Our lawns represent us to our community and provide the first impressions people get of us. Too often, those lawns clog up with weeds and invasive grasses such as dandelions, though, and we need to know how to get rid of them safely. Knowing how to kill grass without chemicals gives us a huge leg up and helps us maintain beautiful lawns.
A reliable method for how to kill grass and weeds naturally ensures that we’re ready for any greenery that pokes up its head. This guide examines how to kill unwanted grass on your lawn or flower beds while leaving the rest of your plants green and happy.
Chemical grass killers are useful, but they tend to kill off the right plants along with the wrong ones and can pose a health hazard. Our guide shows you the way to permanently kill grass in areas where weeds have grown without risking damage to your pets or loved ones.
Killing Grass without Chemicals
A well-tended lawn can go to seed in a hurry if you let it, which is why regular treatment for weeds is essential. But what can you do if you wish to kill off large swaths of weeds and grass safely?
Weeding often triggers the release of weed seeds and spreads the problem further. You can remove the grass with a sod cutter, but that can leave viable seeds behind.
Before you reach for a DIY herbicide, consider adjusting the heat or sunlight on the lawn. Changes to a grassy weed’s environment can kill it off without requiring any further treatment.
If you have moss growing throughout the yard where it shouldn’t be, the best way to get rid of moss is by taking better care of your lawn. Pull up the unwanted moss and add grass seed to the bare spots. Water and fertilize your yard, and mow appropriately to ensure that moss does not grow back.
Of course, you can always use a chemical herbicide to get rid of unwanted grass and weeds. Will bleach kill grass and weeds like dandelions? Yes, household chemicals like bleach do kill undesirable vegetation but many people prefer using non-chemical means that are more environmentally friendly.
How to Kill Unwanted Grass – Environmental Options
This section looks at different ways to make a weed and grass killer at home with just the environment. Plants require specific conditions to allow them to thrive, and if you alter those conditions, you create an unfriendly environment for any current grasses.
A change to the sunlight intensity or the oxygen available to the weeds will take care of them.
Solarize the Lawn
Nothing cooks like heat, right? That’s very much the case when it comes to plants. In large amounts, solarization is one of the best natural weed killer options around.
A lot of sun equals a lot of heat, which dries out and scorches any weeds or grasses. With some patience, you can let the sun do all the dirty work for you when you wish to kill grass in a large area.
For one of the easy, natural ways to kill weeds and unwanted grass, lay the plastic on the area you want to clear of weeds and grass. Stake the plastic down to keep it from moving, or weight it down around the edges and even in the middle with large rocks or other heavy objects.
Leave the clear plastic in place for at least a month after the grass stops sprouting. After you remove the plastic, till the soil and replant with desired grasses or create an area for growing a veggie or flower garden.
Smother Your Grass
You might not think of opaque plastic as a weed control method, but it works beautifully as a natural dandelion killer recipe in garden beds. All plants require oxygen along with the correct amounts of light, heat, and water, which makes removing air from plants an effective means of weed control.
Laying down a simple plastic barrier prevents the grass from breathing. Use this method to take care of large weedy areas in your vegetable garden that you don’t want to save. You can use mulch in place of plastic or canvas for a more natural approach.
Lay an airtight material such as black plastic, canvas, mulch, or newspaper over the weeds and grass. Place heavy objects over the plastic or tarp to keep it in place and tape up any holes to prevent air from sneaking through. If using layers of newspaper, make sure you lay down enough to block all the air.
Leave the barrier in place for a few weeks. After you kill all grass and weeds, remove the barrier, and replant the area. You can also spot-smother plants using a spray of water and dish soap when looking at how to kill grass naturally.
If mulching instead of using plastic or canvas, create a layer of mulch thick enough to prevent air from getting through. Composting your old weeds is fine, as the compost heat kills viable seeds.
Killing Grass and Weeds Naturally
Adjusting the environment is an excellent way to kill grass without resorting to chemicals, but it won’t be the right move for all circumstances. You might need to remove weeds in only a few spots on the lawn while leaving the remaining grass happy and healthy.
It’s also possible that you’ll have some stubborn plants that solarizing and smothering don’t clear. This section provides information on recipes for killing weeds that use non-chemical household agents to remove weeds and invasive grasses from your life.
We show you options for herbicides that use boiling water, vinegar, salt, and citrus oil to kill weeds in this section. With our assistance, you don’t have to fear the sight of invasive plants ever again while performing lawn care.
Kill Your Grass with Boiling Water
People use all sorts of fancy and powerful methods to kill weeds, but you don’t need any of that to get the job done. Boiling water is an effective herbicide and brings any weedy patch to its knees in no time without harmful chemicals.
It’s one of the top natural ways to eradicate pesky plants. Use boiling water in areas that pets regularly visit to avoid harming them with chemical herbicides.
Put on all safety gear to protect yourself from the hot water. To use the best DIY vegetation killer that costs the least amount of money, pour boiling water carefully over any grass or weeds you wish to eradicate, making sure to soak the taproots.
The weeds should turn brown in a day or so. Treat the grass with boiling water every day for a couple of weeks until it completely dies. Pull and throw away the dead weeds and reseed the area.
Hit the Lawn with Vinegar
If you’ve spent any time perusing the DIY corner of the internet, you’ve become familiar with the wonders that vinegar can work. The low percentage of acetic acid in commercial white vinegar isn’t enough to kill weeds.
But, hit any unwanted plant guests such as Bermuda grass or crab grass with horticultural vinegar, which contains a much higher percentage of acid, and you’ll have the pleasure of watching them wither and die. It’s like using Roundup from your garden center without risking the dangerous chemical agents.
Because you’re working with a strong acid, be sure to don all appropriate safety gear before you proceed with the grass treatment. Fill a spray bottle with horticultural vinegar.
Spray down all plants from top to bottom, making sure to hit the undersides of each leaf as you go. Repeat the treatment every few days and after it rains. The weeds should die in two weeks or so. Avoid mowing until you remove the dead grass and weeds.
Take Care of Unwanted Grass with Salt
Salt enhances all kinds of meals, and it also makes for a top-notch weed eradicator. If you have weeds sprouting from a crack in your sidewalk or driveway, a little salt will take care of the issue without trouble. It’s an excellent herbicide option when you want to kill weeds that grow in an enclosed space.
To permanently get rid of weeds in driveway or other areas where they shouldn’t be growing, combine two tablespoons salt and two cups warm water in a spray bottle and shake until the salt dissolves. Mix larger quantities for bigger sections of weed growth.
Thoroughly spray all weeds you wish to kill, and spray down into any cracks or crevices as well to let the mixture soak into the root systems. Repeat the treatment every day for two weeks. The weeds should dry up and die in a matter of days.
If you have tree stumps or roots that you want to eliminate naturally, you can take care of killing tree roots with Epsom salt. After drilling some deep holes in the stump or exposed roots, pour Epsom salt into the holes and cover. The salt will eat away and dry out the roots, eventually killing them.
Does Epsom salt kill grass? Yes, it does. Use care when utilizing Epsom salt for weeds as it does not discriminate. It kills all greenery and plants.
Spray Your Grass with Citrus Oil
Citrus oil serves many purposes, including as an odorizing agent. Its high acidity level means that it will also eat through most weeds and leave them dried and brown.
Use this homemade weed killer on weedy spots within an area you wish to preserve. You can kill plants with pinpoint accuracy with this method, and it’s mild enough that your desired grasses will bounce back if you accidentally treat them along with the weeds.
Fill your spray bottle with citrus oil and water, and shake well. Spray all grass you wish to kill and don’t forget to spray the undersides of the leaves.
Treat the grass with your citrus oil herbicide every other day for a couple of weeks. After the weeds die, hand pull them from the ground and throw them away, and reseed the spot with your preferred grass seed.
We hope you enjoyed reviewing our grass removal suggestions. Our lawns are the first means by which people judge us, so we want them to look their best.
But, we don’t want to risk harm to our pets and loved ones. This guide gives you our favorite methods for taking care of weeds and grass and leaves you and your lawn happy.
Thanks for reading our grass elimination guide. Pinterest and Facebook are excellent venues in which to share our tips on how to kill grass without chemicals, as you may wish to help other folks learn about grass control tips in the same way you did.