Is there an environmentally friendly way to kill weeds?

January 6, 2023 12:48 AM

Is there an environmentally friendly way to kill weeds? I have tall weeds growing between the gaps in my brick paving. I want to kill them, but I also don't want to harm the (Australian) wildlife in my garden, which includes frogs, fence skinks, insect eating birds and seed eating birds. I also don't want to get Parkinson's disease from weed killer exposure. Is there something like coffee, boiling water, or boiling salty water that would work?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

A weed blowtorch is perfect for pavers. Might want to wear a mask depending on the weeds, however.
posted by jamjam at 1:51 AM on January 6, 2023 [5 favorites]

have you tried a boiled kettle? It’s not terrible.
posted by chiquitita at 2:16 AM on January 6, 2023 [5 favorites]

Option 3: a strong white vinegar solution, sprayed onto the leaves.
posted by pipeski at 2:34 AM on January 6, 2023 [7 favorites]

I'm also an Aussie concerned about wildlife, and I use boiling water for paver weeds. Make sure you get down near the base, and go back for a second round after a few days.
posted by harriet vane at 2:57 AM on January 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've had good luck with this combination of vinegar, dish soap, and Epsom salts. It made short work of most of the weeds growing between our walkway paving stones, and with repeated applications appears to have finally gotten the onion grass that resisted everything else so far.
posted by AV at 3:04 AM on January 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Boiled water, add vinegar if you need more kick. Salt will travel around and is not great to add the the ecosystem.

Torch will work short term (weeks to maybe a season depending on rain) but do nothing to the roots and they will come back. AU grasses (and most grasses really) are adapted to frequent burning and grazing, they don't mind losing their tops.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:37 AM on January 6, 2023

A quick video outlining the vinegar and water technique mentioned.

If you want an alternative ecological solution then taking up the slabs and sowing a lawn with a parking mesh laid on top - in their place might be worth considering.
posted by rongorongo at 5:56 AM on January 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

(Australian video showing "turf paving" in action.) - if you were to plant that with wildflowers rather than grass you could probably have a solution that looked good and also did not need mowing.
posted by rongorongo at 6:11 AM on January 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sun Solarization / Occultation may be an option to help reset things. (At least this seems to be well established method for the U.S.A. I can't rule out the possibility that this may not be a suitable method for Australia's unique flora.)
posted by oceano at 8:41 AM on January 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

My mom swears by the vinegar, dish soap and water method mentioned above, but without the salt.
posted by urbanlenny at 8:45 AM on January 6, 2023

For what it's worth, be careful with vinegar and salt too. While they seem innocuous to us, they can actually cause problems for soil health. I like to consult university extension offices for reliable and science-based guidance.
posted by hessie at 10:45 AM on January 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

I would ask a local expert who knows your specific weeds, and who knows the most recent science and research. In the US there are Extension Services in every state specifically for this (although they are created for farmers, they also help homeowners without farms a lot). Probably your location has something similar?
posted by amtho at 2:02 PM on January 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I bet you could buy a pretty good silvered plastic parabolic mirror, half the size of an umbrella, say, which would allow you to use sunlight to do almost as much as a blowtorch could.

And it would probably be kind of fun to use, too.
posted by jamjam at 2:15 PM on January 6, 2023

Are you unable to pull the weeds?
posted by oneirodynia at 2:15 PM on January 6, 2023

Response by poster: Are you unable to pull the weeds?

Yes.

Pulling the weeds

a) would require so much physical force/yanking that it would cause injuries to my hands/wrists;

b) would aggravate chronic pain in multiple parts of my body;

c) would take more physical energy than I have available (I have a medical condition that causes severe physical exhaustion);

d) the weeds are coated in itchy pollen that makes my skin red and itchy.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 3:57 PM on January 6, 2023

Response by poster: If you want an alternative ecological solution then taking up the slabs and sowing a lawn with a parking mesh laid on top - in their place might be worth considering

(Australian video showing "turf paving" in action.) - if you were to plant that with wildflowers rather than grass

I use a power wheelchair to get around, and I need the brick paving to remain wheelchair accessible, so removing the brick paving won't work.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:00 PM on January 6, 2023

After you remove the weeds, use a weed preventer (pre-emergent herbicide).
posted by caryatid at 11:28 AM on January 7, 2023