Ever wonder how to make your own nontoxic weed killer? Looking for an alternative to nasty toxic chemicals?
Roundup has to be the number one item purchased by homeowners across America. I’m not going to go into the details of the toxicity of Roundup, you can read all about it here in an article by Dr Mercola.
According to a study conducted by Thomas Tworkoski, the following essential oils proved effective when used to kill weeds (in the study it is referred to as “causing injury”:
The study determined that a concentration of 5-10% was enough to successfully injure the weeds. Vinegar is also known to be effective for killing weeds. The combination of clove essential oil and vinegar is very powerful. If you make this solution, please keep in mind that you DO NOT want to spray this on the good bugs or the good plants in your yard! Some plants that you may want to eradicate are actually edible, medicinal, or very important for bees.
Ingredients
- 24 oz empty spray bottle
- 20 oz vinegar
- 20 drops Clove essential oil
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Drop pinch of salt into the spray bottle.
- Add 20 drops of Clove essential oil, aiming it toward the salt (this helps the oil to disperse in the liquid).
- Add the vinegar.
- Screw cap on and shake well.
I hope this helps you! Do you want to learn more about essential oils? Join me in my exclusive Facebook group Life Sanity Natural Living! Also, you can signup for my Newsletter. For those of you interested in signing up with a wholesale account after reading this post, follow this link to purchase your Premium Starter Kit to save 24% on your essential oils! Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love for you to join me on my journey to a healthier, toxic free life!
Is it okay for this to get on the plants in the garden? I’m trying to understand how to spray the weeds, but avoid the plants next to them. Thank you!
Sarah, NO! This works well but it does not discriminate. It will kill your plants in the garden!
if I don’t have the oil can I use the cloves I use for cooking?
The actual cloves might not be potent enough. Essential Oils are extremely potent. One drop of peppermint essential oil for example, equals 26 cups of peppermint tea!
To keep spray from plants either cut bottom out of a large juice container and cover weeds then spray weeds through the funnel you have made
OR
Cover plants with plastic bags and spray weeds carefully, when you move the plastic to another site make sure the outside of the bag is on outside so you do not contaminate and kill your plants. I have also used strips of flexible perspex and clipped it with large bull dog clips to hold it together
REMEMBER DO NOT INHALE ANY TYPE OF SPRAY.
When I use weed kill where only certain plants need to be killed instead of spraying I put the weed killer in a paint roller pan and use a paint roller to apply the killer, remember if you walk through the walk through it will b the bottom of your shoes and transfer to where you walk
This is a great suggestion, and I plan to try it out this weekend on the weeds that I was just lamenting having to pull up. I was not able to tag you for some odd reason on Facebook, but I wanted to notify you that I shared this post on my Facebook page Refocus On Being. Thanks for the great posts, I always enjoy reading your blog and other pages 🙂
Thanks Amanda!
How long should I wait after weed killing to plant new plants?
Once the weed is dead go ahead and plant!
Does one application do the job or should I spray multiple times? Thanks!
Just one application should do the trick!
Could you use thieves since it includes both clove and cinnamon? I don’t have clove.
Yes!
Will it kill thistles?
I’d give it a try!
How long should I wait after spraying to plant plants?
What type of spray bottle did you use? Wouldn’t the oil start eating thru the plastic of a plastic spray bottle? Did you just mix enough for what you didn’t for the day?
I’ve used glass or plastic. It really just depends on how quickly you’ll be using it. I mix it up and use the whole bottle immediately.
will this spray kill the worms in my garden,and other beneficial insects
I didn’t have that problem. 🙂
Looking for Natural weed killers to use inside a raised bed vegetable garden. Also info on companion planting flowers and vegetables, herbs to repel pests. So far I have Borage, French Marigold, and Peppermint to repel. Plus all are useful as food/oil. Newbie gardener. Wish me luck! Looking forward to learning from you. Pinterest generated an email link to you.
Will this work if brushed on the leaves of obnoxious plants using a foam paint brush? I have runaway ground cover plants invading my flower beds and can’t seem to get rid of them without killing the whole flower garden. Can’t spray due to proximity of flowers and shrubs.
Yes! I’ve done that.
Does it work on poison ivy and poison oak?
I didn’t try but I would think so.
What kind of vinger di I need to use? They have varies of vinger. Thanks
Distilled white vinegar.
I’m not too sure about using this even NEAR my plants; however, I have a patio made of 4 x 4 inch tiles
and a walkway made with 12 x 12 inch tiles and I have an awful time keeping the weeds from growing in between the tiles. I can’t wait to try this on those two areas!
Let us know how it goes!
will it kill grasses?
We didn’t spray it on the lawn, only on the weeds in the beds. 🙂