How to Block Weeds with Patio Blocks

Smother weeds with patio blocks.

Despite your best efforts to destroy weeds in your yard, sometimes they just keep growing back. The use of toxic herbicides can harm the environment, wildlife, your family and even your pets, especially if they are used often. To permanently block weeds and enhance your landscape, you may want to consider a different approach. Laying down patio blocks offers an esthetically pleasing and effective way to block weeds naturally. The weight of the landscaper's cloth, sand and patio blocks is usually enough to smother weeds and stop them in their tracks. You also get the added benefit of a new entertainment area.

Things You'll Need

• Weed whacker
• Scythe
• Lawn mower
• Distilled vinegar
• Spray bottle
• Landscaper's cloth
• Sand
• Patio blocks
• Stiff broom
• Garden hose

Instructions

1. Remove existing weeds. Use a weed whacker, scythe or lawn mower to cut tall weeds down to the soil line in your desired patio location. Pour distilled vinegar into a spray bottle and spray it liberally on the weeds to help halt their growth.

2. Cover the area with landscaper's cloth, and apply a 1-inch layer of sand over the top. Spread the sand as evenly as possible to make a level surface for the patio blocks

3. Arrange the patio blocks in your desired pattern on top of the sand. Spread a layer of sand on top of the patio blocks, allowing it to fall into the gaps between the blocks.

4. Sweep the sand into the crevices between the patio blocks using a stiff broom. Hose the patio blocks down lightly with a garden hose to set the sand.

Tips & Warnings

• The closer you place the patio blocks to each other, the less opportunity weeds will have to grow through the separations.

• If any weeds manage to slip through the cracks in your patio blocks, pour a pot of boiling water over them. The boiling water will kill them instantly.

• Do not walk on the patio blocks for at least three days to give them time to settle.

References

• Reader's Digest: 11 Ways to Kill Garden Weeds
• Midwest Manufacturing: Installing a Brick Patio

Resources

• The-Lawn-Advisor: Killing Weeds in a Patio