Homemade All Natural Dandelion Weed Killer
When dandelions infest your lawn, your best natural remedy for killing the invasive weeds can be found in your kitchen cupboards–vinegar. The high acid content in vinegar kills dandelion weeds on contact, without polluting the soil or harming pets or humans. In addition to dandelions, common household vinegar kills foxtail, thistles, pigweed and velvetleaf weeds. Make a homemade, all-natural dandelion weed killer spray and watch them disappear from your lawn or garden.
Pour 1 gallon of household vinegar into a large container. Add 1 ounce of liquid dish soap. Mix the ingredients together gently so you don’t create any bubbles from the dish soap.
- When dandelions infest your lawn, your best natural remedy for killing the invasive weeds can be found in your kitchen cupboards–vinegar.
- Make a homemade, all-natural dandelion weed killer spray and watch them disappear from your lawn or garden.
Clean the pump sprayer to remove any residue from fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides before using it for the natural dandelion weed killer.
Pour the vinegar mixture into the clean pump sprayer.
Spray the vinegar solution directly onto the dandelion flower heads and leaves using the pump sprayer.
Wait 24 to 48 hours, and check if the dandelion weeds are turning brown, wilting and dying. Repeat the vinegar application if you don’t see the dandelions dying back within two days.
Homemade All Natural Dandelion Weed Killer
Although their yellow flowers can be used to make wine and the leaves are a tasty addition to salads, few people want to encourage dandelions to grow in their garden. Unlike shallow-rooted weeds, the deep taproots of dandelions make them difficult to pull out. Store-bought herbicides do kill dandelions, but the chemicals are harmful to waterways, people, pets and wildlife. Within two to four hours, you'll notice the leaves have turned brown. Mix 2 tablespoons of the alcohol with 1 quart of water. If the leaves haven't withered after a couple hours, spray the plant again. You can use the natural acidity of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to destroy your dandelions. Pour this into a spray bottle and spray enough to thoroughly coat all parts of the dandelion.
- Clean the pump sprayer to remove any residue from fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides before using it for the natural dandelion weed killer.
- Spray the vinegar solution directly onto the dandelion flower heads and leaves using the pump sprayer.
Tip
Warm up the vinegar before applying it to make it slightly more effective at killing the dandelion weeds.
A natural pre-emergent weed killer that will also feed your lawn is corn gluten meal, a powder byproduct of corn milling. Spread the corn gluten meal over your entire lawn using a grass-seed spreader in early spring, about four to six weeks before the dandelion weeds begin to germinate and sprout.
Warning
Avoid spraying the surrounding grass with the vinegar, because the solution could kill your grass if it makes contact with the grass blades.
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Tips
- Warm up the vinegar before applying it to make it slightly more effective at killing the dandelion weeds.
- A natural pre-emergent weed killer that will also feed your lawn is corn gluten meal, a powder byproduct of corn milling. Spread the corn gluten meal over your entire lawn using a grass-seed spreader in early spring, about four to six weeks before the dandelion weeds begin to germinate and sprout.
Warnings
- Avoid spraying the surrounding grass with the vinegar, because the solution could kill your grass if it makes contact with the grass blades.
Writer Bio
Sarah Terry brings over 10 years of experience writing novels, business-to-business newsletters and a plethora of how-to articles. Terry has written articles and publications for a wide range of markets and subject matters, including Medicine & Health, Eli Financial, Dartnell Publications and Eli Journals.
