Know Your Weeds: Annual or Perennial?

How you get rid of weeds depends on the type. Look at the plant before you choose a method:

Perennial weeds with deep taproots, such as dandelions, come out more easily after rain or watering, when the soil is soft.

Common Garden Weeds and How to Get Rid of Them

Most weeds in garden beds belong to a small group of common species. Once you recognize them, you know how to get rid of weeds of each type:

Protect your hands when you pull thistles and other prickly weeds; see our best gardening gloves, including options for thorns.

9 Ways to Get Rid of Weeds

These are the most effective ways to get rid of weeds in a home garden, starting with the simplest:

How to Get Rid of Weeds in Garden Beds

Weeds in garden beds compete with your plants for water, light and nutrients. To clear a bed:

• Start with a cleanup: pull or dig out all visible weeds, including roots of perennials. A kneeling pad and good gardening gloves make this far more comfortable.
• Mulch right away: spread coarse mulch, such as wood chips, 3 to 4 inches deep, or fine mulch about 2 inches deep. Keep mulch a few inches away from stems and trunks.
• Keep up with new weeds: a quick weekly round with a hand weeder stops new weeds before they root deeply.
• Water the plants, not the paths: watering at the base of your plants, rather than wetting the whole bed, gives weeds less moisture. See how often to water your garden.

Weeds in garden beds are much easier to control in a raised bed, because you start with weed-free soil. Read how to build a raised garden bed.

How to Get Rid of Weeds in Paths, Patios and Driveways

• Remove weeds from cracks with a crack weeder or an old knife, then sweep sand or polymeric joint sand into the gaps.
• Pour boiling water carefully on young weeds in paving joints. It works best on small annual weeds; roots of perennials often survive.
• Use a flame weeder on broadleaf weeds: a few seconds of heat is enough; you do not need to burn the weed. Never use one near dry grass, mulch or during a burn ban.
• Trim edges regularly: a battery-powered weed eater keeps weeds along paths, fences and lawn edges from flowering and seeding.
• Clear debris: leaves and soil in joints give weed seeds a place to grow; a leaf blower keeps paving clean.

How to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Lawn

In a lawn, the best way to get rid of weeds is to grow grass that crowds them out. Extension services agree that a thick, healthy lawn is the most effective weed control:

• Mow high: never remove more than one third of the grass blade at a time. Taller grass shades the soil, so fewer weed seeds sprout.
• Water deeply and less often: this builds deep grass roots; frequent light watering favors shallow-rooted weeds.
• Feed and overseed thin spots: bare patches fill with weeds. Clover and spurge often point to low fertility.
• Pull broadleaf weeds by hand after rain, when roots come out easily.
• Treat perennial broadleaf weeds in fall if you use a herbicide: from mid-September to mid-October they move nutrients to their roots, so a spot treatment works better than in spring.

Keep weeds along lawn edges from seeding with a battery-powered weed eater, and clear clippings from paths with a leaf blower.

How to Get Rid of Weeds Naturally

You can get rid of weeds naturally in most home gardens. These methods are the most reliable:

• Hand weeding and hoeing: still the most effective way to get rid of weeds naturally in beds.
• Mulch: organic mulch blocks light, keeps soil moist and improves the soil as it breaks down.
• Cardboard sheet mulching: lay plain cardboard over weeds, wet it and cover it with mulch; the weeds underneath die off over the following weeks.
• Boiling water and flame weeding for paths and patios.
• Healthy lawn and dense planting: thick grass and groundcovers crowd out weeds.

Natural Weed Killer: Does Vinegar Work?

Vinegar is the best-known natural weed killer, but it has clear limits:

• A vinegar weed killer is non-selective: it damages every plant it touches, including your flowers and lawn.
• It has no lasting effect: it does not stop new weeds from sprouting.
• Vinegar of 11% or stronger can burn skin and cause serious eye injury. Wear gloves and eye protection and follow the product label.
• Only use a product labeled as a herbicide, and do not mix your own with salt or dish soap; salt builds up in soil and can harm plants for a long time.

Spray a natural weed killer on a dry, windless, sunny day, directly on the weeds. A small hand or pump sprayer reserved only for weed control prevents mix-ups. For other uses, see vinegar in the garden.

Other Natural Weed Killer Options: What Works and What to Avoid

Besides vinegar, several other natural weed killer options are often recommended online. Here is how they compare:

The most reliable natural weed killer is not a spray at all: it is mulch, dense planting and removing weeds before they set seed. Use sprays only as a spot treatment on paths and patios.

How to Prevent Weeds from Coming Back

Once a bed is clear, the goal is to prevent weeds from getting a second chance. Knowing how to prevent weeds saves more time than any weed killer:

• Never leave soil bare: mulch it, plant it or sow a cover crop.
• Disturb the soil as little as possible: digging brings buried weed seeds to the surface, where they sprout.
• Refresh mulch once a year to keep it at the right depth.
• Stop weeds before they set seed: pull or trim them before flowers turn to seed heads.
• Check new soil, compost and plants for weeds before you bring them into the garden.
• Use landscape fabric only under long-term plantings such as shrubs; cover it with a thin layer of mulch.

How to Prevent Weeds in Garden Beds: A Year-Round Plan

A few tasks at the right time of year prevent weeds in garden beds far better than one big cleanup:

With this plan, weeds in garden beds become a quick weekly task instead of a seasonal battle. For the vegetable garden, combine it with our tips on keeping weeds out of the vegetable garden.

Fall Weed Control: Why Autumn Is a Good Time

Fall is one of the best times to get rid of weeds. Winter annuals such as henbit, purple deadnettle and chickweed sprout in fall and early spring. Pulling them now, before they flower, and mulching bare soil prevents a flush of weeds next spring.

• Clear weeds from beds after the last harvest, including roots of perennials.
• Mulch bare soil or cover it with a layer of shredded leaves.
• Trim weedy edges one last time before seed heads ripen.

Fall weeding fits well into getting the garden ready for colder weather; see our checklist to winterize your garden.

Tools That Make Weeding Easier

The right tools make it much easier to get rid of weeds naturally, because pulling, hoeing and trimming take less effort and time:

Our gardening tool set comparison includes sets with a hand weeder and cultivator, and our kneeling pad guide helps you choose a pad that stays comfortable.

Mistakes to Avoid When You Get Rid of Weeds

• Waiting too long: large weeds have deep roots and may already have dropped seed.
• Leaving roots behind: small pieces of bindweed or quackgrass roots grow into new plants.
• Adding seeding weeds to the compost: most home compost piles do not get hot enough to kill seeds.
• Piling mulch against stems: it can cause rot; keep a small gap.
• Using salt or homemade mixtures: salt damages soil for a long time.
• Spraying on windy days: drift damages nearby plants.

Frequently Asked Questions