Homemade weed killer

[Just Piddling 0]

I have read about the mixture of vinegar, salt and dishwashing liquid to make a weed killer.

Does anybody use this? Results? I guess with the low acid content of vinegar, this is equal to the ready mixed store bought stuff. I use a water hose sprayer that is setup for concentrate. Will this mixture be too weak for that?

Thanks

[64lawnranger 0]

We use water softener salt mixed with water...about a handful per 5 gallon bucket....I've been using this mix for a while on my gravel driveway to keep weeds down and its works great. Look at a bottle of round-up next time you see one, its mostly made of sodium aka: salt!

[Duff 206]

....just be careful using anything with a high salt content near evergreen trees. Most varieties are salt-sensitive (those of us who live in the frozen north see the results along the sides of the Interstates and some state highways where they planted evergreens as landscaping and the combination of salt spray and salt leaching into the soil kills the trees!). The tell-tale sign is the tree starts to turn brown out at the ends of the branches.

I almost killed two very nice spruces using road salt on my front walk which runs beside them. Fortunately I caught on and switched over to calcium chloride and they bounced back.

JMHO......

Duff :omg:

[Eriks Red horse herd 43]

Chris the vinager and dishsoap works real good! I never put salt in mine. The soap acts as a agent that makes the it stick to the leaves.

To get rid of poison Ivy or oak use the heavy duty stuff (round up) and dish soap or a shot of fuel oil instead of dish soap (both work). because poison Ivy has oil on the leaves you need oil or dish soap to make it stick!

[bk-scouter 93]

Will it kill the grass too ?

-BK

[Operator 7]

"White" vinegar works great, I use it and you can see the leaves start to shrivel by the time your spraying the next one. I haven't added the soap, but I'll try that this year. I've tried the consumer Round-up but isn't worth the money. Get the real Round-up from a farmer.

And yes the vinegar WILL kill the grass too! That is why I use it on the sidewalk areas.

Randy

[CasualObserver 3,406]

I've tried the consumer Round-up but isn't worth the money. Get the real Round-up from a farmer.

Yeah, I don't think the stuff they call Roundup that they sell at the hardware store/home stores is anywhere near the real stuff... I get mine from the in-law's Christmas tree farm, but he gets it in a case of small concentrate bottles from a fertilizer place. (Check with your local FS, Greenway or Ag Co-Op)

Interesting trick though with the vinegar, is there anything vinegar CAN'T do? I'll have to give that a shot...I already use it as a carpet cleaner for kid/pet spots and it works wonders for wall paper removal. Good tip too with the soap. Thanks!

[Just Piddling 0]

I've still got a small container of the concentrate Round up. I am going to use it tomorrow, as far as it will go. Then I'll try the vinegar- salt- soap mix on the rest.