How to Make Homemade Weed Killer

Kill Them Weeds! Trying It Again...

9/30/2020

text by Vicki Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! 

It's been a year since we first used the 30% vinegar/salt/dishwashing soap solution, but the weeds were back. Are they new weeds or ones that were not killed the first time around? We don't really know, but we do know, that in a couple of areas the weed growth has been effectively stunted since the first application.

That first post has been extremely popular and has generated so many comments and questions. In this video/post, we answer some of those questions.

Here's part 2 of using this method.

Material/Tools for Halloween Tree:

30% Vinegar - 300 Grain Vinegar Concentrate - 1 Gallon of Natural Concentrated Industrial Vinegar (Amazon)
30% Pure Vinegar, Extra Strength by Harris (Gallon) (Amazon)
RYOBI ONE+ 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Chemical Sprayer (Amazon)

The natural weed killer is 30% vinegar, table salt, and Dawn dishwashing liquid.

The most frequently asked questions is "what is the mixture recipe." It's one gallon of 30% vinegar, one cup of table salt, and a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid. And yes, you can substitute your favorite dishwashing liquid. I've always had good results with Dawn so that's the one I always recommend for a multitude of situations.

We identified the yard weeds with an app called

To identify the weeds in Steph's backyard we used an app called "Picture This." To use it, you just take a picture of the weed and the app will identify it. There are tons of this variety of weed in Steph's yard and mine as well! Point your phone's camera at the QR code to be taken to the app where you can download it if you're interested.

We put the vinegar/salt/Dawn mixture into a Ryobi battery powered sprayer. It makes it easy to get the spray on the weeds you want to kill and away from the plants you want to keep.

This vinegar/salt/Dawn mixture is perfect for this rocky backyard and between the cracks in the sidewalk.

By the way, there are small fish in that pond that were not affected by any overspray getting into the water.

This area was particularly challenging to spray as the weeds were thick and in close contact with the plants we wanted to keep. I did a pretty good job not killing the good plants although one of the ferns did get sprayed. By the way, there are small fish in that pond that were not affected by any overspray getting into the water. That's a good thing because they are mosquito fish and help to keep the bug population somewhat under control.

We were happy to get rid of those two tall weeds near the fence as the "Picture This" app identified them as poisonous to dogs. Mac likes to sun herself back there so it was important these weeds go away!

Forty-eight hours later, these two poisonous weed were brown and withered and ready to be pulled out of the ground!

Forty-eight hours later, these two poisonous weeds were brown and withered and ready to be pulled out of the ground! Mac can now safely be back here in her favorite "lay in the sun" spot!

Check the Home Depot to see if yours has the 30% vinegar in stock.

The second most asked question is "where do you get the 30% vinegar?" We get it online on Amazon although we recently found it at our local Home Depot in the household chemical aisle. Check there first because we did find it to be less expensive than online.

Since spraying the mixture, we did have a very small amount of new weed growth. We can easy spot treat these, but for the most part, things are looking pretty weed free!

The most evidence for the effectiveness of this method is at the end of the driveway where no new weeds grew back since applying the first time around and in the rocky flowerbed that borders Steph's sidewalk. There was virtually no new growth there as well.

Steph's backyard is particularly suited for this weeds control method as she does not want weeds in the rocks. This method is not good for weeds in grass or near plants you want to keep.

One thing that we didn't mention in the video was we used this on a small patch of poison ivy. Unlike the other weeds, it took longer for this to die back and wither, but it did eventually. We did not pull these out but left them alone to fully wither away.

Please remember that this mixture is a chemical and can be dangerous to your skin, eyes, and lungs. Be sure to wear appropriate PPE and don't stand downwind when you are spraying. Protect plants you want to keep from overspray.

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!