Keeping your Exterior Weed Free

A green, lush, well cut yard is something to take a great amount of pride in. Putting in the time and effort to make sure that you lawn is attractive shows your dedication and attention to detail. All of those reasons make weeds, the pesky, ugly yard intruder, that much more annoying.

Left alone without treatment, weeds will spread their seeds and before you can contain it, your yard or garden will have been overcome by them. On the other hand, too aggressively attacking the weeds will unintentionally kill the plants you are actually trying to grow. To solve this challenging problem, turn to some of these easier home remedies.

Clog up Those Cracks

Weeds seem to always find a way to sneak up through cracks in walkways, driveways, or patios. These weeds can be difficult to treat by pulling them out because they are not easy to grab between the small crevices. Here are a couple quick fixes you can try:

  • Baking Soda: An easy way to stop weeds before they start is by using baking soda. The sodium added by sprinkling baking soda in the cracks will make it much less hospitable for these intruding plants.
  • Salt Water: ”Salting the fields” has always been known as a way to kill plant growth. The same goes for killing weeds. Pour boiling water with salt mixed in over the what you are trying to kill and watch it wither away. Be careful, though, as the salt will hurt the growth of whatever it gets near.
  • WD-40: Prickly weeds can be some of the hardest to get rid of. An easy home remedy for these pests is to simply spray some WD-40 on them. They will quickly die and your walkway will be weed free once again.

In the Garden

Concrete cracks are not the only place you have to worry about, weeds can sprout in your yard or garden as well. These ones can be more challenging to deal with because you have to worry about the health of the important plants surrounding them. These tips will let you target what needs to go, while protecting what you want to keep.

  • Spray Bottle Vinegar: This is a very easy one to do. Simply take a spray bottle, pour in undiluted vinegar, aim, and fire. Minimize the spray to only get what you are trying to eliminate. This is a safer, eco friendly, cheaper alternative to many other sprayable weed killers.
    • For best results with the vinegar, make sure that you spray on a sunny, wind free day. This will make sure the chemical will not spread to plants that you want to keep.
  • Mulch: The most effective way to prevent weeds from ever showing up in your garden is by spreading mulch. The mulch will fill up gaps smothering weed growth. If a weed does somehow find a way through, put newspaper over it. This will prevent air and sunlight from getting to the plant, stunting its growth.

Follow these strategies and have the best looking exterior on the block this summer.

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