Ditch vinegar for patio expert’s powerful free solution that kills pesky paving weeds
Gardeners who are fed up with unruly weeds manoeuvring in between patio slabs can remove them with a simple solution - and it's not white vinegar.
Weeds do a fabulous job of making any garden patio look untidy and unkept; it's not a great look for summer.
While white vinegar is considered one of the most effective ways to kill patio weeds, it's not advisable if you have lovely patio slabs.
For some slabs, especially those made of limestone or concrete, the white vinegar acidity could cause expensive damage.
Not only that, white vinegar can be harmful to other plants it comes into contact with and could be dangerous for pets, who may be tempted to lick the liquid.
Instead of risking the health of any pets or animals, and not damaging the patio slabs, another alternative could do the job just as well.
According to paving specialists Harpenden Block Paving: "A good way to kill weeds and prevent germination is to boil your kettle and pour the water between your patio slabs."
The process most likely requires a few tries "until you have doused all pesky weeds".
The experts added: "Be careful when pouring the boiling water, pour from a short height and pour directly onto the weeds."
Gardeners World affirmed that boiling water from the kettle "can kill weeds" and it's a "particularly useful technique on paths and paving where you don't have to worry about nearby plants being affected".
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Using boiling water to eradicate weeds has been confirmed to be "very easy, convenient, and cheap".
Another alternative to white vinegar and boiling water is a lemon juice weed killer recipe.
Lemon juice contains citric acid, which causes weeds to shrivel, but a fair amount of lemon juice is needed.
According to Gardeners' World, you would need around five lemons to kill weeds, but it's also a time-consuming process.
What are weeds?
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) identified weeds as any plant that grows where its not wanted.
- Common weeds
- Green alkanet
- Herb bennet
- Couch grass
- Bindweed
- Japanese knotweed
- Ground elder
- Oxalis
- Lesser celandine
- Enchanter’s nightshade
- Cleavers
- Herb robert
- Bittercress
- Creeping buttercup
- Nettles
- Creeping thistle
- Rosebay willowherb
- Annual meadow grass
- Common chickweed
- Horsetail
- Docks
- Be aware of Japanese knotweed, which has bamboo-like stem; the plant is invasive and hard to control.
Any person selling property in the UK must declare on a TA6 form if Japanese knotweed is present in their garden.
