How to Get Rid of Weeds

How to Get Rid of Weeds is something that has crossed the mind of about every homeowner.

Not only are weeds unsightly, they also seem to creep up on your property quickly.

How to Get Rid of Weeds

Getting rid of weeds can be as simple as pulling a weed out of the ground.
However, pulling weeds can get tiresome after a while.

Did you see my Creative DIY Garden Ideas

Many of those ideas include items that you may have sitting around your house looking for a new use. Other creative ideas include things that you can easily make yourself.

There are a lot of weed prevention and care products that you may want to learn more about. You can see a great selection of weed care products here.

People sometimes ask what are weeds.

The quick answer is to say that weeds are basically anything growing on your property that you do not want growing. Weeds can therefore be any plant that you do not like or want growing in your garden.

Weeds that grow in your location or neighborhood probably have a lot in common.

That is these weeds are probably the same kind of weeds. This makes sense as the seeds from weeds easily transfer from lawn to lawn.

You may be wondering what is so bad about having weeds anyway?

I get that some weeds may be edible. Where I live there are weeds that were purposely planted here years ago as they were purposeful plants at the time.

But, there are reasons to get rid of those plants that you are not interested in having in your garden or on your lawn.

Weeds compete for the space, water and nutrients that your wanted plants need to grown. Also, not only are they 'ugly', weeds can be a source of pests or disease.

Tips for getting rid of weeds.

Start early. That is, prevent the weeds from popping up in the first place is the easiest way to deal with weeds.

More tips for you

1. For manual removal of weeds, the best time to weed is after a good rain when the ground is soft.
2. If you are using any kind of store bought chemical to spray on to your weeds, read that packaging and take the needed precautions. This may include wearing gloves, washing your hands, or covering exposed skin before spraying.
3. You know those white dandelions (puffballs) that kids like to make a wish on and blow out? Those are filled with seeds and when you blow on them, the seeds blow all over the place so that they can become new weeds in the ground.

Here is what kills weeds permanently.

Getting rid of weeds is not just about getting rid of the flower and leaves that we see . It is more about getting rid of the root that is below the ground that we do not see.

Here are methods for dealing with those weeds.

• Preventing weed growth.
• Controlling weeds with unlikely items you may have on hand.
• Easy recipes for homemade weed control.

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You may also be interested in these ideas.

Preventing weed growth.

Preventing weed growth can save you a lot of work later on.
If there is no weed then there are not weeds generated from that weed for you to have to worry about.

Here are some weed prevention strategies.

• Weed barriers are fabric that can be placed under rocks or shrubs. You can prevent weeds from popping up while allow for water to drain and wanted plants to grow.
• Weed and feed applied to your lawn. The trick to selecting the correct one to use is to read the packaging or ask someone at your local garden center. Not all weed and feed is intended to be used all seasons.
• Mulch and rocks can be used around other plants or alone to prevent weeds from growing. Sometimes it is a good idea to use these on top of a barrier however.

Controlling weeds with unlikely items you may have on hand.

These ideas may or may not work for you. But, they could be ideas for where to start with dealing with your weeds before moving on to something else.

Here are some ideas for dealing with weeds using common items.

Please note that I have not tried most of these ideas.

• Pour Coca Cola on those weeds that grow in cracks (watch for ants).
• Corn gluten meal- sprinkle on top and wet it down. This is a preventative method and you should research this further for your specific needs.
• WD 40- just spray it on the weeds.
• Baking soda – sprinkle over area with weeds then water them. Research this as needed for more details.
• Hot water can scold the weeds. Carefully, pour boiling water over the weeds to try to kill them.
• Salt – apply a pinch at base of plant. Salt will kill weeds. However, it can also make it hard to use the soil for more growth for a while. But, it should work on those weeds growing between the cracks on your sidewalk.
• Rubbing alcohol – spray on leaves of weeds without breathing it in. I would dilute it with water.

How to get rid of weeds- Easy recipes for homemade weed control.

These are what I would consider to be the step to try between prevention of weed growth and using the strong stuff. Please research anything that you are unsure of before trying it.

Most of these methods will need a spray bottle for application.

1. White Vinegar (½ gallon) + Salt (½ cup) + Liquid Dish soap (½ tablespoon).
2. Rubbing alcohol (1 tablespoon) + Water (1 pint).
3. Vodka (1 tablespoon) + 1 cup of water + Dish Soap (1 teaspoon) Spray this mixture on the weeds and watch them dry up.
4. Dish Soap ( 2 ½ tablespoons) + water (2 cups). Simply coat the weeds with the soapy water- this seems to work best on hot days.
5. Equal parts of vinegar, salt, and dish soap. Simply spray it only on to the weeds .
6. That water which is left after boiling pasta or potatoes has starch in it. As a result, this may kill your weeds.
7. Lastly, there are Natural weed killer that you can purchase.

Manual removal methods.

This is where it all starts. You see your first weed growing in the spring and you pull it out manually before you see many more growing.

Here are some tools that are helpful in manual weed removal.

• A hoe works for more shallow weeds or baby weeds.
• Hand weed poppers. I leave several of these laying around the backyard as they are so effective and easy to use.
• Stand up weed pullers. When your back start aching after pulling all of those weeds by hand, you will be grateful for this tool.

Final thoughts about weeds.

One or two random weeds are usually nothing big to worry about as you can easily remove them. However, when a lawn is overtaken by weeds (there is someone in my neighborhood with front weeds rather than a front lawn) this can be a problem for both your neighbors and your allergies.

A bit of caution here.

Many of the ideas in this article should be researched before you actually do or use them. If you have pets or small children, take precautions as well. Lastly, while these remedies may kills the weeds, they may also have an effect on the plants the dirt that you do want.

How to Get Rid of Weeds, easy methods to remove weeds from a garden without using harmful chemicals to do so.