Homemade Natural Weed Killer

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It is so easy to make your own 3 ingredient homemade natural weed killing spray with vinegar and Dawn dish detergent! In just minutes you can make a vinegar weed killer that gets rid of pesky weeds without dangerous chemicals!

before and after collage of weeds sprayed with weed killer

Despite our best efforts to mulch beds in the garden, sometimes you’ll find yourself with weeds that need to be killed. Weeds lessen your curb appeal and can crowd your annuals and perennials in your flower beds.

While pulling weeds by hand is usually the best route, using a homemade weed killer can be the next best option!

This spray is also great for controlling crabgrass, dandelions, and other weeds that pop up in the cracks of your sidewalk, patio, walkways, or driveway.

a lot of weeds in black mulch
Despite laying landscape fabric and mulch, the weeds can still grow!

Why make your own weed killer?

Not only do many store-bought weed killers not work well, they also contain harmful chemicals that affect the environment as well as the health of both humans and animals.

According to this article, chemical herbicides can be harmful to water supplies, native animals and amphibians, as well as harm local bee, butterfly, and bird populations.

Ingredients

  • Vinegar – Ordinary white household vinegar contains acetic acid which draws moisture from weeds
  • Dawn Dish Detergent – acts as a surfactant, which reduces the surface tension of the mixture and lets it absorb into the plant rather than bead up on the surface
  • Salt – I do not recommend adding salt to the mixture unless you intend to never plant there again. Salt can build up in the soil and make it impossible to plant in the area permanently. If you use salt, do so with extreme caution.

You can also make Borax weed killer by substituting the salt in my recipe for Borax. This makes a strong homemade weed killer so use wisely!

Does this really work?

Yes!

It’s simple but it will kill the weeds, and quickly. Some stubborn weeds may need a few applications but it’s worth the trade-off to avoid those nasty chemicals.

hand spraying green spray bottle at weeds in black mulch

Check out the difference in this flower bed only one day after spraying the weed killer!

dead weeds in black mulch

I also use this natural weed killer with salt or borax on weeds that pop up in the pavement cracks as well not only to kill the weeds but to prevent them from coming back. If you catch them early you hardly have to pull them at all.

Tips for best weed control results

  • Store in a cool, dark place and shake well before each use.
  • There is no need to restrict children or pets from the areas the weed killer is sprayed, it will not harm them.
  • Be sure not to spray any plants you want to keep, it is not a selective weed killer so spray carefully!
  • This weed killer works best applied to dry plants on a sunny, hot day. The warmer it is, the faster and more efficiently it will work.
  • Stubborn, well-established weeds may require multiple treatments to fully die.

If you try this homemade weed killer, please leave a star rating below!

Yield: 1

Homemade Natural Weed Killer

hand spraying green spray bottle at weeds in black mulch

It is so easy to make your own homemade natural weed killer. With just two household ingredients you can make a vinegar weed killer that gets rid of pesky weeds without dangerous chemicals!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Difficulty Easy

Materials

  • dish detergent
  • white vinegar
  • salt (optional)

Tools

  • spray bottle

Instructions

  1. Mix 2 cups of vinegar with 2 tablespoons of dish detergent and shake to mix.
  2. Spray mixture on weeds, ideally at the hottest/sunniest part of the day.

Notes

  • For a more permanent solution in an area you do not wish to plant in the future mix 1 gallon of vinegar with 1 cup of salt.
  • Mix until salt dissolves.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of dish soap and mix again.
  • Spray onto the plants at the hottest/sunniest part of the day.

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58 Comments

  1. Hello! Thank you for this recipe. I have tried similar mixtures on my driveway and it works pretty well. Will this recipe work on invasive honeysuckle and other hard to remove plants?

    1. It should work on just about anything, just make sure you only use it on the plants you are trying to get rid of. It may not keep it from coming back if there are still seeds around but it could help kill it before it takes over.

  2. I used salt to remove weeds unknowingly, and now that unfilled part of my garden land looks so bad when any guest comes over. Can you tell any remedy or garden hack for this?
    Thank you in advance.

    1. I haven’t tried this method myself but friends who live up north where lawns get damaged from salt put down for snow tell me that you can add compost to the soil and also try pelletized gypsum that would convert the calcium to sulphur. If you do either or both of those, I’d recommend sending the soil for testing before putting down plants to make sure it worked and see if any other amendments needed to be done. Hope that helps!

    2. Have seen this recipe using Epsom salt to which it doesn’t damage the soil and actually benefits the soil. This is the first time I’ve seen someone add table salt..

  3. Unfortunately, I used salt to remove weeds unknowingly, and now that unfilled part of my garden land looks so bad when any guest comes over. Can you tell any remedy or garden hack for this?
    Thank you in advance.

    1. I have tried every thing on internet spent lot of money they still come back.It,s between paving slabs in side garden.I have to get on my knees and scrape them.

        1. Hi Melissa,I didn’t put salt in it.Will try tomorrow with salt in let you know how it goes.Regards.

  4. Hi there, My name is Francine from Southern California. I am looking forward to trying you Natural Weed Killer. Thanks so much, Francine Smith

  5. I’m going to try this in my driveway but for my garden I use Preen. If you pull weeds first year and lay down Preen, the weeds will not return for that growing season or the next. Only things that will grow are flowers and vegetables that are planted.

  6. If you don;t have epsom salt you can use regular table salt, That the way is usually do this to kill weeds. All the ways listed here will kill everything it touches, so be careful.

    P.S. — to the autor can you please use a darker font color for your form. The text is so light that I cannot see the writing with the background color being almost the same color as the font.

    Thanks.

    1. Epsom salts is a bulb booster for flowers, Irises love it, pickle juice is great for Gardenias, as said above 1 cup of salt for a more permanent solution, though be vewwy, vewwy careful. Adding salt will tend to have a lasting effect.

  7. Hi Melissa & Kathy! If you use the recipe with Epsom salt, the ingredient I add to Melissa’s recipe; I typically don’t leave left over solution in the container (rocks in yard, so unfortunately lots to spray) and I also rinse the end of the sprayer with warm water. I imagine you could leave solution with salt in the container, I just don’t know if the salt would harden and clog the nozzle? It may not, but I err on the side of caution…maybe just rinse the end of the nozzle or leave out the Epsom salt entirely 🙂

  8. Good to see you again! I use a similar recipe and it works! 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups epsom salt, 2 Tbl dawn dish soap.,, recipe I got from my handyman. I mix ingredients in a weed spraying container when making a gallon. 🙂

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