14 Tips Get Rid of Weeds From the Garden Once and For all

Are you looking for how to kill weeds in your garden? Weeds are the bane of every gardener’s existence. They stick out where they are not wanted and could potentially ruin your garden. Well, no longer! Here are 14 tips on how to kill weeds in your garden using things you probably already have in your home!

I. Hate. Weeds.

I’m sure you all can relate.

You start to grow your beautiful dream garden, planting your favorite fruits, veggies, and herbs so you can start eating from your own backyard. You even went as far as coming up with some natural pest control methods to make sure nothing harms your produce and then you see these little things start to pop up… and it seems like your plants stop thriving a bit and even stop growing…

Those are weeds! They like to harm and take away most of the water, nutrients, and even the space of the plants that are already there.

a 3-photo collage of smiling woman and child tending to garden, person's feet in a pair of pink mud boots next to a silver watering can, and a person's hands holding a lump of soil.

How To Kill Weeds In Your Garden – Once and For All

In my efforts to bring you more gardening tips and tricks, I’ve learned how to keep garden weeds from invading your yard and garden, choking off the plants you want… with homemade weed killer (and tips) you can make at home!

Battling weeds just got a little easier with these 14 gardening tips.

1. Ever Heard Of How To Kill Weeds With A Spray Collar?

This is a great gardening hack if you want to get rid of weeds naturally.

Create a DIY spray collar by cutting the top and bottom of a tin can. Use it to direct natural herbicides mixture such as essential oils, citric acid, and vinegar to the weeds rather than allowing the spray to settle on other areas of your garden. This will also help make sure the herbicide doesn’t get on anything it isn’t supposed to.

Nozzle of garden spray can spraying into a DIY spray collar

2. Cut Off Their Heads…The Weed’s Head!

Got some stubborn weeds peeping in your patios, sidewalks, or driveways? I know it sounds gory but the only heads we’ll be chopping off are those on weeds.

Sometimes, removing a weed from the ground might be difficult, depending on where it’s located or if it’s connected to another plant close by. What you can do is at least chop off their heads to reduce reseeding and limit the spread of the weeds. Be sure to be gentle otherwise you’ll be countering your weed-killing efforts by spreading the seeds.

It’s still productive!

hand holding a red-handled prune cutting a diseased plant

3. Kill Some Weeds By Sprinkling Some Borax

Here’s a simple active ingredient that can kill those broadleaf weeds, crabgrass, and other unwanted weeds! If ground ivy is taking over your garden or yard, borax is an effective, natural way to get rid of it without killing surrounding grasses! Borax contains a naturally occurring ingredient called boron that many plants need for proper growth, except for ground ivy.

It’s actually toxic to this type of weed and can naturally help you get rid of them!

a measuring spoon containing a white powdery substance that's laid on wooden table

4. Kill Weeds Through Smothering – Lay Down Some Cardboard

This is a great option if you have a walkway that is starting to bud many weeds.

To create a clear walkway through your garden, lay down some cardboard over the top of the weeds and cover it with some mulch. The weeds will have a difficult time tearing through the cardboard since it’s much thicker and the weeds suffocate and die.

This also works well to create an almost instant seed garden bed. Just 2 weeks prior to planting, lay down cardboard mulch, water it, then wait. When it’s planting time, make holes in the cardboard, place your plants in the holes, and that’s it!

shallow trench partially covered in cardboard mulch next to a black hose pipe and chain link fence

5. Give The Weeds Cornmeal For Their Last Supper

Sounds corny? It does, but then again it isn’t because surprisingly, cornmeal is effective at keeping weeds at bay!

Use the cornmeal in all places you want to prevent weed seeds from sprouting. Be careful when using it around your garden, as it prevents most types of seeds from germinating.

Tip: Wait until your plants are established before using cornmeal, apparently it’s contraception for seeds. Woah!

partial photo of someone's left hand holding a measuring cup containing cornmeal, some cornmeal seen on the ground, and a green bush of plants at the top right corner.

6. How To Kill Weeds With Salt

I really rely on this kind of gardening hack because I know for a fact it’s something I have in my house, and it’s a quick and easy solution to getting rid of the pesky weeds!

To kill the weeds, pour some salt over them. A cup With time, the salt will dehydrate and dry out the weeds. Rock salt or table salt will do though you can add some vinegar to make a killer combination against weeds.

cobblestone path with patches of salt along part of it's length and flanked by green foliage

7. Add Some Bark Mulch

For sections of my lawn, especially those with trees, I depend on this hack to keep things nice and tidy. You can use bark mulch to control weeds around your trees so you’re not constantly having to cut and pull weeds. Plus, it even keeps your trees healthier!

For This You’ll Need:

A shovel that you’ll use to cut the grass around the circle edge of the tree.
Rake to level the ground and mulching.
A wheelbarrow to cart away any cut weeds and turf.
Spray paint for painting the tree ring.
A hammer to set the staples.
Gloves – we’re only interested in killing weeds, so protect your hands.
Weed Barrier Fabric to use below the bark mulch.
4″ Garden Staples to hold your new weed barrier in place.
Bark mulch – buy the closest in color to the soil in your yard.

Procedure:

Paint at least a 2′ ring around the tree.
Use your shovel to clear all the weeds and cut the turf from around the tree. You can always save the turf for patchwork around other corners of your yard.
Cut out the weed barrier fabric and staple it in place. You’ll probably need between 5-10 garden staples.
Spread out a layer of mulch keeping in mind not to cover up the tree flare. Basically, no part of the tree that has should be covered up because any trapped moisture will damage the tree.

That’s all. You’re done and this makes it way easier when mowing your lawn too.

A neatly manicured lawn with wooden fence and 2 well-mulched trees free from weeds

You’re welcome 😉

8. Spread Out Some Straw Mulch

Straw mulch is effective around lots of different plants! It discourages weed growth and helps keep moisture in the soil.

I also like to add it to my garden to make it look nice and neat.

9. How To Kill Weeds By Flame Weeding

This also known as the German Weed Control and while this idea sounds a little out there, flame weeding is used as an effective method when it comes to killing weeds. This can be safe if you use the proper equipment and you follow the correct steps. The goal is not to set your plants or grass on fire- it’s to kill the base of the weeds so that they wilt and die naturally.

Just be careful of doing this in areas with dry grass.

Here’s a picture and visual video from Necks Out for Adventure showing you the equipment used and how it’s done.

person using a flame to kill weeds growing between a footpath and a tulip garden

10. Lay Down Some Newspaper And Kill Weeds

Literally, just do that. Use a couple of layers of newspaper to smother weeds!

In established perennial beds, place at least 4 layers of newspaper down around your plants followed by a thick layer of mulch. It works a lot like the cardboard tip I mentioned in tip #4 above, but the newspaper is a little easier to maneuver around your plants.

11. Got Any White Vinegar? Let’s Kill Some Weeds

Undiluted white vinegar works wonders on lots of weeds, especially dandelions.

If clearing weeds around the house and other plants, use food-grade vinegar which although is less potent, only kills the plant it comes into contact with. You don’t want to find all your beautiful green grass or flowers dead!

This 2 ingredient weed-killing spray is super easy to make, and it’s probably something you most likely have in your home! Add a teaspoon of dish soap to your spray bottle to help the vinegar cling to the weeds better.

person's right hand with finger on pump of white spray bottle

12. Boiling Water Hack To Kill Weeds

Boiling water will certainly kill weeds, but it also kills any plant it touches. If you use this method, make sure you pour the water just a few inches above the plant to avoid splashing it elsewhere. Not on the good plants and neither on yourself.

Trust me, I learned the hard way…

person's partially covered left hand pouring water out of a kettle into the soil — via Gardenweb

13. Pull Out That Vodka In How To Kill Weeds

This weed-killing hack is definitely in my top 3! Sorry, the vodka is for the weeds. Not you. For now, anyway.

For weeds that are in direct sunlight, combine one part vodka to six parts water, add in a few drops of dish soap, and spray those weeds into oblivion.

Those weeds will shrivel up within a few hours.

14. How To Kill Weeds By Pulling Them Out Yourself

And if all else fails, you can always use the trusted old-fashioned method: pulling out the weeds by hand.

I know it’s not the most exciting but we all know it’s effective and it gets the job done. All you need is a trowel and a few hours of time.

person's hand weeding - one hand holding a red hand trowel and other hand is pulling on a weed.

Now that you know how to kill weeds in 14 different ways, which one are you going to pick?

Let us know in the comments below which one worked best for you and your garden.

Good luck and happy weeding!

How To Kill Weeds In Your Garden: 14 Tips