With kids and pets, a natural way to kill weeds is your best bet. This method is also more economical than commercial weed killers. You may already have these items around the house. It probably only costs $1.00 a bottle to make.
This homemade product is best used on weeds that come up between bricks / pavers on patios. If used on a lawn or garden it will kill grass and flowers / vegetable plants. It cannot discriminate between weeds and other plants.
I use a cocktail of (5%) white vinegar, plain table salt and liquid dish soap to quickly kill weeds on my brick patio. Acetic acid in the 5% vinegar and the salt are both very good at drawing moisture from weeds. This causes death to the plants.
Stick to 5% white vinegar. Do NOT use the stronger vinegars available. You can find 5% white vinegar in the food section of the grocery store. Dish soap acts as a surfactant. The soap helps the vinegar / salt solution to stick to the leaves.
Applied on a warm, sunny day, the results of this homemade weed killer spray will be obvious in a few hours. Total death in a few days.
Weeds on my patio! Looks so bad!
Take a plain empty plastic spray bottle. Add 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup plain table salt. Then pour in 5% white vinegar. Store brand is fine. Then add a squirt of your favorite dishwashing liquid.
This solution is pet safe, after it dries. The 5% white vinegar and salt can burn paws, so it is best to wait unit the solution is dry to welcome them in the area. It will also hurt the eyes if the spray gets into them.
Store brand 5% white vinegar.
Check the label for 5% acetic acid. Do NOT use stronger. Stronger vinegar may damage your skin, and the surface you are spraying.
Store brand salt is fine. You may use Iodized salt or plain salt. After adding a squirt of dishwashing liquid (your favorite) – shake the bottle to mix thoroughly. It should have a slight color, from the dishwashing liquid.
Spray the solution on the weeds. If you have any open sores on your hands, the solution may burn – so wear gloves.
For best results, saturate the weed.
Totally saturate the weed. You may notice that this solution may clean green and dirty areas of the patio.
The weeds are already dying after 1 1/2 hour!
I did this application on a warm spring sunny day. After 1 1/2 hours, the weeds are already dying.
Weed dying after 1/1/2 hours. Weeds will continue to die over a few days. For tougher weeds, a second application may be necessary.
When weeds die and turn brown, they can be easily swept up. If you leave them they will disintegrate and blow away!