How to Make Homemade Weed Killer - Show Results with and without Salt 

I’ve been using the salt/vinegar/Dawn combo for years and here are a few things I’ve discovered: 1) Apply solution only when forecast for the coming days will be sunny with no chance of rain, 2) As others have said, spray away from concrete, and 3) Don’t leave the solution in a pump sprayer! It will ruin the metal parts. Rinse it out after each use and store unused solution in the vinegar bottle or elsewhere. I learned this one the hard way ☹️

FWIW, I've seen recipes for vinegar/dishwater soap and vinegar/dishwater soap/salt and the one for salt is for where grass is growing out of driveways or sidewalks where you don't want it to ever grow because salt makes soil not grow any plants. The one without salt is for lawn weeds where you want the grass to survive.

I didn't want to use harsh chemicals to kill weeds, so I appreciate you sharing your experiment with us, so I can make a better informed decision as how to kill weeds. Ignore the negative, sometimes people just don't have anything good to say...We have put so much work into making our back yard a play area and garden, and I want to keep it looking nice. So your video has helped. Thank you

I'm surprised how many videos show how to make the weed killer then stop. Thanks for showing how stuff works in real life.

Hey thank u for trying to help people. You seem so nice. God bless u and your family. I'll try the natural weed killer thank u.

Someone told me a good method to keep weeds from growing in the cracks on my patio. You mix some Rock Salt and some warm water in a sprayer. Do this about once a month. Works great!

Epson salt can be used in pre planting in gardens. It is suppose to create nitrogen and will not hurt plants. I tried it this year so far it works. I use vinegar, table salt and dawn for weeds. It does work. But doesn't last as long as round up. But my health is more important.

This was very helpful thank you with all i read about how toxic that roundup is i was looking for an alternative, i'll have to try this,

I’ve tried this method with success, however I used an industrial vinegar with 30% acid. It works extremely well. Interesting results with and without salt.

Good info. I have a spot under a tree that is covered with rocks, but has a tall, very hardy weed growing in many spots around this area. It is so sturdy, I can't pull them out of the ground. Want to avoid chemicals, so am going to try clipping these off at the ground and spraying each stump with the vinegar. Hope it works to kill them so they don't come back.

Actually salt doesn't dissolve when mixed with vinegar so it's more topical than anything. I'd suggest dissolving the salt in some water before adding it to the solution. Also, grass roots run a bit deeper so that might explain why the grass kept growing. I have some week killing to do out back so I'll first try using vinegar and dawn and see what happens.

Thank you for the demonstration! I'm going to use this recipe next instead of roundup

Thank you for your response! The little burs are all over my yard. I have a schnauzer and she gets them in all her hair. The Salt won't kill all my grass. I read it kills the grass! ??

Have used this recipe for years. Good success with it but must be reapplied. No impact on weeds after about two months and no lasting impact on the ground. Nice video.Thanks.

Thanks for sharing TOP VIDEO, round up is linked with health issues as well.

I agree with a few of the posters using salt kills everything not just weeds. I worked for permagreen in Texas for a few years and we had problems where people had pump saltwater down into the ground to get oil out and the saltwater was making its way up to the surface and killing lawns

I live in Florida, when the palm tree colors start to get dull you can pour epson salt around the base of the tree, water it and the tree greens up real nice, so eposn salt does not kill things, it feeds them.

Love the birds chirping and crickets! Thank you for a very informative video!

Thanks for your insight and dedication to this subject. It's a good starting place for me as my wife absolutely forbids "RoundUp", even though I used it for a year to kill the bamboo in our yard, which it did. After that, verboten. Go figure, she's Dutch. Anywhoo, thanks for a great starting place.

Hi Jason, how about making a followup video to demonstrate different effect of salt/no salt after 3 months, 6 months, 12 months?? I've learned the salt PREVENTS weeds (and any other plants) from growing back. Thanks, John

Thanks for the video side by side. Just something I've learned, Bermuda grass has up to 6' of roots. It takes multiple applications to kill it. The best time to apply is when the seed heads appear but before they drop. Also, the use of the salt will kill the soil, so be careful where you apply it.

I'm going to try this today. I was told to use hot water for the best results

I tried the salt vinegar. N some gain (dishes) and in the morning, weeds were dried up. Actually, I tried it in the morning, my neighbor up stairs ask she saw it WORKED in a few hours, today I'm trying it on the grass. Thank you.

I am interested in natural weed killer for our flower garden. Love the show

That bird sounds so sweet. I haven't heard that particular chirp before.

Thanks for sharing. Suggestion from a communication standpoint: Would have been helpful to be told which side had the vinegar only, and which side had the mixture. Was it right/left of the stick? Top/bottom? That never seems to be pointed out.

I use seawater,spray directly with no other mix.When weeds turn white deade as roots dry up,you can rinse with freshwater,intensify to drench salt residues to the drain.

Great video! Thanks for sharing the results as well after 3 and 6 days too!

Grocery store distilled white vinegar is only 5% vinegar. You need to use 30% vineagar.

Very useful. It works for us. Thanks 👍🏻😊

Wow a first for me , off roundup for good !

Hey Jason. Thanks for an excellent video. And thanks to all who have commented. I learned a lot from your comments!

I am just trying this today on my dog run. I have always used "roundup" but have never used it around my animals. Safety first! I hope it works.

I remember from helping to make ice cream as a kid, my Father would pour the water mixed with rock salt from the mixer onto the fence line to kill the weeds. It took a long time for anything to grow back where he had poured the salt water. Just a thought, hope it helps!

Thanks for that will use as an alternative now I think,..

I have good luck with Epson salt vinegar and Dawn, but I’m going to try some experiments like you did thank you very much.

Salt affects a plant's ability to absorb water through their roots. You shouldn't use salt unless you don't want any plants to grow in that area in the future, because it will stay in the soil. Vinegar kills plants because it contains acetic acid which strips away the outer layer of a plant which then makes it dry up quickly. You can buy horticultural vinegar that is 20% rather than the household kind that is 5%. But it is strong and will burn your skin so be careful. And if you use it in large quantities it can also affect the PH of the soil although it doesn't stick around as long as salt. These are both plant-killers, not weed-killers...unlike commercial sprays that are formulated for specific weeds, these will kill any plant so keep that in mind. Pre-emergents like corn gluten are good to know about too, not sure if you cover that in other videos. They prevent seeds from sprouting but don't affect existing plants.

Mmmm, interesting: I think too much salt & vinigar on my (little) brother's chips may have stunted his growth too 🤔

Great video Iam going to try it in my back garden

I will try this on my next door neighbors. Thanks

I have had saltwater aquariums for years. When I move a tank or simply do water changes I would simply drain it onto my gravel pad where I always get loads of unwanted weeds and grass. After 10 years on continuously doing this I can for certain say that the salt water mix was not detrimental to the weeds in any ways or trees or my rose bush. I thought it would build up enough to start killing everything. It has zero effect both immediately and long term on area it was applied. Everything kept growing. So I am leaning towards the vinegar doing most of the work. I have some ph down used in hydroponics. I am going to use it this week. Hopefully it will lower the surrounding ph of soil to permanently make it so the weeds cant come back. Although it will eventually just break down naturally but it should be a stronger acid that the vinegar.

I am going to try thank you for your information

Great video...Thanks!!

The epsom salts actually promote better growth of the plant. You can use low solution for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkin, etc. What they do, is they strengthen a steam of a plant and catalyses the chlorophyll in leaves.

Keep up the work

Nice Job, I have heard about all sorts of salt uses. I still am going to try to slow down 3 areas of weeds.

I made 15 gallons, 6 lbs salt crystals, tsp spoon dish liguid, 1/2 quart 35 % Vinegar, 15 gal water, let sit 24 hours for salt crystal to mix. Results varied. But I put down in February not in July. I think grass/weeds should be vigorously growing to be more effective. I did get some better results after a week but re applied and results were a bit better still too early in year. Will try again when the weather is a bit warmer.

I am getting a load of stone for 2 parking spaces. Over the years grass and weeds have grown and stones disappeared. I want to kill all that before my stone comes. Could I spread rock salt left over from winter, and just let it do it thing? Or should I not use salt being I'm parking cars there. Help.

I believe one reason why there was not much difference in the result is because you didn't purge the line of the remaining vinegar/soap mix before spraying the salt side. I think that most likely there wasnt that much salt applied because of this. Thanks for the tip, I am gonna give this a try.

You can get 30% vinaiger on Amazon. ($20 a gallon) mix with half regular vinegar. Add one cup of mortars salt and a good dose of dish soap. Stir don’t shake. Everything will die.

I have weeds growing in between pavers on the driveway. If I use this spray 1) Will rain wash it away before it takes effect? Will it damage pavers if they're sealed?

Can i use any dishwashe and cook salt?

hi Jason thanks for another great video I have a slightly unrelated question for you. just moved to this property it looks like somebody reseated parts of the law with tall fescue the rest of the lawn looks like a mix of fine Fescue and bluegrass what can I do to get rid of the tall fescue

Great video!!

Salt & vinegar with a couple of squirts of washing up liquid works I've been doing if for years. Just use the cheapest of vinegar and salt It's the best.

Great video, how well does it work killing weeds if you have turf type tall fescue? Thanks

Thanks for information

What about adding viniger and bakeing soda?

My fourth time trying it on the same area and the weeds have continued to flourish & I have a pa1 & pa2 pesticides application course done.

In my opinion, you didn't let the salt dissolve enough, it takes more than a few shakes of your dispenser for that.

My yard smells like summer time picking green bean and snap peas and my grandma is canning. Homemade ice cream we are all taking turns cranking. Lol, the good ole days.

Vinegar kills the weeds temporarily, adding the salt kills the weeds down to the roots, and the dawn helps to make it stick to the items your spraying. I've done it with and without the vinegar.

I sprayed this on my mulch area except I didn't have the dish soap he used so I used a different brand and I also didnt have distilled vinegar so I used apple sider vinegar which I hope works the same way

Thanks for the info.

Great video but 1 issue. After you sprayed one side and then mixed in the salt, you sprayed the other side but the original mixture without salt was still in the hose and was sprayed on. Next time when you add the salt, let it dissolve and then take the end off the sprayer and flush the line using the salted mixture. Just a thought. I really liked your video though. Thank you and may the Lord be with you.

Thanks! 👍🏽

I learned its a combo of 30% vinegar found in the ,[ believe or not the ] cleaning sections of hardware stores and Kosher salt [ hot water dissolved a bit] 50 - 50.

I read best results when the concentration of acetic acid (vinegar) is 20 to 30 per cent volume in volume (v/v). 20 - 30 per cent v/v acetic acid is very concentrated and use of personal protective equipment is needed.

If you want a more powerfull concoction, substitute vinegar with acid water of car battery. But be careful when spray it, wear PPE, use bigger nozzle. And only for area you dont want anything to grow.

Industrial vinegar (cleaning vinegar) & salt w/dishwashing liguid ! Thank you buddy !!

Only ONE kind of "Salt" = NaCl = Sodium Chloride. Epsom salts = MgSO4 = Magnesium Sulphate, VERY good for plants.

Thank you for making the video. You should have emptied the tube before you sprayed with salt. I think you sprayed both sides with no salt. As there is liquid in the tube attached to the nozzle and that liquid would be without salt.

Good idea 👍

I used to live in a home with a gravel driveway. Grass was always popping up and it drove me nuts. I had a two-gallon sprinkler can that I filled with water and put in a POUND of table salt. It was pretty effective. Then, I got the bright idea to add a cup of gasoline (I kid you not) and it was very effective. I'd like to add that I live alone, have no children or pets, so I wouldn't recommend using the gasoline method if you want to protect your little ones. Even with the gasoline, it was still cheaper than round-up. I bought the salt at Aldi's for about 50 cents a pound. I liked using the two-gallon sprinkler with the "flower" top so I could just walk along and sprinkle the entire driveway. It probably would have cost me a hundred dollars or more to use enough roundup for the driveway, but the salt method was much much cheaper. Bear in mind that the gasoline method is pretty deadly on just about anything. Don't get it near any plants you want to keep.

You can use water softener salt too.

Vinegar and salt kills what is on the surface only. More salt kills more different kinds of weeds. Salt can build up and could "poison" the soil. Used infrequently, should not be too much of a problem. The soap helps it stick to the plants. If you get a good hot day, it won't matter if you use salt. This is most effective on broad leaf weeds.

I tried this today on my dogs grave you could definitely see the difference in just two hours it works

What streinght vinegar do you us?

I warm my solution 1st. Helps to activate it faster.

It's pretty important to make sure the salt has dissolved before spraying for effectiveness & to also prevent blockage in the sprayer. It also helps to spray the mixture closer to the roots/base of the weed. People should also keep in mind that it can take twice as long, sometimes longer to see results as the absorption, metabolism & chemical reaction is vastly different. I have been using a salt & vinegar method for approx 10 years & I much prefer it over toxic carcinogenic glyphosate, especially as I have animals & am environmentally responsible. FYI salt is not a permanent weed or plant killer unless you use a copious amount. Funny thing about the first video when Epsom salt was used, is that it's actually a fantastic fertilizer lol

Are you supposed to only use this where there is weeds or can you use this on grass to to kill the weeds with in the grass?

Use "cleaning/industrial vinegar" which can be as high as 75% vinegar compared to household vinegar which is usually 5% vinegar. I use 45% vinegar, which is much more expensive but also much more effective and can be ordered right off Amazon.

Can I mix what you post in put in a spray bottle

Hi there, Thank you for your experiment. Will the mixture of vinegar, salt and dishwashing liquid kill weeds but will allow other plants to grow after a while. It is known that spraying round up will not allow anything to grow for a long period of time. This is a concern for me if it will not allow other plants to grow after spraying this mixture.

Is that regular 5% white vinegar or 30% white vinegar?

The salt all goes to the bottom of sprayer, it has to dissolve to be effective in the mixture, shaking it doesn't dissolve the salt

I've found the Epson salt mix to be very effective. However it's hard to get the Epson salt to dissolve therefore clogging my sprayer. Last year I used agricultural Epsom salts and slightly heated the vinegar but ended up straining the solution. There was still sediment in the bottom of the sprayer. It worked great but after sitting for a few weeks in the sprayer it started to crystallize. Not good! I'm determined to get this recipe right because it works so well. As a side note the ag salt was much coarser. This year I bought regular unscented Epsom salt which is finer but still doesn't completely dissolve. I'm giving the table salt recipe a try being its finer. My unused Epsom salt can be used in the garden.

Be careful how much and how often you put down salt around trees as it will slowly leach down to the tree roots and kill the trees. Out here in New Mexico with very little rain fall to wash it down, salting the soil lasts for years.

I actually use vinegar and dish soap. As salt from understanding if near flower beds could affect the sole. So I exclude the salt.

Think of the Roman's. Sewing the fields with salt to make them baron for several seasons. They didnt have Epsom salt(magnesium sulfate) back then.

I think making sure the salt is dissolved all the way.

I want to spray it around shrubs - will it kill the bushes/ shrubs too?

we found it takes direct sunlight to kill more weeds with the vinegar salt solution, Epsom salts worked for us

I’ve a construction site of 4000 Sft. Where the Site is fully grown with upto 5ft grown weeds. I would like to get the weeds eradicated..! Your suggestions please.

Hello I live across the street from a lake Experiencing weeds in my grass do you know of a product that I can use to kill the weeds not the grass and will be safe to use around the lake Thank you in advance!

Very useful video

I guess I will try it, but does anyone know if it works on Tumbleweed?

Well not a bad experiment the one of the differences is instead of using white vinegar I will use pickling vinegar I've noticed it works a little bit faster it's also a little more effective you mixed up with a little bit of orange oil

It takes 24 hour soak for the salt to disolve also use road salt or watersofterner salt

I have that SAME bird in my back yard! Chripity chirpity chirp! 🐥