Environmentally-friendly weed killer?

[Flaxbee]

OK, perhaps that is an oxymoron, but is there anything I can buy or make at home to zap the weeds growing between the flagstones, etc... along the sides of the house and deck that won't kill birds or hurt the bunnies or the bees or hurt too many other bugs? I'm not anal about my yard, it doesn't have to be pristine, but I'd like to at least be able to eliminate most of the weeds.

I hate using highly toxic stuff around my house, and hope there's a good alternative.

Thanks!

[henslee]

1. I dont see a problem using a little Round Up VERY sugrically,sparingly.

I just dont see anything else really working. If you find something let me know.

[brook]

2. Vinegar.

Just don't get it on plants you want to live. I use it in a spray bottle with the nozzle turned to the narrowest radius. Works like a dream.

[atomic-fly]

12. 1 gallon vinegar, cup of salt, teaspoon of dish detergent

Heat vingegar and mix ingredients. Put in spray bottle. Kills poison ivy. I need to mix some up tommorow.
This stuff did kill poison ivy, takes a few applications. I'm sure it would work on other weeds.
Be careful with over use, because of salt.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. For small areas, try warm white vinegar

Spray it on the leaves of young weeds on a sunny day (or drizzle it on to avoid splashing the flagstones. This works for most baby weeds. It's not good for use in wide areas or for frequent use because it can change the soil ph and kill the insects. It takes about a day to see if the vinegar treatment works.

If it doesn't work, the next level would be to try something from Safer or Green Light.



On edit: plain boiling water does a number on young weeds too, but it's a treatment best used for weeds popping up in the sidewalk and driveway cracks.

[LeftyMom]

4. I just take the teakettle out with boiling water

and pour a little on the cracks in the sidewalk and other spots where I don't want anything growing.

[ashling]

5. Just pull the damn weeds!

[Kali]

17. that is what I was thinking

[pitohui]

21. where do you live?

you know i have heard of these northern regions where plants have shallow roots and can be pulled by hand or machine but some of us live in the deep south where it is not physically possible to pull a weed

believe me i have tried, i am as cheapskate as the next person and would love to be able to pull up weeds for free, here, it just ain't gonna happen you all!

they are living things, they hold on, and a determined tropical/subtropical plant has roots that go practically down to the earth's iron core!

[ashling]

23. I live in Texas

have lived in the South most of my life. So you have to pull 'em again in a few months ... just pull the damn weeds!
:)

[Flaxbee]

25. but if you can squirt the buggers with something non-toxic,

why pull?

Some of the weeds in NCarolina and SCarolina (I live on the state line, almost) are tough to get up. I pull a lot, but the little low weeds with deep roots squashed between the steps/along the garage, etc... what's wrong with a squirt? Is there some work ethic I'm missing? :shrug:

[ashling]

31. Bhudist tradition

chop wood, carry water ... and in between, PULL THE FRIGGIN WEEDS!!!

Builds character:)

[Kali]

30. soak with a real slow drip for a day, first.

Also the principle of over-grazing does exist (although not how it is used in most conversations) Repeated removal of new growth without subsequent root recovery (roots die back every time green stuff is removed) will eventually kill the plant. It is all about timing. You just have to be persistant.


(lived in AZ most of my life - I know how deep those suckers can go AND how hard the ground can get!)

[Robb]

6. Goats

Barring that, I think the sparing Round-Up use or boiling water is cool.

My grandpa used to use salt water on those pesky crack weeds... from the ice cream churn... lord, but those were good summers. :)

[atomic-fly]

14. I need a goat... that would be sweet.

[Immad2]

7. Flame thrower!

:evilgrin: Sorry, I couldn't resist. Forgive me. My bad.:spank:

[sbj405]

8. I've read boiling water or salt works. nt

[WCGreen]

18. Boiling water works really well...

Or one of those steamers.....

[Earth_First]

9. Mix a little lemon juice into equal parts vinegar and good old water...

[In_The_Wind]

10. I was wondering about that myself.

I hate it when the weeds tickle my legs.

[Agony]

11. Fooled by Monsanto

It is unbelievable to me that Monsanto has fooled so many with its propaganda campaign making the gullible believe that RoundUp is an environmentally friendly herbicide. If you would not use other herbicides then don't use it either. Something like 18 milliion pounds of RU are used in the US every year and there is no reason to add ...oh, just a little won't hurt... to that total. the active ingredient in RU is glyphosate, but research shows that an adjuvant, Polyethyl oxyamine(PEOA) adds to the toxicity of the formulation even tho it was not included in the tests that EPA used to register this pesticide.

The suggestions by others in this thread will work for you just fine. I use both strong vinegar and flaming with a propane torch with adequate results. I am guessing that you really don't want to use RU for cosmetic weed control. Really, mechanical weeding pulling or hoeing are the best way.

The following research article is part of a long string of research disputing the claim made by Monsanto that Roundup is benign.

Conclusion

Our studies show that glyphosate acts as a disruptor of mammalian cytochrome P450 aromatase activity from concentrations 100 times lower than the recommended use in agriculture, and this is noticeable on human placental cells after only 18 hr, and it can also affect aromatase gene expression. It also partially disrupts the ubiquitous reductase activity but at higher concentrations. Its effects are allowed and amplified by at least 0.02% of the adjuvants present in Roundup, known to facilitate cell penetration, and this should be carefully taken into account in pesticide evaluation. The dilution of glyphosate in Roundup formulation may multiply its endocrine effect. Roundup may be thus considered as a potential endocrine disruptor. Moreover, at higher doses still below the classical agricultural dilutions, its toxicity on placental cells could favor some reproduction problems.

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/7728/abstract.html

thanks for listening!

On edit: _IF_ you just have to spray something commercial it would be better to use a Potassium Salt of Fatty Acid type product...I think "Safer" makes one called Sharpshooter.

[LaurenG]

13. heh

I'd love to live in a a pesticide free world, sounds like you are up on the organic consumers news. Thanks for saying this!

[Telly Savalas]

24. Guess I gotta give up the Round Up-Blueberry milkshakes now!

:cry:

[Agony]

27. Hey Telly! cheer up, no need to worry.

just don't drink more than 262ml of your favorite shake at a time!

A similar study of 97 glyphosate-surfactant herbicide poisonings found an average of 263 mL was ingested by non-survivors (Tominack et al. 1991).

I prefer peach tho...

[name not needed]

15. Fire. Lots and lots of fire.

[Flaxbee]

16. thanks for all the replies, everyone...

looks like I'll start with some lemon/vinegar/water and then perhaps chase it a little later with boiling water or salt water if need be.

I appreciate the input!

[gardenista]

19. Do you know what kind of weeds they are? Perennial or annual?

If they're perennial, they'll keep coming back from the roots unless you dig the whole root out.

If they're annuals, be sure to get them before they set seed, or you'll get more sprouting up almost right away.

I like to use a very, very thick mulch where I can to prevent germination of annual seeds and inhibit the growth of the perennials. You can augment this very effectively with a thick layer of newspaper (think at least 10 sheets thick, with overlapping edges) in order to retard the growth of toughies like bermuda grass. You must be sure not to let any of it emerge and take hold, or it will run rampant over the gorgeous weed-free mulch.

To get lots of mulch cheap, you can ask a local arborist to dump a truckload and maybe share the wealth with your neighbors, if you don't need all that much. Then spread it thick, thick, thick!

[pitohui]

22. ha ha ha ha ha

go ahead we all try that crap once but we all have to prove it to ourselves

when it doesn't work, yeah, round up or the generic

go read sara stein's noah's garden, that is a woman of courage! she says in public and in print what the rest of us environmentalists only mutter behind the barn

[pitohui]

20. the true answer pisses me off but it's round-up

it has an LD-50 of something like the song sparrow would have to consume 2,000 other song sparrows who just feasted on round-up sprayed weeds to be affected

i don't like monsanto so the good news is that glyphosate sulfate is now a generic

read your labels

if there are any additives beside the glyphosate sulfate put it back on the shelf and try again

this is the only herbicide (weedkiller) that breaks down quickly enough to avoid harming animals and birds

the wetlands formula is called rodeo but it is not sold in small quantities, you most likely need to buy round-up or generic and then just screen off any plants you don't want affected

for clearing flagstone round-up/generic glyphosate are the nuts!

[leftofthedial]

26. giant killer asteroid that destroys the earth, leaving nothing

but a burnt-out cinder

otherwise, nothing kills weeds.

[BlueJazz]

28. ..

[Agony]

29. 29

This could easily turn into the NozzleNut vs Organohippie flame war!

[Bear down under]

32. Home-made weedkiller ...

not easy to describe tastefully but quite effective. Pass water into a bucket and leave in the sun to ferment for a couple of hours, when it will become nearly as deadly to weeds as a cat's, er, water. Wet the weeds with this, concentrating it on the centre of the plant. Works best on a hot day and when the neighbours aren't at home to get offended.

The problem with any weedkiller is that you have to get rid of the dead weeds anyway. It really is simpler just to dig them out once and for all. If you can't get a trowel into the cracks, use an old kitchen knife.

[1gobluedem]

33. Do these organic weed killers work on ground ivy too?

The people who lived in my house before I did planted ground ivy in the backyard instead of grass. The damn stuff has taken over; obliterated the paths to the compost pile and gas and water meters, wraps itself around trees,and takes over everything in sight. I try and try to cut it back but it just comes back. There is too much of it to dig by hand and I can't really afford a landscaping service to come and dig it up with a bulldozer. If I can just manage it so the backyard looks halfway decent I'll be happy.

I like grass -- wish I could enjoy my backyard.....:cry:

[Random_Australian]

34. Asbestos dissolved in mercury.

[Burma Jones]

35. A Hoe