It’s amazing how fast weeds grow. Even in the most well-maintained lawns, there’s always a chance weed seed can make its way to your yard. Weeds pop up in garden beds, grass, walkways, and other spaces around your home. If you don’t want to deal with them and don’t want to use chemicals, here are a few natural weed control products to consider.

Natural Weed Control Products

The most natural way to control weeds is by maintaining a healthy lawn and garden. This means providing the right amount of light, water, and nutrients for your grass and plants to grow. However, weeds can still pop up here and there for various reasons, including via wind and water. If this happens, you have a few options. If you don’t want to use chemicals, you’ve narrowed down your options, but there are still multiple methods to choose from:

1. Leave them alone. Embrace the weeds, at least they’re green!
2. Hand-pull. Just be sure to pull out the root so they don’t return.
3. Natural weed control products. There are products on the market that don’t contain toxic chemicals. Typically the active ingredients include a form of vinegar, salt, or borax. You can easily concoct a formula from ingredients you find in your kitchen or head to your home and garden center for an eco-friendly product.

There are natural products you can spray or sprinkle on your weeds to kill them. Some of these work better on smaller outbreaks and when applied in full sun. There are still pre-emergent and post-emergent formulas that work better at certain stages of weed production. There are selective and non-selective products that either target a certain weed or kill anything it comes in contact with. Even if it says it’s non-toxic, you still want to note the ingredients, read the warnings, and follow the recommended steps for best results.

If you want to go the non-toxic route, it may be better for the environment and other living things in the area, but there are still cons to being conservative.

Cons to Non-Toxic Herbicides

No product is perfect. Maybe all-natural weed control products are better for the environment and can be used around people and pets, but there are still downsides to keep in mind:

• Roots stay intact. Not all natural herbicides get to the root of the weed problem.
• Multiple applications. Some products require a few spray sessions before any noticeable change.
• Weather dependent. Sometimes the product is reliant on warm weather and full sun to work well. Plus, you want to avoid wind when possible.
• Needs to soak. Weeds may need to be doused in a more natural solution, which could cause neighboring plants to become negatively impacted.
• Salty soil. Some natural products contain salt which could remain in the soil and make it less fertile.

It all comes down to your preference for weed control. Also, keep in mind that you could use chemicals or no chemicals and still have to deal with weeds eventually. If it becomes too much to handle, contact the lawn care experts at Cardinal Lawns for more options.