13 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds That Really Work
Weeds are pesky plants that don’t belong! A weed, simply put, is a plant that’s growing where you don’t want it to. Rather than spraying harmful herbicides in your yard, try one of these 13 efficient strategies from native plant gardener Jerad Bryant.
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Removing weeds doesn’t have to be a chore. There are simple, natural, and efficient ways to kill plants without harming your nearby garden specimens. Hand-pulling is the most reliable method, though it’s not a favorite for most gardeners. It takes time, effort, and labor!
Rather than hand-pulling, you can use snuffing, poisoning, or heating methods to destroy unruly weeds. All plants need sunlight, moisture, and air to survive; depriving them of these resources will snuff them out before they establish themselves.
Which method is best for you depends on your garden space and how many weeds you have. We’ll discuss each in detail so you can choose the right one for your space. Without further ado, here are 13 natural ways to get rid of weeds. These methods really work!
Mulch
Mulching is an easy way to snuff out weeds, especially because many growers use mulch annually for other purposes. Adding organic matter on top of bare soil protects, insulates, and feeds the surrounding area with nutrients. Thick layers prevent weeds from sprouting, as the plants struggle to poke through and die underneath.
Try applying a weed-reducing mulch like wood chips, hazelnut shells, or straw. Apply a layer three inches or thicker, and pull up any unruly seedlings that manage to poke through. Avoid using nutrient-dense mulches like compost or leaf mold to snuff out weedy species, as these materials create optimal conditions for plant growth.
Pulling
The reliable and trusty removal method is hand-pulling. I worked in a native plant garden where hand-weeding was the norm; with many people helping, we removed extensive portions of invasive species that threatened the garden. In the home garden, routine weed pulling is essential in maintaining the dirt around your flowers, vegetables, and fruiting species.
Many routine pullings throughout the growing season will reduce the number of seeds and seedlings in the soil. It’s a long-term battle that you can win with diligence and persistence! Once or twice a week, saunter through your yard and pull up volunteer seedlings while they’re young and weak-rooted.
Tools can help with hand-pulling, especially for gardeners with sensitive hands or wrists. Scrapers, cultivators, and trowels are all handy objects that help lift strong roots out of the ground. The CobraHead weeder works well on deep-rooted specimens like dandelions and pigweeds.
Cardboard
Cardboard, like mulch, snuffs out weedy plants and prevents them from accessing sunlight. This trick works on lawns, weeds, or old garden beds you want to rejuvenate. Simply lay cardboard over the site to cover the plants, then add soil or compost on top to weigh it down.
The plants underneath can’t breathe or photosynthesize, and they wither within a month or more after laying the cardboard down. You can plant flowers or crops in the compost on top; their roots will dig into the ground after the cardboard breaks down.
Solarization
Solarization uses the power of the sun to zap tender plants. As with mulch and cardboard, you’ll lay a clear tarp or greenhouse plastic over the site to cover all the dirt. Weigh down the tarp’s edges with bricks, rocks, or similar heavy objects.
At first, the warm and moist conditions allow for seeds to sprout. After sprouting, the seedlings struggle to grow under the tarp. The transparent plastic layer intensifies the sun’s rays, causing the ground to heat up past the temperature at which plants can survive.
Solarization may take three weeks or more to work. It’s done when the sprouts underneath are brown and dead. This method works best during warm summer days when direct sunlight is abundant.
Occultation
Occultation is similar to solarization, except it uses black or brown tarps that don’t let light through. It uses heat and light deprivation to work its magic. The process is the same: lay down the tarps, weigh them down, and wait for the weedy species underneath to wither and turn brown.
Occultation works better in colder regions without warm weather and direct sunlight. It takes four weeks or more to work, after which it destroys all vegetation below. Remove the tarp to see if any species remain. Lay it down again if they’re alive and remove it once they’re all withered.
Boiling Water
Boil water for your morning brew, then use the extra water to snuff out weeds on a garden walk! Boiling water heats the leaves and roots past the point they can tolerate, causing them to wither.
As with solarization, boiling water works best during the growing season when the weather is warm and sunlight is abundant. It may work during the fall and winter, though it could require repeat applications to kill the vegetation.
Fire
If you can’t pull a plant, burn it! Fire is a useful tool for killing unwanted species. Propane torches are easy to come by and cheap to source. They use propane canisters as fuel. The constant fuel supply creates a pointed flame that targets seedlings well without harming nearby species.
Though torches partially contain the flame, fire is still dangerous! It’s best not to use it as a weeding tool in areas with lots of dry vegetation. It works well in areas with concrete and asphalt or between pathways and pavers.
Soap
Soapy water seems like a natural alternative, but dish detergent is a synthetic substance made with manufactured materials. Though it’s not natural, dish soap is an easy object to source, and any house with a kitchen has it!
To kill plant species effectively, mix five tablespoons of dish soap with four cups of water and put the solution in a spray bottle. Spray the unwanted vegetation with the soapy mixture to cover the leaves and stems. The soap works better on hot and sunny days than on cloudy and cold ones.
Vinegar
Vinegar, like soap, strips undesirable species of their protective layers. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which causes plant cells to rupture and burst. It works on contact, causing any leaves or stems it touches to crinkle and dry.
Using white, apple cider, or pickling vinegar in a bottle, spray unwanted stems and leaves on a hot, sunny day. It’ll kill seedlings and annuals well, though perennial species like dandelions may resprout. Reapply the vinegar as often as necessary until no new sprouts occur. Avoid using this method in garden beds, sticking to areas where plants aren’t growing.
Alcohol
Alcohol is just as damaging as vinegar and soap. It harms plant tissues, causing water loss and cell death. Rubbing alcohol works the best because of its high alcohol concentration, though you can use drinking spirits in a pinch. Mix a shot of vodka with two cups of water and two drops of dish soap, then put the solution in a spray bottle.
After putting the rubbing alcohol or vodka solution in a spray bottle, apply the mixture to the unwanted plant leaves and stems. Reapply as often as necessary until the vegetation completely withers.
As with all these solutions, ensure you only apply them to undesirable weeds. Wind can cause droplets to spread to nearby veggies and flowers, where they’ll harm your garden specimens. Use weed-killing solutions on calm, sunny days, and spray them in the morning or afternoon to avoid harming pollinators.
Salt
Salt harms plant roots and causes the soil to grow toxic. It’s best not to use it in garden beds or near other veggies and wildflowers, as the salty soil will harm tender roots. Its best application is between cracks in asphalt, concrete, or pavers. The salt prevents future seedlings from surviving, allowing for weed-free hardscaping, driveways, and pathways.
To use salt, add a pinch of it near the base of each stem. Soil moisture will soak the salt into the ground and kill the roots, preventing future sprouts for a few months.
Corn Gluten Meal
This unique treatment uses natural corn proteins to inhibit seed germination. Corn gluten meal doesn’t kill weeds; it prevents them from sprouting. It’s considered a pre-emergent herbicide, as it prevents seedling roots from thriving, causing young specimens to die before they emerge.
You’ll find it in herbicides as powder or granules. Apply it in early spring or fall in areas where you don’t want weedy seedlings to sprout. You may use it on lawns, flower beds, or home orchards. Follow the product’s instructions for proper dosage and application rates.
Goats
You may scoff at having goats in your yard. However, they’re superb animals for removing undesirable vegetation! They’ll eat all the plants in the area. Blackberry, poison oak, and kudzu are no match for goats; they’ll eat the stems to the ground.
Many goat-weeding companies offer rentable herds. You can rent them by the hour or day. Goats don’t discriminate between weeds and desirable plants; they’re ideal for large spaces where you want to remove all vegetation.
