Got pesky garden weeds? Ditch the toxic herbicides and keep your home and garden safe with this easy to make, super powerful Chemical Free Natural Weed Killer. Get rid of weeds in walkways, driveways, sidewalks, decomposed granite, dry soil and more with this effective and fast working eco-friendly, non-toxic, natural weed killer.
Do you have weeds in your garden or yard?
I do, and there’s a ton of them! But not after I zap them with this amazing, super powerful chemical free natural weed killer!
We’ve been in a major drought in California for years now, but we finally had a pretty wet winter last season. That means the weeds are INSANE this summer! All of those dormant weeds are like, “Hey!!! We enjoyed all of that water and here were are! I brought all of my friends too!”
Yep. The weeds are wild and having a party in my yard. We have decomposed granite everywhere and those weeds just LOVE popping through it.
I’m not interested in those weeds and their friends and would like them to leave, but I’m not about to kill them and damage the soil with some toxic herbicide like Roundup. And I’ll tell you why …
Beautiful Mimosa Tree – do you see the bee?
I’m all about keeping it real, and honestly, this is scary folks.
Did you know that a U.S. Geological Survey study found glyphosate (think Roundup herbicide) in 75% of air and rain samples?
Do you know what that means? Carcinogens. Cancer. (source)
California’s Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a statement saying that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, will be added to the state’s list of chemicals known to cause cancer effective July 7. (source)
Even the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an issued report following a 2014 study, that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen” … can we say toxic overload all. the. time? (source)
This is not good my friends, and we need to get this toxic junk out of our yards and no where near our homes.
My beautiful girls in the Mimosa tree. The oldest is working on art up there.
But, instead of seeing the negative in this, we can use this information to be more mindful of the way we live. Right?!
It’s super important to note that WE can and do influence the industry with our money.
So, what can YOU do? You can choose to not buy into a conventional agriculture system. That means choose organic and/or eat from the EWG’s Clean 15 group and avoid the Dirty 12+ as much as possible. You can also talk to farmers at your local farmers markets and ask them what their farming practices are. If they use chemical sprays, you can let them know that you’d love to buy from them if they would consider using organic practices.
You can be mindful of the products you put on your body and use safer, eco-friendly/”green” choices in your home to avoid an extra toxic overload. If you need help learning about how to incorporate more of these things into your life, just send me an email. I’m happy to help!
You can also keep those toxic herbicides and other chemicals out of your yard! Choose to use safer alternatives and do NOT use Roundup and chemicals in your garden or yard and in and around your home.
Our sweet old boy hanging out in the tree too.
Yes, you can kill weeds naturally without Roundup!
It’s super easy to make your own DIY chemical free natural weed killer and cost effective too!
Plus, and maybe most importantly, it’s better for our planet and safer for our bodies!
Making your own chemical free natural weed killer is relatively inexpensive.
It’s even cheaper than the toxic chemical sprays like Roundup!
Overall, the most expensive part will be buying a 2 gallon weed and garden sprayer. Personally, I recommend not buying one that has popular herbicide names spread all over the bottle, but that’s up to you. I even like to hand write on the sprayer NO CHEMICALS and VINEGAR EO SPRAY ONLY.
Obviously my family knows there’s no chemicals in it, I do it solely for the purpose of any viewers, a.k.a. my neighbors. I want them to see that I am using SAFE, eco-friendly, non-toxic, chemical free natural weed killer. What I like about this is sometimes it helps spark some conversion about safer, natural products and why toxic chemicals like Roundup are so dangerous.
Depending on how weed infested your garden or yard is, you might need a few applications of this natural weed killer or just a few follow up spot treatments.
Only 4 ingredients go into this natural weed killer.
Vinegar – it’s one of the most the most important parts of this DIY natural weed killer. I highly recommend using full strength 20% garden vinegar, but if you absolutely need to use something else, try to find at least 6% vinegar. The higher the percentage, the better the strength. I have tested this out using 3% vinegar and it does NOT work as well. Just note that 20% garden vinegar works the best.
Table Salt – is another important part of this chemical free natural weed killer. By all means, get the cheapest, generic kind of table or iodized salt that you can find. You do not want to be wasting your money on quality salts. Whatever you do, don’t use your precious sea salt or even Epsom salt for this, it’s just not necessary.
Orange Essential Oil – if you’re familiar with citrus essential oils, you probably know that they’re photosensitive, meaning if you go out in the sun after you’ve put them on your skin, your skin most likely is going to get burned or even blister. Basically, when certain essential oil constituents (natural chemicals found in particular essential oils like citrus essential oils), particularly furanocoumarins (FCs), react when exposed to Ultraviolet UVA light. So think about it! Add this to your mixture and you’re going to give a huge boost to frying those weeds out in the hot sun.
Liquid Dish Soap – the purpose of the liquid dish soap is to help the vinegar stick to the weeds, which is a good thing! You want the properties of this formulation hanging out on the weeds for the sun to fry.
Organic watermelons, jujubes and cucumbers.
Here’s a few tips about this chemical free weed killer …
Do NOT dilute the mixture with water. Full strength is necessary for it to work properly.
If you have a huge property, you might need to double the batch. We have a large front corner lot and weeds grow everywhere in decomposed granite. This amount covers the whole property for 1 spraying.
Vinegar will not harm the soil. Salt however makes killing weeds a bit more permanent and can kill grass, so use caution if there are plants or grass that you do not want to kill.
If you’re trying to spot treat grass with weeds in it or areas with plants that you don’t want to die, I would suggest omitting the salt from the mixture or drastically reduce the salt. Just know that it won’t work as well as the full strength mixture.
Either way, the good news is you won’t harm the soil with the salt, it will just be a better preventive when it comes to weeds growing back.
Next time you need to get rid of weeds in your garden or yard, don’t reach for toxic chemicals, make your own safe, easy, natural weed killer instead!
Chemical Free Natural Weed Killer
Chemical Free Natural Weed Killer
Got pesky garden weeds? Ditch the toxic herbicides and keep your home and garden safe with this easy to make, super powerful Chemical Free Natural Weed Killer. Get rid of weeds in walkways, driveways, sidewalks, decomposed granite, dry soil and more with this effective and fast working eco-friendly, non-toxic, natural weed killer.
Ingredients
- 1 gallon 20% garden vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup salt {any regular, cheap table salt will do ... by all means don't waste your sea salt}
- 1/4 cup orange essential oil {I buy my essential oils here for 24% off}
- 1/4 cup liquid dish soap {this is what I use, I'm sure any chemical free dish soap will do}
You Will Need:
- 2 gallon weed and garden sprayer
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a 2 gallon weed and garden sprayer. Shake it up the best you can, you want to shake it long enough to dissolve as much of the salt as you can.
- Pick a dry, sunny, preferably hot day and spray the weeds in the morning. Make sure to shake up the sprayer from time to time when you're spraying, this helps keep the mixture evenly dispersed. Let the sun help speed up the process! Weeds will start to wilt and shrivel up sometimes within hours depending on how hot the day is.
- If the weeds are really bad, consider doing a second application in the evening or you can repeat it again the next morning.
Notes
- Do NOT dilute the mixture with water. Full strength is necessary for it to work properly.
- I have tested this out using 3% vinegar and it does NOT work as well. I highly recommend using full strength 20% vinegar, but if you absolutely need to use something else, try to find at least 6% vinegar. Just note that 20% garden vinegar works the best.
- If you have a huge property, you might need to double the batch. We have a large front corner lot and weeds grow everywhere in decomposed granite. This amount covers the whole property for 1 spraying.
- NOTE - Vinegar will not harm the soil. Salt however makes killing weeds a bit more permanent and can kill grass too, so use caution if there are plants or grass that you do not want to kill.
- If you're trying to spot treat grass with weeds in it or areas with plants that you don't want to die, I would suggest omitting the salt from the mixture or drastically reduce the salt. Just know that it won't work as well as the full strength mixture. But the good news is you won't harm the soil with the salt, it will just be a better preventive when it comes to weeds growing back.
Inspired by Health Starts in the Kitchen's Homemade Weed Killer recipe.
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Wow, great tip! I’m always looking for non-toxic, DIY cleaning/home supplies!
Thanks Joni! 🙂
I love this!!! I was looking for a natural weed killer that actually gets the job done and this one sounds uber strong!
Thanks Anya! 🙂 It works so good … just as good, if not better than RU in my opinion 🙂
Making this this week! Thank you Emily!
Awesome! It’s so helpful 🙂
This is such a great idea! I am definitely making this!
I hope you get to Linda! 🙂 It works great.
YES! No one needs more round up in their environment!
Right?! Virtual high five to you! 🙂
Just wanted to confirm that – if I omit salt, I still can maybe grow other things around that area (not weeds)? So basically, I have a little garden area that is now infested with weeds, and I would like to kill all the weeds, but eventually grow veggies or what not there… any suggestions?
I would just omit the salt. Vinegar won’t harm the soil at all (salt could) so you’ll still be able to grow plants, veggies, etc. there. 🙂
That orange EO is genius! I’ve tried just straight vinegar before and it never worked because it doesn’t stay dry long enough down here in the south. :/ I’ll have to give this a try!
I hope it’s helpful for you Raia! 🙂 I used to use just vinegar too and always felt frustrated because it wouldn’t work. But this version works great!
I’m always looking for more natural ways to do things in my garden…I will be trying this soon
Awesome! Hope it’s helpful Theresa 🙂
I love this DIY! I hate weed killers and fertilizers and don’t use them, so it’s nice to know there is a safe alternative! Thanks!
Thanks Jessica! Yes, so nice to have alternatives 🙂
I’m so excited to try this! Glysophate scares the sh*T outta me, especially since I’ve worked so hard to heal my gut and get my gut bacteria back in balance!!
I hear you on that! I feel the same way.
I NEED to try this! We have weeds that pop up in our backyard and our landlord always asks if she can spray weed killers. Heck no, I don’t want that toxic stuff, especially with our small dogs running around there. Thanks for a great recipe!
I know what you mean. It’s not stuff you want around pets or anyone.
Genius! Nothing is quite a buzzkill as much as walking through parks or streets and smelling those harsh chemicals in the summer all over people’s lawns!
Isn’t that the truth 🙁
What a great tip ! I don’t have a garden but my mother-in-law will appreciate this article ! Shared !
Thanks for spreading the word about it! 🙂
This is awesome! I wish more people would stop using roundup.
Thanks Stacey! I agree, I wish people wouldn’t use Roundup.
I have to try this out for our walkway, it’s gravel leading up to the house and the weeds are always a problem!
I hope you get to try some! It’s awesome stuff 🙂
This is superb!!! Will definitely be coming back for more hints and tips on non-toxic products, thank you!
Thanks Darryl! 🙂
Yes! I could kiss you right now! I have been looking for a natural weed killer that works.
I’m so glad it’s here for you to use then. It’s worked so well for us this summer. I hope you get some use out of it too.