All-natural homemade weed killers can help you to cut down on expenses as well as avoid introducing harmful chemicals into your lawn. However, there are a number of homemade weed killers, and this may leave you confused when it comes to choosing the best homemade weed killer. Well, most homemade weed killers have vinegar in their recipes. However, getting the right proportion of vinegar in respects to other ingredients determines the strength and the effectiveness of any homemade weed killer. To resolve the uncertainty of varying amounts of vinegar in relation to other ingredients here is the best homemade weed killer recipe that can effectively kill weeds in your lawn.
All-natural homemade vinegar weed killer recipe for your lawn
Ingredients
- Full strength vinegar
- 1 cup of salt
- 1 tablespoon of soap
- Other additives may include citrus oil, bourbon, and gin.
How to mix the ingredients
- Take one gallon of vinegar and put it in a large mixing can.
- Add one cup of salt and stir gently until the salt is completely dissolved
- Add one oz of liquid soap to the mixture of salt and vinegar.
- Do not add water so as to retain the full strength
This natural full strength weed killer is non-selective and should be applied carefully in areas where there are good plants.
How vinegar homemade weed killer works
1. Vinegar
Vinegar is an all natural weed control killer distilled through the fermentation process of grapes, apples, and grains. The vinegar that is usually used at home has an active agent called acetic acid, diluted to a low concentration of 5%. The common household vinegar is usually labeled as 5% acidity.
Just like all other strong acids, acetic acid is a desiccant. A desiccant agent has the ability to remove moisture from plants. When full strength vinegar is sprayed on top of any plants the moisture is drawn and the plants die. Vinegar draws moisture from the leaves and usually does not affect the roots. However, it can completely kill a plant depending on the level of maturity and the type of plant.
The proportion of acetic acid in any weed killer solution determines the strength and how fast the solution kills weeds. A solution that has not been diluted with water is the strongest. This will completely kill most of the weeds in the shortest time possible. Besides, full strength vinegar is not selective and it can kill most foliage in your lawn. It, therefore, means that when applying full strength homemade natural weed killer on your lawn you have to protect the good plants.
2. Salt
Rock salt or water softener salt works well with vinegar to kill weeds. Salt is a strong desiccant capable of drawing most of the moisture from plants. It means that salt works on the foliage and not the roots when it comes to killing weeds.
Besides, salt is also a non-selective weed killer, and it can eliminate both the good plants as well as the weeds. However, when a large proportion of salt is used as a weed killer it can be problematic. This is because salt, can hang around and may affect other good plants that will grow in that spot even after some time has elapsed. It is, therefore, appropriate to use the right proportion of salt when so as to make an effective homemade weed killer.
3. Soap
Soap is added to this homemade all natural weed control solution so as to improve its absorption. Usually, liquid dish detergent is most effective to hand soap or dishwasher. Soap works by breaking the waxy surface usually found on most weeds that grow on the lawns. This will make weeds to be more susceptible to vinegar and salt. Soap also works by breaking the surface tension of water, helping the weed killer to stick more to the weeds rather than running off the surface of the weeds. This will allow vinegar and salt to hang on and work more effectively.
Soap, being a derivative of oil can kill plants themselves when applied in stronger concentrations. Besides, being able to kill plants soap provides a sideline benefit of allowing you to differentiate the areas that you have applied the weed killer and areas that you have not.
4. Other ingredients
Some other ingredients that you can add to the homemade weed killer include bourbon, gin, citrus oil, lemon or orange oil. These ingredients work as desiccants and help in removing moisture from weeds.
Conclusion
Vinegar based homemade weed killer is effective in eliminating most of the weeds. It works by drawing moisture from weeds. However, this homemade weed killer is non-selective and should be applied with caution in areas where there are good plants.
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