$3 DIY Weed Killer BEATS RoundUp Naturally!

The best homemade weed & grass killer I have made yet. Costs under $3 for 1 gallon of this safe & effective weed killer. Safe around kids & pets and takes just minutes to make. Great alternative to Round Up that's cheaper, safer & gets the job done. See my resulsts

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[eosjoe]

One hint, shake your jug after adding the salt but BEFORE adding the detergent. Shake gently again after adding detergent. Then you won't have as much foaming.

[jimskirtt]

You don't need the vinegar, just salt alone (with detergent) will do it. Dissolve 360g of salt in one litre of hot water. Add an egg-cupful of detergent...that's it. Don't shake the bottle, just swirl it. Spray onto leaves - dead in two hours. It struggles on ivy, but kills almost everything else.
From a professional gardener in England.

[markm]

Here's the fourth ingredient to increase effectiveness. First, mow or weed whack as low as possible. Then wait several days until an inch or two regrowth is seen. THEN spray. This will weaken the plant and cause it to use up carbohydrates from the roots. Results will be even better.

[RandomAxeOfKindness]

We've tried a zillion of these DIY formulas, and what we've stuck with is buying strong vinegar (usually 30%) and watering it down to 10-12%. We use inexpensive spray bottles rather than a pump sprayer, but I'd use it in a cheap pump sprayer. The vinegar does eventually ruin the seals even if you rinse it out. But salt will ruin a sprayer much faster, in our experience, even if you clean the thing twice after every use.

The 10-12% vinegar kills almost every weed it touches, and you don't have to saturate them so severely. Most stuff is wilted in 24 hours. It does kill the roots of most things, and the weeds don't come back during the same season. I see a lot of people saying they'll regrow in a couple of weeks, but that has not been our experience. A few really tough weeds will need a couple of applications.

Alternatively, after you spray the vinegar, spray the same plant with plain laundry bleach or with hydrogen peroxide. Do NOT mix these chemicals beforehand, and don't, what, get down and sniff the plant. You will be creating a small amount of dangerous poisons, although they won't last long. Two rounds of vinegar will usually kill small poison ivy plants, though, and one will burn the leaves off of Virginia creeper. If you're working around plants you want to keep, put some vinegar in a dish and use a paintbrush to 'paint' it onto the weeds, leaves and stems.

If you don't overdo it, you won't seriously or lastingly alter the pH of the soil, and, for instance, grass should be able to grow in the same spot you sprayed as soon as it rains or you hose the area down. The vinegar is neutralized pretty fast. Bleach breaks down pretty quickly, and peroxide even faster. Salt will linger, in our experience, and tend to keep the area dead for weeks. If the vinegar isn't working, you may have diluted it too much. Read the warnings on high-strength vinegar, though. It'll burn skin, eyes, your nose and lungs, etc. Still safer than a lot of commercial weed killers, but safety first.

[BenNawrath]

Pro tip: if you don’t use all of it at once, remove the pump from the sprayer, or make sure the bottom of the pump where the seals are is out of the liquid. The acidity of the vinegar will mess with the rubber seals.

[YoSmoked]

*Can we take a moment to appreciate how much work he puts into these videos for us 😍*

[unionseen]

A lot of weeds are annuals, so just getting them before they go to seed is super helpful. On disturbed soils you will see weeds take hold, but after preventing them going to seed for a few years (and possibly seeding with something desire able). You will likely get things under control. Keep in mind, There may be about 3 years worth of seeds in the soil. Also some weed seeds will germinate several times per season. Main things is don't let them go to seed.

[chryseass.]

I just used this formula ( I litre of vinegar and 3 tablespoons each of table salt and dish soap mixed into a spray bottle) on the weeds in my patio and driveway and achieved the same results as you did. Totally satisfying and I will be keeping a bottle of this mixture on hand as part of my regular garden clean up kit. I didn't even have to go and buy anything as this formula uses ingredients that are just regular household items always on hand.

[NastyNass]

Started my home care journey recently and I can’t express how much your videos have helped me and my understanding for various topics. Glad to see you are continuing to post!

[dougs]

Thank you for finally making this video. Your influence is far-reaching, and the less roundup used and leaching into our waterways, the better.

[gausura]

I tried this with the industrial strength of 45% vinegar. It took all of 5 minutes before the weeds turned pale yellow. The vinegar is pricey, and I'll most likely stick with the 5% in the future. A word of caution with the 45%...wear a respirator or at least double mask. Should the wind blows back any of the mist and you breathe it in, it's not a pleasant experience 😅.

[swvincent]

I use this, it's okay. I call it "weed discourager". Doesn't last long if there's lots of rain. Roundup etc. worked much better but I gave that up to get away from the harsh chemicals.

[BigRedServicesLLC]

While this does kill the plants temporarily, it doesn’t actually kill the roots, it just burns the foliage. Also, if you use it a lot, due to the acidity of the vinegar you can alter the pH of your soil which can affect other established plants.

[Rado]

I've never had any success using food grade vinegar. But have had some success using cleaning grade vinegar, and lots of success using swimming pool shock.

[MyMy-tvfd]

you can also use any detergent, not necessarily foaming soap, as it breaks down the waxy leaf cuticle/cell membranes. and enables the mixture to wet the leaves and stick more effectively. You do not need salt if you buy commercial grade stronger acetic acid (vinegar). The salt will build up over time and make the ground less fertile with many repetitions.

[gardengenie]

I've used white household vinegar, 2 gals in sprayer with half-pint of rubbing alcohol, shot of dish soap. works just as well and it doesn't ruin your sprayer. The alcohol is an excellent dessicant. Costco has the best deals on vinegar AND rubbing alcohol in my area.

[Eunk]

Used a similar mix on clover in a mulch bed and it never came back. I like this mix.

[Rustycarr]

I have used vinegar to contain a spreading ginger . I didn't want to kill the plants, just the new shoots outside the bed. It did work to a degree, but it was constant. So I resorted to weed matting which worked better. Hand weeding or a longhandled weed chipper is all you can do if you don't want to use glyphosate, which is harmless and works well. All we have to worry about is its overuse and evolving weeds with resistance

[juanagudelo]

I tried this method around my garden. Some tiny weeds were starting to grow through my landscape fabric. Boy, this thing worked like a charm. It's definitely better than using expensive chemicals.

[stickman-]

Been there, done that. Yes, this will work, but you need to completely and thoroughly wash our whatever sprayer you use. The vinegar will totally destroy most (all) sprayers if you leave it sitting in the sprayer. Repeat: DO NOT STORE THE SOLUTION IN THE SPRAYER. It will destroy it.