How to Get Rid of Weeds in Flower Beds (With or Without Chemicals)

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.

Weeds are not just an eyesore; they also steal water, nutrients and sunlight from your flowers. Discover how to get rid of weeds in your flower bed with methods from hand-pulling to herbicides.

We’ll share several weed-removal methods, including natural and synthetic options. Learn the basics of making a homemade weed killer and the different effects of various herbicides.

Let’s give the weeds in your flower bed an eviction note and eradicate them completely.

Natural Weed Control Options

Are weeds hijacking your flower beds? Here are some non-synthetic, natural methods to use, from hand-pulling to using a scuffle hoe.

Hand-Pulling

Hand-pulling is a simple and effective method when it comes to battling weeds in your garden.

You will need:

• Pair of gloves
• Hand trowel
• Weeding fork

Get down close to the soil surface and grab hold of the weed with a firm grip. With a slow, steady motion, pull upward, making sure to extract the entire root system.

For those tougher weeds with roots that seem to reach the Earth’s core, that’s where the weeding fork or hand trowel comes in handy.

Pro Tip: Hand-pull weeds when the soil is moist, as it makes the extraction process much smoother. This method is suitable for small to medium-sized weed infestations.

Scuffle Hoe

The scuffle hoe is the right tool for weeding in tight spaces among blooms. This lightweight tool, with a metal loop at the end of a long handle, is a game-changer, allowing you to dispatch weeds without ever having to kneel.

Simply run the blade of the hoe just under the soil surface, slicing off the weed stems. It’s a practical method that saves you time and energy. But be careful; you shouldn’t overly disturb the soil. Weed seeds beneath the surface may start to germinate if exposed to sunlight.

Caution: A scuffle hoe leaves the unrooted plant in the soil. This means there’s a chance it will regrow and come back.

Corn Gluten Meal

Corn gluten meal is packed with natural chemicals called corn peptides or protein hydrolysates, and these chemicals put the brakes on root growth.

Sprinkle corn gluten meal on the soil surrounding the weeds you intend to kill and then water it slightly. To learn more about whether corn gluten is right for your flower bed, check out our guide Corn Gluten Meal: All Natural Weed and Feed?

Caution: Corn gluten meal isn’t picky about its targets. It’ll affect not only weeds but also grass seed and plant seeds, so use it with care. Stick to applying it on established turf and plants to prevent any unintended consequences.

Vinegar

Household vinegar is famous for being a natural weed killer, but before you start dousing weeds in your flower bed, here’s what you need to know.

Despite the countless DIY vinegar herbicide recipes on the internet, it’s essential to tread cautiously. While vinegar might seem like a promising solution, there’s a lack of scientific evidence backing up its efficacy as a weed killer.

Vinegar degrades quickly, meaning its weed-killing powers are short-lived. It’s a surface-level solution, only targeting the above-ground weeds while leaving their root systems untouched. Plus, to get rid of weeds, you’ll need to make repeated applications, as vinegar’s effects aren’t immediate.

Here’s everything you need to know about vinegar as a weed killer.

Caution: Vinegar isn’t picky. It’s a nonselective weed killer, meaning it’ll take down anything in its path, including your plants. Apply vinegar with caution when killing weeds.

Make a Homemade Weed Killer

You can make a homemade weed killer with these three main ingredients:

• Plant-damaging ingredients: Substances such as vinegar, lemon juice, salt, baking soda and rubbing alcohol.
• Water: This helps to create a mixture and to ensure proper absorption, especially when using powders like salt or baking soda.
• Surfactant: A surfactant helps to break down the surface tension of water, allowing the plant-damaging ingredient to penetrate the roots. Liquid dish soap is an example of surfactant.

Now, if you are interested in going deeper on this matter, learn how to make homemade weed killer in the right proportions.

Chemical Weed Control Options

If you decide to use herbicides in your flower bed, you have plenty of options. Which herbicide you choose will depend on the weed invasion’s size, what growth stage the weed is in and how you want the weed to absorb the herbicide.

For a list of product recommendations, check out the best weed killers for flower beds.

Selective and Non-Selective Herbicides

Selective herbicides target specific types of weeds, leaving your flowers and plants unharmed. However, to employ them successfully, you must identify the weed species plaguing your flower bed.

On the other hand, non-selective products are like weed-killing bulldozers. They will take down everything in their path. If you are not careful enough, they can kill your precious flowers.

Contact and Systemic Herbicides

Contact herbicides do exactly what their name suggests: they work on the plant tissue they touch. While they act quickly, you will need to apply it multiple times for full effectiveness. They don’t target the root.

Systemic herbicides, on the other hand, are absorbed into the plant’s leaves and travel throughout the entire plant, killing it down to the root. They take longer to work but are more effective.

Pre-Emergent and Post-Emergent Herbicides

There are two main categories regarding time of application: pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides.

Pre-emergent herbicides are like preventative medicine for your garden. They prevent weeds from sprouting, making them ideal for application when you want to stop next season’s weeds in their tracks.

However, timing is crucial for their effectiveness. To prevent summer weeds, you have to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring. Whereas if you want to fend off winter weeds, it’s best to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the fall.

Post-emergent herbicides, on the other hand, are your go-to when you’re already facing a weed invasion. They target existing weeds, wiping them out to restore your flower bed’s beauty.

What to Avoid Using When Killing Weeds in Your Flower Bed

When eliminating weeds in your flower bed, it’s best to avoid these couple of weed control methods: overdoses of salt and boiling water.

Salt might seem like a quick fix for stubborn weeds, but it can create more problems than it solves if used in big proportions.

The sodium in salt has the power to zap any plant it touches, including your beautiful flowers. Plus, it won’t evaporate; it will stick around in the soil and find its way into other parts of your yard.

While a sprinkle of salt here and there might not be a big deal, it’s best to avoid excessive use to keep your garden healthy.

Pouring boiling water on weeds can be effective in certain situations, like cracks in sidewalks, but it’s not the best choice for flower beds.

Boiling water acts like a contact herbicide, affecting the plants it comes into direct contact with. This means that it won’t kill the weed to the root and it can also harm nearby flowers and plants.