While stores sell a variety of weed killers, most are not very safe for pets or humans. Fortunately, there are some natural, pet-safe weed control methods that you can use for controlling weeds in your garden. Using household products to make pet-safe weed killers is less expensive, just as effective and much safer than using dangerous chemicals sold in most stores.
Any of the ingredients below (except for bleach) can be combined to make a more effective pet-safe weed killer. If the mixture is liquid and you will be using a spray bottle, add a little dish soap. Dish soap will help the liquid stick to the weed better!
- Pull weeds up by hand: If you wear garden gloves, it’s absolutely safe, and you’ll get some exercise! Pull weeds after a heavy rainfall or watering of your flower/vegetable garden to make it easier. For weeds embedded in your lawn, invest in a special digging fork to make it easy to grab and pull their long tap roots.
- Apply a layer of compost and/or mulch to help suppress weed growth.
- Install landscape fabric to block weed growth in your garden and under stones and pavers to prevent weed growth in walkways. It protects the roots of trees and shrubs and keeps roots cool when covered with mulch. While weeds may try to grow in the mulch on top of landscape fabric, their roots tend to be shallow, so pulling them is usually easy to do.
- Boiling water: A good method for eradicating the weeds that grow between cracks in your patio, driveway or sidewalk or any area that needs to be cleared of weeds. Boiling water will instantly kill any plant it comes in contact with, not just weeds, by cooking the plant in the ground. Be careful not to come in contact with the boiling water, and keep children and pets out of the way while you do this.
- White vinegar: Spray white vinegar on plants that you wish to kill. For tougher weeds, you may need to reapply vinegar several times before the plant completely dies. It’s best to spray vinegar in the morning on a sunny day, since the sun’s rays will improve the effectiveness. Take extra care not to over-spray vinegar your lawn and garden. Vinegar in high amounts will also kill garden plants, if you’re not careful.
- Salt: If you have an area in which you do not wish to have plants growing at all, like a brick path or patio, salt works well as a pet-safe weed control. Putting salt in an area will make the soil unsuitable for plants and weeds to grow in. Use salt carefully and only in the areas of weeds you wish to eradicate. Don’t spread it where your pet may walk, because salt can irritate a pet’s paws.
- Sugar: Apply sugar to the base of a weed to make the soil unsuitable for grass and plant growth. This is effective for killing plants with deep roots, weed trees, bushes or vines that are hard to pull out. If you are concerned about sugar attracting pests, simply mix the sugar with equal parts chili pepper to deter them.
- Prevent weed growth with corn meal! Use cornmeal before spring, in order to prevent weed seeds from germinating. Spread it wherever you don’t want weeds to grow, to stop their seeds from germinating in the soil. It won’t hurt mature plants, so you can sprinkle it around an established vegetable garden or flower bed without fear of harm. Cornmeal can be applied to cracks and crevices in sidewalks and patios to prevent the emergence of weeds.
- Soil solarization may help to eliminate weeds from a large area before growing plants. However, this method will not be useful for removing weeds in established gardens or lawns. Prepare the ground and water thoroughly before covering the entire area with a clear, plastic tarpaulin. The thickness of the tarpaulin must be between .001 to .004 inches, and it must be spread just above the soil surface. Secure the tarpaulin to the ground and leave it for at least two months. This will result in heating the soil with solar energy, thereby killing the weeds. Some people use landscape fabric for this purpose.
- Homemade pet-safe weed killer recipe: Make a solution of one gallon water, one gallon bleach, ¼ teaspoon dish soap. This mixture is somewhat effective in killing weeds. Another method is to mix a gallon of vinegar with a teaspoon of liquid soap and a cup of orange oil. You may also try a mixture of one gallon vinegar and a container of salt. A gallon of boiling water mixed with half-gallon vinegar, salt and liquid soap can be used for killing weeds.
- White vinegar/essential oil pet-safe weed killer spray: If you have a large area to treat, such as a fence-line, you may want a spray solution to apply with a standard weed killer sprayer. For an easy, homemade herbicide recipe (Multiply amounts as needed to make more.), combine 2 cups boiling water + 1 cup white vinegar +1 teaspoon clove or lemon oil in a heat-proof bowl. If you don’t have any essential oil, you can use dishwashing soap, instead. Allow the mixture to cool. Then pour into a spray bottle or weed killer sprayer. On a dry, bright, sunny, still day, carefully spray this mixture directly onto weeds you wish to kill. Avoid using this mixture on a windy day, since over-spray may cause unwanted results. Avoid spraying over expensive grass and nearby plants. Don’t apply before or soon after a rain and avoid watering the soil within 24 hours after application.
If you must choose a commercial weed killer:
- Ask a salesperson for the safest, most organic, pet-friendly product.
- If you still want to use synthetic weed killer, instead of a biodegradable natural one, select the safest product available.
- Read the list of ingredients on the product. If you find any offensive ingredient on the list, avoid buying that product.
- Be aware that some manufacturers do not disclose every ingredient on their list.
- Research which ingredients are harmful and which are pet-safe. Ingredients like carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and chloroethane are carcinogens that must be avoided.
- Avoid using weed killers with ingredients like ‘ 2,4-D’, which is highly toxic in nature.
- It may not be possible to determine which is the best weed killer. To be on the safer side, buy products that are certified as pet-safe by veterinarians or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
References:
- Gardening Know How: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com. URL to article: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/homemade-pet-friendly-weed-killer.htm
- Weed killers: https://gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/weeds/conventional-weed-killers.htm
- Boiling water: https://gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/watering/hot-water-on-plants.htm
- Vinegar: https://gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/use-vinegar-in-gardens.htm
- Salt: https://gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/using-salt-to-kill-weeds.htm
- Sugar: https://gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/using-sugar-to-kill-weeds.htm
- Killing weed trees: https://gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/weed-trees.htm
- Cornmeal: https://gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/cornmeal-in-the-garden.htm
- Pre-emergent on plant seeds: https://gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/weeds/pre-emergent-herbicides.htm
- Natural Homemade Weed Killers That are Safe for Your Pets. https://gardenerdy.com/pet-safe-weed-killer
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