Natural weed killer with epsom salt is an easy and effective method of removing invasive species. This salt is magnesium sulfate and is more commonly known as bath salts.
You can use it in a large concentration with several household ingredients to make homemade solid weed killers. In this comprehensive write-up, we will talk about three of the best DIY anti-weed recipes and various other natural options.
Contents
How To Create A Natural Weed Killer With Epsom Salt?
You can create a natural weed killer with epsom salts by mixing different ingredients. These ingredients are vinegar, essential oils, dishwashing liquids, and essential oils. Spray a mixture of these substances consistently on the weeds for a few days to get effective results.
– Salt, Vinegar, and Dishwashing Soap
Simple white vinegar used in the kitchen can be mixed with bath salts to create potent homemade weed killers. This is among the most recommended and time-tested recipes to eliminate almost all invasive species from the lawn.
Collect about one gallon of vinegar in a medium-sized plastic bucket. Add two whole cups of epsom or bath salts and mix well. Lastly, add one cup of good-quality liquid dishwashing soap, such as dawn or palmolive. Take a spray bottle because you need to use only a little bit of this solution on weeds at a time.
This solution will kill not only weeds but surrounding patches of grass as well. That is why we recommend you spray by lowering the nozzle down to the level of the weeds. Do not expect this mixture to kill weeds immediately because multiple applications will be needed.
– Salt With Hot Boiling Water
We understand if you do not like to use two gallons of vinegar for making a DIY weed-killing solution. You can substitute both vinegar and dish soap with boiling water instead. You will require Two liters of water and two standard-sized cups of bath salts for an effective mixture.
Boil the water in a sizable pot and then add crystals of the bath salt to it. The salt will dissolve immediately, and the mixture is now ready to be used. Remember, the hotter the solution, the more effective it will be. Pour it very carefully into an insulating plastic bottle and spray it over all the weedy patches in the lawn.
Soak every weed thoroughly with this solution to kill it completely. Wear rubber gloves and shoes, and be careful while handling the boiling water. Take care and protect the nearby trees and plants from damage as well.
– Salt and Essential Oils
Another essential DIY weed-killer recipe is when bath salts are mixed with essential oils. Add horticultural vinegar to this mix to make it even more potent. Be careful while handling horticultural vinegar, as it is 15 times stronger than ordinary household vinegar.
You will need about three cups of horticultural vinegar and one cup of bath salts. Add only about 20 drops of essential oil to this mixture. We usually prefer using either citrus oil or peppermint oil for this.
Once the solution has been mixed and is ready to use, take out the spray bottle and use one at a time. Ensure the solution fully covers the weeds and the soil is soaked down to the roots. Once the weeds are dead, they can be quickly removed from the ground using a rake.
How Do Natural Weed Killers With Epsom Salt Work?
Natural weed killers with epsom salt work by dehydrating weed plants’ leaves, stems, and roots. The high magnesium levels of bath salts prevent weeds from absorbing any other nutrients. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which kills plants by causing chemical burns.
– Epsom Salt Weed Killing Action
This salt is magnesium sulfate which is a naturally occurring mineral salt. Many confuse epsom or bath salts with table salt or sodium chloride. In a small amount, this salt is a rich source of magnesium and sulfur; two minerals that help plants and weeds grow.
In a large concentrated amount, bath salts prevent the uptake of any other nutrient by the weed roots. When sprayed over the weeds several times, it gets absorbed into the plant and disrupts its growth cycle. This salt takes about two to three days to start killing weeds after application.
For all its effectiveness, this salt is not recommended as a long-term option against weeds. Firstly, a large quantity of salt is needed to achieve the desired effect. Secondly, it often only kills the top parts of the weeds, and the roots carry on growing.
– Weed-Killing Action Of Vinegar
All vinegar-based weed killers are very effective because of their rapid desiccating properties. Even household vinegar with an acetic acid concentration as low as five percent is enough to cause chemical burns to weeds and plants. Vinegar that contains a higher concentration of acetic acid will kill weeds far more quickly.
Weeds younger than two weeks of life are killed the most easily. Those that are older and well-established are killed by vinegar of high concentration after being applied several times. Does vinegar kill grass as well, along with weeds? The answer to this common question is yes, which is the reason why you should practice caution while using it yourself.
Vinegar draws out moisture from the cells of the weeds, and they die by dehydration. It quickly kills the weed parts that are above the ground. The roots will only be killed if they are shallow and the vinegar seeps deep into the soil. Deep-rooted weeds are not killed permanently by weeds and often come back the following season.
– Weed-Killing Action Of Dish Soap
Dishwashing soaps and detergents cannot eliminate weeds on their own. When mixed with a salt weed killer, their role is to increase the surface tension of the liquid solution. This allows the DIY solution to stick to the leaves and stems of the weed plants. As salt and vinegar remain in contact with weed for a long time, their effectiveness increases.
What Are Some Other Natural Weed Killers Besides Epsom Salt?
Some other natural weed killers besides epsom salt are table salt, baking soda, and mulch. Table salt and baking soda work by the exact mechanism as bath salts. Conversely, mulch kills all weeds by starving them of air, light, and water.
– Ordinary Salt
Common table salt from your pantry can also be used to eliminate weeds. Mixing salt and water in a ratio of 1:2 makes a powerful solution that helps kill all the weeds without affecting the pH of the soil.
Salt solutions of concentrations higher than this can also be used, but they will alter the soil’s pH negatively. Table salt solution should be poured over the base of the weeds over the soil. This way, the solution seeps into the soil and kills the roots.
– Sprinkle A Little Baking Soda
Baking soda is not just your ordinary baking staple but helps in the lawn as well. Sprinkling it in a generous amount over weed patches will help kill them. Using powdered soda is convenient because it does not spread quickly to surrounding grass and plants. Pick a non rainy and non-windy day so that the powder doesn’t land anywhere other than intended.
Baking soda powder can also be mixed with water for a spray-type solution. Two to three tablespoons of soda in one gallon of water makes a potent weed-eradicating agent. The spray solution is better if a large area of weed has to be sprayed upon.
– Mulch
Mulch is a good option for eliminating weeds from areas around bushes and shrubs. It is only suitable for weeds growing among grass if you are ready to say goodbye to the grass as well.
Anything can be used to create a layer of mulch over the weeds. A thick layer of mulch will be more effective than a thinner one. It resists air, light, and water from reaching the weed plants, ultimately killing them after some weeks.
Conclusion
In this article, we learned several practical homemade recipes used to kill invasive weeds involving epsom or bath salts.
- In small quantities, this salt serves as a fertilizer, but in large amounts helps get rid of weeds and invasive plant species.
- The most popular recipe is when bath salts are mixed with household vinegar and dishwashing liquid soap.
- Very hot boiling mixed with bath salts, when poured over weeds, will also kill it.
- Do not use this salt as a long-term strategy against weeds; otherwise, you will alter the soil chemistry for the worse.
Now you know several methods of using these salts as two or three-ingredient homemade weed eradicators. Let us know which recipe you found most effective and easy to implement.
References
- Spray Weeds With Vinegar?: USDA ARS
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