Kill And Prevent Weeds From Growing In Gravel Using A Few Kitchen Staples

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Nothing ruins the look of a perfectly curated garden more than weeds growing in your gravel. These persistent pests are determined to grow exactly where you don't want them, and it can be difficult to know how to deal with them when they're so intricately rooted within the gravel. Instead of using chemical herbicides, consider reaching for a few basic ingredients from your kitchen: vinegar, dish soap, and salt. Chances are, you probably already have these in your pantry. This is a super simple DIY that promises to kill the weeds and leave them to die in as little as 24 hours, depending on how concentrated your solution is. Some higher concentrations of vinegar can decimate weeds in just two hours. The acetic acid in the vinegar works to burn and destroy the weeds.

Since it's not always ideal to use chemical weed killers in your garden, a mixture like this vinegar, soap, and salt combination is a great solution for ridding your outdoor space of intruders. However, while vinegar is an excellent and affordable alternative to store-bought products, it is also non-selective in its properties, meaning it can be detrimental to your nearby plants. That being said, it's important to use caution when applying this solution to your gravel to avoid harming other plants growing in the area

If you aren't already, you should be using vinegar in your garden. Not only is this trick successful, but it's incredibly affordable. If you don't already have distilled white vinegar, you can easily find a bottle at your local grocery store or online — a 16 ounce bottle of Amazon Saver Distilled White Vinegar will cost you less than a dollar. Household vinegar will work for this hack if it's all you can track down, but if you want an even stronger solution, pick up a product with a higher concentration of acetic acid like this Natural Elements 30% Vinegar. Your other two ingredients, salt and dish soap, are probably already in your home.

First, grab a large bucket or container as well as an empty spray bottle or handheld sprayer. While the specifics for this recipe can vary, you can start off with these basic measurements: equal parts white distilled vinegar, dish soap, and salt. You can use any kind of dish soap. While this ingredient doesn't kill weeds on its own, it acts as a surfactant, forcing the vinegar to remain on the intended area. As for salt, you can use basic table salt or rock salt — this ingredient helps to dry out the weeds. Once your solution is mixed together, carefully pour it into your spray bottle and prepare for application.

Since ingredients like salt and vinegar can be detrimental to the plants you're actually trying to grow, it's important to be extremely cautious when applying this homemade solution. A spray bottle or handheld sprayer will help direct the concoction directly onto the gravel without spreading to your nearby plants. It's recommended to avoid applying this solution on a windy or rainy day to reduce the risk of the solution blowing into other parts of your yard. You should also try to use it as soon as you spot weeds, as it's more effective on younger plants. Opting to remove these stubborn plants when they're freshly sprouted is an effective tactic for preventing weeds from taking over.

Ideally, you should spray your homemade weed killer on a dry and sunny day, as the added heat will help the vinegar and salt to dry out the weeds faster. Target only the spaces throughout your gravel and spray low to the ground to avoid spreading the solution further. This first application should start to take down the pesky weeds, but some of them might be stubborn and require additional treatments or hand-pulling to eliminate completely.