The Fastest Way to Kill Weeds

Young weeds are the easiest to kill.

When you're preparing for weekend visitors or a graduation open house, you can make short work of weeding the lawn and garden. Choose from several low-cost and environmentally friendly options. In the future, remember to prevent weeds from growing in the first place. Weed thoroughly in the fall and mulch beds early in the growing season. Daily or weekly weeding keeps intruders under control as well.

Hand Weeding

The fastest way to kill a weed is to pull it up. When soil is damp, pull gently at the base of the plant to bring up the root. In dryer weather, use a notch-ended weeder to get under the weed and dislodge the root. This method works less well with weeds that spread by runners or underground rhizomes because it's difficult to pull up the entire plant.

Smothering

For vegetable, flower or shrub beds, consider smothering the weeds. Holding the handle of a hoe vertically, make sideways sweeps with the blade to cut off stems at ground level. Cover the bed with two inches of mulch. Make sure your mulch doesn't contain weed seeds.

Heat

Kill weeds between stepping stones with flame or boiling water.

In her book "Trowel and Error," Sharon Lovejoy suggests killing weeds by passing a butane kitchen torch about an inch above them for a few seconds. You can also pour boiling water on weeds. A day later, remove the withered plants. These methods work best on weeds that aren't close to valuable plants. Consider using heat along garden paths and between stepping stones.

Household Substances

Sharon Lovejoy suggests spraying vinegar with 5 percent acidity and a little liquid soap on young broadleaf weeds. Apply the vinegar during the hottest part of the day. Lovejoy recommends spraying poison ivy and poison oak with isopropyl alcohol. Prefer this method over boiling water, as there is no danger of an allergic reaction from the steam.

Herbicides

Use herbicides as a last resort, as many can linger in the soil. Glyphosphate is one herbicide that leaves no residue. Apply it to the leaves of growing weeds, which will die within a week. (See References 2, page 87.) Identify your weeds and read herbicide labels carefully to make sure the herbicide will work on your particular weeds and at the time in their life cycles when you plan to kill them. Apply herbicides in calm weather and shield nearby plants.

References

• "Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly"; Integrated Weed Control for the Home and Garden; William Quarles; Winter 2003
• "Low-Maintenance Gardens"; Patricia Taylor; 1994
• "Purdue University"; Control Weeds in the Garden and Landscape; Rosie B. Lerner; 2006
• "Trowel and Error"; Susan Lovejoy; 2003
• "Washington State University"; Controlling Weeds in Summer Gardens; Mary Robson; 1999

Resources

• Cornell University: Managing Lawn Weeds
• "North Carolina State University"; Weed Control in Vegetable..; David W. Monks, et al.; 1993
• "University of Illinois Extension": Weed Identification
• "University of Minnesota"; Weed Control in Lawns and Other Turf; Brad Pedersen, et al.; 2011