This is the three-ingredient weed killer I mix in a regular gallon pump sprayer. The recipe is 1 gallon of regular distilled vinegar, 1 cup of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of Dawn dish soap. I have also used 2 cups of salt in a gallon of vinegar; it works about the same, and I prefer 1 cup so I can save salt. Any dish soap works — you don’t need much. It is a surfactant, so the mix sticks to the weeds.
I pour it into the sprayer, mix it, pressurize it, and spray the weeds until they are dripping wet. The best time to spray is a hot, dry day. Don’t spray when it is raining, because the rain will wash it off and it won’t work as well.
You can use it in gravel areas or around the edges of beds. I wouldn’t use it in a flower bed, or around in-ground vegetables, because the salt can leach into the soil and raise the salinity, and nothing really wants to grow in that. Don’t overspray — I have a hydrangea in a pot nearby, and if this mix gets on it, it will burn it.
In the video I come back about 24 hours later. The spots I had sprayed — including a section of gravel and along the edge of a grass patch, and the front of our driveway — looked pretty much dead, or completely fried.
Set Apart Kitchen · DIY
DIY Vinegar Weed Killer
This is the three-ingredient weed killer I mix in a gallon pump sprayer: distilled vinegar, table salt, and a little Dawn.
Ingredients
Makes 1 gallon in a gallon pump sprayer.
- 1 gallon regular distilled vinegar
- 1 cup table salt (2 cups also works about the same; I prefer 1 cup to save salt)
- 2 tablespoons Dawn dish soap (or any dish soap)
Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Instructions
- Pour 1 gallon of regular distilled vinegar into a gallon pump sprayer.
- Add 1 cup of table salt. (2 cups per gallon also works about the same.)
- Add 2 tablespoons of Dawn dish soap, or any dish soap.
- Mix, pressurize the sprayer, and spray the weeds until they are dripping wet.
- Spray on a hot, dry day — not when it is raining, because rain will wash it off.
Tip. Use this in gravel areas or around the edges of beds. I wouldn’t use it in a flower bed or around in-ground vegetables, because the salt can leach into the soil. Don’t overspray — if it gets on a potted hydrangea, it will burn it.
Step-by-Step Photos
