Purchasing weed killers from the store can be expensive, so I decided to make my own homemade natural weed killer. I did research and found that only three ingredients are needed to make a simple homemade weed killer. I made some and placed it in an empty spray bottle, then tested a few areas by spot spraying the homemade weed killer on weeds on the north side of my house where there is gravel. I saturated the weeds including its leaves and within a few days they were brown and shriveled up.
Homemade Weed Killer
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid (I used the dishwashing liquid pictured above because that’s what I had.)
- 3 cups vinegar
- Empty spray bottle
Place the three ingredients into an empty spray bottle and label it. It was so simple and only took a few minutes. Plus it’s nice to save some money by not buying the expensive weed killers at the store.
Make note that this weed killer does kill grass. I tested a spot on a weed that was growing in the middle of my lawn and both the weed and the grass around it that was sprayed died. So be sure to only use this weed killer in the areas where you don’t want grass or weeds.
Here are a few before and after photos of the weeds that I sprayed.
And below is an image you can print to label a bottle of homemade weed killer.
Used this for the first time, and it works like a miracle!! Thank you so very much.
You’re welcome!
Hi didn’t the salt get stuck in the nossel and what vinegar please did you use?
Cheers Jane 😊
I used a distilled white vinegar.
make sure the alt is fully dissolved first..thats what i did..no clogging
Vinegar also kills ants. I use it all the time, and it is fabulous
How do I dissolve the salt to use in a sprayer? I have even boiled it and it still won’t dissolve.
I just poured the salt into the mixture, placed the lid on it and shook it up, then sprayed the weeks. I didn’t try to dissolve the salt.
Hint: Salt disolves in cold water and sugar disolves in hot water so, if you want salt to disolve, always stir it into cold ingredients.
Thanks for the tip!
how many squirts for each weed?
I squirt each weed until it was saturated with the solution.
Please, add me to your email addresses. I’d like to get great ideas like this.
I’ve added you to start receiving the emails. 🙂
thank you for the informative ideas
You’re welcome!
Of course this mixture kills the weeds…but do you know it also kills most of the useful animals working to keep the soil alive ?
great info – what do you recommend as an alternative? And what do you mean by “animals”? Earthworms?
Love getting usual tips.
You’re welcome!
How long does it take to completely kill them?
After I sprayed the weeds (I made sure to saturate all the leaves), it took 2-3 days and they died.
Can you plant flowers once you have the weeds are gone.
You probably can plant flowers once the weeds are gone, but I’d give the ground 2-3 weeks for the week killer solution to dissolve and go away before planting flowers.
If you want to plant flowers do not use the salt.
Thanks I tried this yesterday. Wont it kill the plants around.
Yes, it will kill plants around it. So I only spray this on the areas with weeds only, not on the grass or flower beds.
Hi, I have some hostess that I am planning on moving to the side of my house. I need to prep the space which is overrun by weeds. How soon after using this solution and laying down some fresh dirt can I replant the hostas?
I have 2 questions. 1.How long does it take for the weeds to die? 2. How soon can I plant flowers?
If it rains shortly after you spray, is it still effective?
Good idea
Does anybody know how many parts of this recipe it would take to make 2 gallons? I have a lot of landscape area and would like to fill my 2 gallon sprayer.
The spray bottle I used is about 25 ounces, so you’ll need to times the recipe by 10 to get enough to fill the 2 gallons.
I have heard Epsom salts not regular salt. Which is better?
I have apple cider vinegar. Does it have to be white vinegar or can I use apple cider vinegar?
The reason vinegar works is because it’s a natural acid. What it’s made from doesn’t matter. What matters is its ph level. All plants can only live within a certain pH range. The acidic vinegar lowers the pH to below their tolerance level. Typical white distilled vinegar is at least 4% acidity and not more than 7%. Cider and wine vinegars are typically slightly more acidic with approximately 5-6% acidity. So the apple cider vinegar will do the trick but at a much higher cost.
Will this mixture also kill poison ivy??
It should kill almost any plant that doesn’t have really deep roots. Not sure about poison ivy/oak/sumac? But all you have to do with any plant is check out root depth. If you’re preventing them, then it will work for sure because the roots haven’t grown yet.
Advice to Jordan: if you are planting a hodtess, dig the hole six feet deep do that animals can’t get to the body. If yoy are planting Hostas you don’t have to have such deep hole
Thanl you so much for the weed killer. It is cheap on my pickets.
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Thank you
If you want to replant the area you shouldn’t use salt. I have been doing some research on line and it might make you area that your spraying not plantable.
I put Preen down in the spring. Works great, but of course I missed a few places! Today I went out with this mixture, to hit the spots I missed. I will be back to let you know how it goes.
I am from Australia so it could easily be different to USA – however if i by Zero Concentrate it costs me about $0.15 a litre once it is made up. Vinegar costs about $1.50.
It sure isnt cheaper – what ever its other benfits are.
Here in AZ sr community, have stones, instead of grass,where weeds love to sprout.
Trying this today, and hoping it will work, and save my back!
It worked great for our stone area, so I hope it does for you too.
. How soon can I plant flowers?
After spraying this mixture as I wanna kill the weeds and grass to make garden beds thanx
Liquid dish soap is not “natural” – just read the label. If you’re looking for a natural weed killer, use vegetable-based liquid soap. The cheapest is Castile soap. The cheapest brand of Castile soap I’ve found that’s easily available is Mrs. Meyer’s liquid hand soap – $7 / 32 oz. Florida lost 90% of its butterflies to Hurricane Irma last year. Not for the reason you might think. It didn’t kill that many butterflies and even if it did, their young would quickly replace them. It destroyed most of the host plants on which they lay their eggs. So there was almost no “next generation” after Irma. The rest of the country is also experiencing a big decrease in migrating butterflies like monarch due to the loss of host plants because of land development and other losses of the host plants. For example, Monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed plants and they are rapidly dwindling nationwide.
Using standard chemical-based liquid soap will either kill the butterfly young at one of their 3 stages of pre-butterfly development or the mother butterflies won’t lay their eggs on the plants at all.
If you’re spraying on ground that’s not within wind spray distance of butterfly host or nectar plants and you don’t plan to plant the ground right away with either of those kinds of plants, then the chemical liquid detergent should work ok. But I wonder anyone would try to make a natural spray, but add chemical ingredients to it when there are relatively inexpensive natural alternatives?
If looking for fast-dissolving 100% pure salt, with no added ingredients like iodine, I’ve found the fastest dissolving salt is salt water pool salt. I can buy a lifetime supply at Lowe’s for $8 – 40 lbs!
Without realising how strong this was (8 pints white vinegar, 2 cups of salt, 1/4 cup washing up liquid) I used a watering can 😳
Any ideas re how long before I can start planting in the areas I’ve treated please?
I looked up some info and depending on how much you used, you might be able to plant after a few weeks after flushing the area with water to get rid of the vinegar. Here is a source you can read: https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf26019688.tip.html
I’d like to know, Please, Does this salt, vinegar, and dishwashing liquid solution harm vegetable seeds and vegetable plants if it gets or sprayed on them?, Please, let me know, because I’m preparing my garden, now, to begin planting. Also, after applying/spraying using this salt, vinegar, dishwashing liquid solution over the entire garden, How long am I needing to wait before planting my vegetable seeds and vegetable plants, Please? Thank y’all for All y’all’s help!!! 👏👏 Prayerfully, 😔🙏our DEAREST MOST GLORIOUS BELOVED CREATOR LORD GOD 🙌💝➕✨ WILL PROVIDE ME WITH A VERY BEAUTIFUL BOUNTIFUL SUPPLY OF FRESH GARDEN VEGETABLES!!!!!!! 😄😍 I’m going to try to do my very Best!!!!!!! 😀😄
This solution kills any plants, weeds and grass, so you probably don’t want to spray it on your garden if you are going to plant soon. I only use it in areas where I don’t want anything to grow back.
How long in between sprayings?
Thanks
I just spray it as needed. Be sure to only spray areas where you don’t want any weeds or grass because it will kill grass and flowers.
Plan on using this in garden bed where there are weeds and unwanted grass growing around my shrubs and rose bushes…will it kill the shrubs and roses as well…🤔!?
This weed killer will kill any plant you spray it on, so you won’t want to spray it around your shrubs or roses.
Can this be used as deterrent/prevention? If I spray it on barren soil I just cleaned by hand, would it be effective? If so, for how long do you estimate? I live in a tropical country. Thanks.
The salt stays in the soil, and nothing grows in salty soil, that’s why rock salt fell out of favor as a deicer, don’t use this where you plan to grow anything.
Plan on trying this weekend. I have about 1/2 acre in my backyard that the weeds are trying too take over. Wish me Luck!
That’s great! Good luck in getting that large of an area done!
Salt is very damaging to soil and soil life and should not be used as any part of a weedkiller. Epsom salts is different and although used as a fertilizer seems to work well as part of a weedkiller mix.
Beuna Tomalino, Horticulturist, Garden Coach, Organic Gardener
Very true. “Salting the earth” was a military tactic used in ancient times. Crops could not be grown where the earth was salted.
Does this mixture need to be diluted with water or is it just the 3 ingredients and quantity s you said..
Regards Brian
It doesn’t need to be diluted with water. It’s just the three ingredients.
Hi, is the mix harmful to pets? My dog has the run of the garden and I wouldn’t want to use anything that would hurt her. Thanks
This solution will not harm pets.
Does this mix stop new weeds from growing?
When you saturate the weeds with the solution, those weeds will die. It might prevent some weeds from coming up, but I think the solution works best when it’s sprayed directly on the weeds.
Hi Lisa Do you think your homemade Weed Killer (1/4 cup salt, 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid + 3 cups distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle) will kill really stubborn weeds on pavers ? Have poured boiling water onto them several times to try to kill them – to no avail. Love your blog ! Best, Susan Davies
It should kill the weeds. Be sure to saturate the leaves well with the weed killer solution. And be careful of using the weed killer around grass and flowers because it will kill those items too. Glad you enjoy my blog!
Hi Lisa,
What job does the washing-up liquid or the vegetable oil ? They seem to me to have opposing properties and I’m curious.
Best Wishes
Brad
I did read that using a higher acidity of vinegar works better than the usual white vinegar at 5%.
The problem I had was that , as mentioned by someone else, the salt didn’t dissolve and the sprayer clogged. I am now dealing with weed killer that I can’t use. Assume I will have to pour it all out and stir again, then try to clean the salt out of my sprayer. Ugh. I was soooo ready to kill those darn weeds!!😳. Any suggestions on cleaning out my sprayer that is now clogged with salt.
Can I spray this out of the large sprayer that my husband used to use for his Roundup? We don’t use that any more (thankfully!) and I will need to do a lot of spraying. A little hand sprayer will take forever.
I would say yes, you can use the large sprayer. I would just clean it out prior to putting the solution in it.