DIY Non Toxic Weed Killer (Vinegar and Epsom Salt Weed Killer)

DIY Non Toxic Weed Killer~3 Ingredient At Home Weed Killer

(An all natural way to kill your pesky weeds)

It’s that time of year again!

The sun is shining, the air is nice and warm (and humid) and the weeds are in full bloom.

I now understand the phrase “you are growing like a weed” because my weeds grow and multiply overnight. I think they make babies every night too.

Our house has flower beds all around it and a couple flower beds in the yard itself. We also have a stone walkway and a paver back patio.

To say we can spend our whole spring and summer weeding would be an understatement.

The kids officially hate the spring because they know it’s weeding season.

It wasn’t until I lost a fight with poison ivy when I decided it was time to pull out the big guns with the chemicals.

After a few rounds of the expensive chemical weed killer (that wasn’t doing much anyways) I knew it was also time to make a homemade weed killer.

I cannot believe how easy this recipe is and how well it works. It works better than the expensive chemical junk I was buying at the store.

I do have a huge disclaimer though that can be a deal breaker for some. I noticed this concoction works the best on hot sunny days and when the sun is shining on the weeds and there is no rain in the forecast.

If your weeds are in a shady area, this formula does not work as well.

I am not saying it doesn’t work at all but it might take a few applications of your DIY weed killer to really kill those suckers.

But on a hot sunny day with the sun shining you can go from this

To this

I spray the vinegar weed killer first thing in the morning and usually by the end of the day the little weeds look nice and sad.

After a day or two the weeds are nice and crunchy.

Natural Weed Killer Recipe (3 ingredients only)

(This will likely be the only recipe you will find on my blog. I do not cook or bake unless I want to start a fire)

(This post contains affiliate links. You can see my disclosure policy here)

~White Distilled Vinegar
~Epsom Salt
~Dish Soap

That’s it.

Personally, I don’t measure. I just dump it all in a weed sprayer pump and start spraying but if you’re one of those that actually follow recipes here is what you will need.

~1 gallon white vinegar

~2 cups Epsom Salts

~1/4 cup dish soap

A few notes of caution
1.) I do spray this natural herbicide right on my pavers. It does not stain my pavers but do a spot check first. It does leave a white residue on my pavers that will get washed off once it rains. But always do a spot check. You can see the residue from the picture above where I sprayed.

2.) Protect the plants and flowers nearby that you do not want to kill. I have accidentally over sprayed once and got our lawn (oops…sorry big guy). This formula will kill weeds and grass and other plants if you spray them. I have never sprayed a dandelion that is in our grass to see what it does. I try to keep this weed killer away from our grass.

3.) I have read a few articles claiming this homemade herbicide is nonsense. The articles claim it doesn’t actually kill the weeds and the only way to actually kill the weeds is with chemicals.

I have used both versions and if the chemical weed killers would actually work then I would consider using it more. It does not work for me. Maybe I am buying the wrong kind, who knows.

I was willing to take a chance with my homemade concoction and it works for what I need it to work for. Don’t come at me if this doesn’t work for you.

Distilled White Vinegar

Obviously any brand will do. Do not use balsamic or red vinegar as this might stain your pavers and will not be as effective. You aren’t making a fancy salad over here.

Ironically, growing up my grandma used to make dandelion salad and every time I spray a dandelion with my vinegar weed killer I think of the salads I used to eat.

And if you were wondering, I wasn’t a fan of those salads when I was little. Yuck

I am sure the only thing you really care about is what the vinegar does to the weeds and not what I ate when I was little. The acetic acid in the vinegar will start to kill the leaves of the plant. This happens fairly quickly.

Epsom Salt

We also have Epsom salt on hand all of the time. It’s one of those things we never run out of.

Here is where things can get controversial though.

(And if you are wondering…yes, you can use regular table salt as well.)

Salt is needed and used to dry up the weeds and to prevent it from taking in nutrients to help it grow. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. Table salt is Sodium Chloride. Both of which will do the same thing but using Epsom salts can be beneficial to your soil (so they say).

That’s where things get controversial. People do sprinkle Epsom salt on their plants to help them grow so why would you sprinkle them on your weeds?

I don’t know this answer, I just do it.

Dish Soap

Any soap here will do. Alot of articles will recommenced Dawn dish soap. I never have Dawn on hand so I just use what I have and it seems to work.

The dish soap is used to help your vinegar based weed killer stick to the weeds.

How To Make Your Weed Killer

I do use a weed sprayer but a spray bottle can work as well.

I add the salt first, then the soap and then the vinegar.

I give it a good shake before I start spraying and continue to shake it as I go.

Boiling Water Weed Killer

I haven’t yet tried this technique but I plan on it very shortly and will report back. It seems too easy though.

Similar to the vinegar salt weed killer be careful when using boiling water when killing weeds. Only pour the boiling water on what you want killed.

The heat of the boiling water will kill the plants cell structure and prevent it from growing. Boiling water will also make it easier to remove the weeds from the ground.

I’ll report back once I try this technique.

For now though I’ll keep making my at home weed killer and spraying those suckers as I see them

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