8 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds

Are weeds standing in the way of your picture perfect lawn? While herbicides are often touted as the most effective way to banish them, there are plenty of reasons why you might not want to use a chemical treatment—particularly if you have kids or pets. Fortunately, there are a variety of natural ways to get rid of weeds, and they can be just as helpful when it comes to achieving your ideal yard.

What are weeds?

A weed isn’t so much a class of plants as it is any sort of plant that’s growing somewhere that you don’t want it to. You’ll often find them growing alongside existing (and desired) plants and trees, as well as throughout your grass.

There are three types of weeds:

• Annual weeds – Weeds with a seasonal or yearly lifespan that spread their seeds to promote future growth. Summer annuals like crabgrass and knotweed die off during the first frost of the fall, while winter annuals like rabbitfoot clover and chickweed germinate in the late summer or early fall, lay dormant throughout the cold months, and sprout the following summer (though they are unable to survive the entire summer season).
• Biennial weeds – Weeds with a two year lifecycle. The first year is dedicated to germination, while the second year is when you’ll see flowers and seeds. Examples of biennial weeds include Queen Anne’s lace, common burdock, and henbit.
• Perennial weeds – Weeds that return year after year in the same spot. Perennial weeds have long root systems that allow them to store up sustenance during the winter and flower again in the spring, and they represent some of the most common weed varieties that you’re likely to have in your yard. Examples include dandelions, ground ivy, and white clover.

When you’re looking for natural ways to get rid of weeds, it’s often important to know exactly what class of weed you’re dealing with. That helps you determine whether you can simply treat the visible part of the weed or if you’d be better off removing the entire root system so that they don’t simply pop up again the following year.

Natural ways to get rid of weeds

There are quite a few natural ways to get rid of weeds, all of which are better for the health and safety of the environment, humans, and animals than herbicidal treatments. Pesky weed problems may require repeat treatments, but it’s always worth testing out natural options before bringing chemicals into the equation.

Here are eight natural ways to get rid of weeds that you can try.