Pet Friendly Weed Killers

There is a huge variety of weed killers, insecticides, herbicides, and pest repellents available for even the pickiest of homeowners, but how many of them are safe for your pets?  Almost none of the standard products you would find in your local store come with a label that says not harmful to pets.  So what do you do to remove weeds from your property when you have pets in order to keep them safe?  How about items already found in your home!  Using common household items as effective pet friendly weed killers will not only keep your dogs or cats safe, but will save you some money as well!

Sugar
Sugar, probably the most common household item, is a completely pet safe alternative to buying chemical weed killers in a store.  It is also especially good for hard to remove weeds like ones with a thick, rough stem like vines and weed trees.  The sugar reacts with the soil, causing the area to be temporarily unsuitable for the growing of plants.  All you have to do is pour some sugar at the base of the weed you want to kill and let it work its magic!  The only problem you’ll have with using sugar is that it could attract other pests such as rabbits or squirrels.  To combat this, mix the sugar with an equal amount of chili powder.

Salt
Salt is probably just as common in a household as sugar is, and will work just as effectively, but keep in mind that it will also kill any other plants in the near vicinity.  Salt would be a perfect pet friendly weed killer in areas such as the lining of a sidewalk, cracks in a driveway, or a brick path.

Boiling Water
Using boiling water as a pet friendly weed killer may just be the cheapest alternative you’ll find!  Like salt, be careful when using boiling water around other plants, as it will kill them as well.  Boiling water kills weeds by literally cooking the roots, causing the weed to die.  It is a temporary solution to your weed problem, but quick, cheap, effective, and most importantly, pet friendly.

Vinegar
Vinegar is an effective pet friendly weed killer, but be sure to put your dogs and cats indoors first, as it could be harmful if it got in their eyes.  The odor may cause your pets to sneeze too!  To use vinegar as a weed killer, simply put it into a spray bottle and spray it onto the weeds you want to kill.  It does not work instantaneously, so you may have to spray the weed more than once until it dies completely.

To enhance the effectiveness of any of these pet friendly weed killers, you can simply mix them together.  As a general rule of thumb, it would be best to keep your pets indoors when applying the ingredients, just to keep them from seeing what you are doing and becoming curious!