as effective if rain washes the herbicide away. You should also avoid using horticultural vinegar sprays on windy days, as this increases the likelihood that the spray will drift onto other plants in your garden.
3. Saturate the weeds.
When you’re ready to apply the horticultural vinegar spray, place the sprayer nozzle near the plants you want to remove to prevent overspray and start spraying. Work slowly and move around the entire patch of garden weeds, carefully saturating the leaves with the spray. Keep in mind that horticultural vinegar is a generalized herbicide that will kill any plant it comes in contact with, so be careful not to spray non-target plants.
4. Repeat if necessary.
Horticultural vinegar is effective on young weeds and weeds with shallow root systems, and it works well on broad-leafed weeds. However, you may need to reapply the vinegar spray on larger or well-established weeds several times to weaken the weeds’ roots and prevent them from regrowing. If you notice green sections on the weeds after spraying them, reapply horticultural vinegar at 2-week intervals until the weeds stop regrowing.
Recipe 2: Corn Gluten Meal
Corn gluten meal is a byproduct of the corn milling process, and it’s sometimes used in livestock feed. However, corn gluten meal is also an organic, pre-emergent herbicide that can make quick work of troublesome crabgrass and other weeds in lawns and gardens. As a pre-emergent herbicide, corn gluten meal doesn’t work on established weeds, but it prevents new weed seeds from developing roots and spreading in your garden.
What You Need
- Corn gluten meal
- Lawn spreader (you can also use your hands for smaller areas)
- Water
How to Apply
1. Time the application correctly.
Timing is critical when using corn gluten meal, as it needs to be applied before weeds germinate. If you apply this product too late in the season, it won’t suppress weeds, and the nitrogen it contains can actually end up encouraging weed growth.
The best time to apply corn gluten meal is generally in late March to mid-April, before weed seeds start to sprout in your lawn. Wait for dry weather when rain is not expected for a few days.
If you want to use corn gluten meal in vegetable gardens, only apply this product after the seeds have germinated since corn gluten can also prevent vegetable seeds from sprouting.
2. Apply corn gluten meal.
To apply, scatter corn gluten meal by hand or use a broadcast spreader. You’ll need to use about 20 pounds of corn gluten meal for every 1000 square feet of gardening space.
3. Add water.
Next, lightly water the corn gluten into your garden or lawn. After your initial watering, aim to keep the product dry for at least two to three days so it can start working on your weeds.
4. Repeat if necessary.
Corn gluten meal won’t kill all the weeds at once, but it has a cumulative effect and can be successful with multiple applications. If your garden has lots of weeds, you may want to apply corn gluten meal every month or repeat the treatment once more at summer’s end.
Recipe 3: Boiling Water
The most budget-friendly herbicide around, boiling water, tackles weeds and requires no special equipment or chemicals. The heat from the water damages weed leaves and prevents them from regrowing. This treatment is most effective on young and tender-stemmed weeds, but with repeated applications, you can weaken the root systems of established weeds and keep them from returning.
What You Need
- Your stove
- A large pot or kettle
- Water
How to Apply
1. Heat the water.
First, heat water to a rolling boil on your stove. Using a large pot can help you tackle more weeds at once, but don’t use a pot that’s so large that it’s unwieldy to carry safely.
2. Drench the weeds.
When you are ready, pour the boiling water over the weeds you want to remove, but be careful not to soak any non-target plants. Boiling water can kill any plant it comes in contact with, so it’s particularly well-suited for use on walkways where other plants aren’t growing.
3. Repeat (if needed).
A single treatment kills small weeds. However, large weeds may need to be weakened over time by reapplying boiling water at 2-week intervals until the weeds stop regrowing.
Homemade vs. Commercial Weed Killers: Which is More Effective?
Because homemade weed killers are not systemic herbicides, they often must be reapplied several times to keep weeds from returning. While this can be more work for you, you can rest easy knowing that your choice of herbicides are eco-safe and won’t negatively affect the health of your soil.
For best results, combine homemade weed killers with an integrated weed management strategy. Using these homemade products in conjunction with hand-pulling, regular mulching, weed barrier fabrics, and cover crops can keep your garden weed-free and your lawn pristine.
