What Kills Weeds Naturally? 12 DIY Remedies for Your Lawn

Learning the most effective methods of how to kill weeds is part of regular lawn care. But… it isn’t easy!

However, if you’re conscious of harming your plants and the environment, you don’t need to buy chemical herbicides to get rid of lawn weeds. You can kill weeds naturally using simple methods and products.

Whether you want to clean your home garden or revive your commercial space, check out these 12 solutions consisting of DIY methods, household ingredients, and organic products.

An Overview of What Kills Weeds

Natural Weed Killer	What It Does
1. Pulling or Digging	Uproots the entire weed through pulling or digging
2. Landscape Fabric	Covers the soil to prevent weeds from growing
3. Tarps	Blocks the sunlight and nutrients to prevent weeds from sprouting
4. Mulch	Suppresses the growth of weeds and helps retain nutrients in the soil
5. Vinegar	Kills weeds due to the liquid’s acidity
6. Salt	Draws out moisture from the weeds, killing them
7. Baking Soda	Removes moisture to kill the weeds
8. Corn Gluten	Prevents weeds from sprouting
9. Boiling Water	Kills young, small weeds by destroying the leaves
10. Burning	Destroys the leaves and stems of the weeds
11. Organic Herbicide	Offers pre-emergent and post-emergent solutions
12. Homemade Weed Killer	Combines various household ingredients to remove weeds

12 Natural Ways to Kill Weeds at Home

From DIY solutions to homemade herbicides, explore the following natural remedies to remove weeds and provide eco-friendly lawn care.

1. Pull or Dig Out Weeds

Weed pulling is a manual way of removing weeds in your vegetable garden or lawn. Although time and energy-consuming, this method lets you take the entire plant, including the weed roots, without harming nearby plants.

When digging out or pulling weeds, you only need your hands. However, you may use tools like a garden hoe, shovel, or small garden rake for your convenience.

To pull weeds effectively, make sure to remove the stem and root. Otherwise, leaving the roots will cause it to regrow. Also, dampen the soil a day ahead to help you pull the weeds more easily.

2. Lay Down a Landscape Fabric

Landscape fabrics, or weed barrier fabrics, are typically black, manufactured fibers with tiny holes. These fabrics eliminate weeds and prevent weed seeds from growing by covering the soil.

When a weed seed sprouts, it’ll need sunlight and air to grow. The landscape fabric will limit its exposure to the sun, preventing the sprout from growing.

You can place the fabric on the soil around your plants or use this before starting your garden. If you lay them before planting, you’ll need to cut holes for your plants or vegetables.

It’s recommended to use this method for shrub plantings or a few plants on your lawn. Also, note that the fabric can be expensive, especially if you’re using quality material and lots of it.

If you don’t mind the cost and labor of laying down landscape fabrics, then it’s a good option to control weeds in your yard.

3. Cover with Tarps

If you don’t want to spend money on landscape fabrics, you may cover your soil or weeds with other thick materials, such as tarpaulin, black plastic sheeting, cardboard, newspaper, black garbage bags, and other materials that can block the sunlight.

Like the landscape fabrics, covering the soil with these materials will help prevent or eliminate weeds, as it stunts their growth.

However, it’s best to use this if you plan to clear out a flower bed or small patch of your lawn. Also, since you’ll be using plastic or cardboard, this method isn’t the most visually appealing.

Only use this if you don’t mind how your home garden will look for a few weeks.

4. Place Mulch Over the Weeds

Mulch consists of decayed bark, leaves, grass clippings, straw, or compost that help suppress the germination or sprouting of weed seeds.

Besides being a natural weed killer, mulch conserves water, prevents soil erosion, and helps moderate extreme temperatures. It’s also one way to kill weeds without sacrificing the aesthetics of your lawn or garden.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to using mulch:

1. Choose or combine your preferred organic (e.g., wood, straw, compost, cardboard, pine needles, grass clippings, etc.) or inorganic (e.g., stones, rubber, crusher dust, etc.) mulch.
2. Spread a three to four-inch layer across the soil or around your plant.
3. Keep it a few inches away from the stem of your plants or tree trunks.

5. Spray Vinegar

Your typical household vinegar makes a good homemade weed killer since it contains acetic acid, an organic active ingredient often used in natural herbicides.

You can use distilled white vinegar with a five percent acidity or up to 20% acidity for faster results.

You can also create a vinegar weed killer solution with dish soap and store it in a spray bottle.

When spraying the solution, be careful not to get vinegar on other plants, as it can kill grass and nearby plants. Use it during warm, sunny days, as the heat will help speed up the process.

6. Sprinkle Salt

Salt or sodium chloride can kill stubborn weeds, building sodium toxicity inside the plants and drawing out moisture from them. Salt on soil also prevents weeds from growing, blocking them from absorbing water.

If you want to use salt, use the cheapest regular table salt you can find, and avoid using other types of salt like rock salt, sea salt, and Epsom salt. Also, be careful not to get salt on your healthy plants.

You may add two cups of salt to a gallon of water to spray the solution on the weeds or soil.

7. Add Baking Soda

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, can kill weeds, moss, and fungus. Like salt, it draws out water from the weeds and kills them.

To use baking soda, wet your plant or soil first, and then sprinkle the baking soda onto the weeds or the surrounding soil.

8. Spread Corn Gluten Meal

Corn gluten meal has long been known as an organic pre-emergent weed killer. This means it dries out the weed seeds and prevents them from sprouting.

To apply it, spread it on the soil you want to use. Ideally, use around 20 pounds of corn gluten for every 1,000 square feet. Since it’s a pre-emergent weed killer, note that it won’t kill weeds that have already sprouted.

9. Pour Boiling Water

One of the easiest ways to kill weeds is by pouring boiling water. This method destroys the leaves’ cells and stops them from photosynthesizing, eventually killing the plant.

However, this method is best for young weeds since older ones may be more resistant to boiling water. This method is recommended for annuals rather than perennials.

When pouring the boiling water, be careful not to pour some on nearby vegetation. Also, pour it gently to avoid scalding yourself.

10. Burn the Weeds

One of the natural ways to kill weeds permanently is to burn them. This manual weeding method destroys the structure of the leaves and stems, stopping the plant from receiving nutrients.

Although this can be effective and convenient, this isn’t the safest way to kill existing weeds. It’s recommended to use a weed burner or flamethrower for better control, but you may use whatever fire source you have at hand.

To do this safely, keep nearby vegetation and litter away and always have water at hand to prevent the fire from spreading.

11. Apply an Organic Herbicide

If you want to use a more potent solution to removing weeds without harming the environment, try using organic herbicides – one of the best ways to treat large areas.

Unlike chemical herbicides, this organic weed killer contains lower toxicity levels and breaks down faster, reducing environmental and health risks.

Since it’s a pre-made product, you may buy a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent weed growth on your soil or a post-emergent herbicide to kill existing weeds.

Depending on the product, the solution may contain acetic acid, citric acid, d-limonene, lemongrass oil, or sodium chloride.

When shopping for products, check the ingredients or description, as some herbicides only kill specific types of weeds, like grasses, sedges, and broad-leaf weeds.

12. Create a Homemade Weed Killer

If you don’t want to buy an organic herbicide, you may create a homemade weed killer instead. Using a mixture of the ingredients mentioned above, you can create a solution to help you get rid of weeds in your lawn or garden.

Here’s a quick recipe to create a vinegar mixture weed killer:

1. Pour a gallon of white vinegar into a container.
2. Mix a cup of table salt. Ensure the salt dissolves by stirring it.
3. Add one tablespoon of dish soap to the mixture. The dish soap enables the vinegar and salt to cover the weeds well.
4. Mix well and transfer the solution into a spray bottle.

Note that this mixture is effective for young or small weeds but may be less effective with those with deep roots.

Remove Weeds Permanently Without Harming the Environment

For effective weed control, identify the type of weeds you’re dealing with and apply a suitable approach.

If you’re unsure how to remove weeds and take care of your lawn, garden, or outdoor space, many lawn care services offer organic treatments to remove weeds permanently without harming the soil, plants, and environment.

For example, SunCo uses the power of natural aeration with soil builders to prevent weeds and keep the soil optimal for root growth. This method uses organic ingredients that are safe for pets, children, and the ecosystem.

Let us know your concerns, and SunCo’s team will provide the appropriate solutions to tackle your lawn problems at home or in your commercial space.