Learn how to make and use homemade weed killers for a more natural, safer way to keep your garden and lawn weed-free.
Weed control is the gardener’s never-ending fight. Left alone, weeds will overwhelm vegetable gardens, flower beds, and destroy the appearance of your lawn. Some gardeners turn to glyphosate to control weeds—but that weed killer has been linked to illness and may be toxic to pollinators. More gardeners are turning to do-it-yourself methods in response.
While there are some ineffective and even poisonous home-made herbicides, the three recipes below are both safe and effective. These simple, cheap treatments are easy to combine and apply, and so they are suitable for ecologically conscious gardeners.
The Benefits of Homemade Weed Killers
These recipes rely on common household products—dish soap, vinegar, and salt—which are cheap and readily available. Inadequately prepared home solutions may fail or introduce soil salt buildup and reduced fertility. The recipes below avoid these failures and offer some advantages:
Environmentally friendly: Unlike synthetic herbicides that enter into water systems and kill aquatic life, these home solutions have minimal risk if applied correctly.
Pollinator safe: They won’t hurt bees or helpful insects like glyphosate could.
Simple to use: No apparatus needed—some can be sprayed using a kitchen spray bottle, others using an easy garden sprayer.
Affordable: Most ingredients are already in the house or inexpensive to purchase.
Three Effective Homemade Weed Killer Recipes
Recipe 1: Horticultural Vinegar
Household vinegar (5% acidity) is too weak to destroy hard weeds like poison ivy or dandelions. Apply horticultural vinegar containing 20–30% acetic acid instead. This stronger solution is effective but should be applied with care—it irritates skin and eyes.
What You Need:
20–30% horticultural vinegar
Water
Dish soap
Spray bottle or garden sprayer
Gloves, goggles, and protective gear
How to Apply
1. Put on protective gear. In a sprayer, mix 4 parts of vinegar with 1 part of water. Add 1–2 tbsp of dish soap to ensure the solution adheres.
2. Use in hot, dry conditions with no rain predicted for a week or more. Steer clear of windy conditions.
3. Spray leaves intensely, holding the nozzle as close to targeted weeds as possible. Do not spray around desirable plants—vinegar kills everything it touches.
4. Apply again in two weeks if green spots reappear—this is common with larger or return weeds.
Recipe 2: Corn Gluten Meal
Corn gluten meal is an all-natural, organic pre-emergent weed control used to prevent crabgrass and weeds from sprouting. It won’t kill established weeds but keeps seeds from germinating.
What You Need:
Corn gluten meal
Hand or lawn spreader
Water
How to Apply
1. Apply in late March to early April, before weed germination. Do not use in new vegetable seed gardens.
2. Use 20 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft.
3. Water, and then allow the weeds to dry out for a few days.
4. Cumulative effect; repeat may be needed. Use monthly, if needed, or in midsummer.
Recipe 3: Boiling Water
Easiest herbicide of all—boiling water kills leaves of weeds and will kill roots if used repeatedly. Ideal for driveway and walkway cracks.
What You’ll Need:
Stove
Large pot or kettle
Water
Instructions:
1. Boil water on the stove with a functional pot.
2. Pour over the weeds directly avoiding wanted plants growing around them.
3. Use every 2 weeks to control larger weeds until regrowth stops.
Homemade vs. Commercial Weed Killers: What Works Best?
Homemade weed killers are not systemic, therefore must be reapplied. However, they’re environmentally safe, will not damage soil, and complement sustainable gardening. To be most effective, pair homemade herbicides with integrated techniques—such as hand weeding, mulch, landscape fabric, and cover crops—to control weeds and your garden.
