Many people struggle to kill the weeds in their lawns and gardens for the reason that they do not want to use a commercially made chemical herbicide. The safety of using these commercially available weed killers is not entirely known. While the manufacturers and even government agencies say they are safe the long term affects of the continued use of these toxic chemicals and their affects on people and other living creatures is not entirely known.

For those of us who do not want our children and pets exposed to these toxic chemicals trying to find a way to kill the weeds overgrowing our yards and gardens can be tough. What many people do not realize is that there are many non-toxic ways to kill weeds right around their home.

While there are many different recipes out there for a homemade weed killer most of them are based off of the following:

1 gallon of white vinegar.

1 cup of table salt.

1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap.

Mix everything together making sure the salt is completely dissolved. You can then pour this into a spray bottle or one of those weed sprayers you can get at any garden center. You spray this solution directly on the weeds you want to get rid of preferably on a hot day. One thing to remember with this solution is to not get it on anything you dont want to kill and dont spray it on the soil. It is non-selective in what it kills meaning it will kill any plant life it comes in contact with and it will sterilize the soil for up to two years depending on how much you get on the soil.

If you are concerned about getting the vinegar solution on your desirable plants you can use a cloth to wipe the solution on the leafy parts of the weeds. This will keep any of the solution from coming in contact with the plants you want to keep. If you use this method it is advisable to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the acidic affects of the vinegar.

If you dont want to use this formula for a homemade weed killer then you can always rely on the tried and true method of hand-pulling any weeds you find in your landscape. Eventually the weeds lose the ability to create enough food for their roots to continue to grow and their roots will die off. This actually works best if you dont have a lot of weeds in your yard or garden.

The nice thing about using a bio-degradable homemade weed killer is that you are not harming the micro-organisms that live in the soil. These micro-organisms create the fertile environment that helps your lawn, flowers and vegetables grow to their maximum potential. You are also protecting your family and pets from the harmful affects of the commercially available weed killers on the market today.