Does White Vinegar Kill Weeds to the Root?

Last Updated on May 20, 2022 by Grow with Bovees

Vinegar — much like commercial weed killers — can be an effective weed killer and kills weeds in your flower beds or garden. You will need a few tools and some acidic vinegar for it to be successful.

There is also a right way and a wrong way to use vinegar mixtures as weed killers, and it is important to know what to expect and how it works so that you don’t waste time applying it to stubborn weeds that may come back eventually.

What is Vinegar?

Regular vinegar is a mixture of acetic acid, sugar, salt, and water that is often food-grade and safe. Some horticultural kinds have a higher acidity of 20% or more.

Food-grade vinegar is chemical free and safe to consume. This type of vinegar typically consists of white and apple cider vinegar and can be found in most grocery stores and supermarkets. It is typically used for cooking.

Does vinegar kill broadleaf weeds? – Yes, it does indeed.

Products such as apple cider vinegar, is less potent than horticultural vinegar because it has a lower level of acidity. Because of this, the acidity will kill the weed that it comes in contact with without damaging the other desirable plants around them.

Just be careful not to use too much, as even low levels of acid can change the pH levels in the soil. This is due to the salt build up in the soil.

Horticultural vinegar contains higher amounts of acid, typically making up around 20% of the vinegar. It is effective yet indiscriminate.

This means that it will kill weeds in your garden and likely any plant life it comes in contact with. This can be both good and bad, depending on the number of invaders you need to get rid of in an area.

For killing household weeds in lawns or a garden, we recommend using household white or apple cider vinegar, as it will be acidic enough to eradicate invaders without aimlessly killing the good grass and shrubs that are nearby.

How to Use Vinegar as a Weed Killer

For weed control using vinegar, you will need to mix the following ingredients in a 5-gallon bucket and then funnel the mixture into a spraying bottle.

Vinegar, Dish Soap & Table Salt Mixture;

• Household white vinegar
• White table salt
• Liquid dishwashing soap

Pour one gallon of the acid into a 5-gallon bucket. Add 1 cup of white table salt — it is not necessary to use fancy products such as rock salt or epsom salt — and stir until the added salt has completely dissolved.

After you add salt, add one tablespoon of liquid dish soap and stir until it has completely combined with the water and salt added.

Take a funnel and fill a spritz bottle with the dish soap, vinegar and salt solution, storing the remainder in a sealed container with a lid.

On a sunny day, take your bottle of dish soap, vinegar and salt solution and begin to generously spray vinegar onto the target weeds, to properly soak all of them.

Try to avoid getting the solution onto nearby good plants or grasses that you do not want to be killedl, as any greenery that comes in contact with the acetic acid will suffer from permanent damage.

If you need to kill mushrooms or fungi in your lawn, check out our page at this link.

How Long Does It Take for Weeds To Die After Spraying With Vinegar?

Invaders in gardens that are sprayed with acetic acid mixed with salt and dish soap will turn brown and die quickly, most within 24 hours. This makes using acetic acid a practical solution for killing weeds, especially for those who want to see results immediately.

Even though the vinegar works instantly, don’t think that the results are permanent. Don’t get comfortable just because you see that the invaders have started to die within the first 24 hours after treatment.

This simply means that the acid solution has worked and is working, but it does not mean that it has killed the roots.

Does Vinegar Kill Weeds to the Root?

Not always the first time that you apply it, you may need more than one application.

The roots of these pesky shrubs are where the weeds live. They are the heartbeat of the invaders. As long as there is a heartbeat, the roots will continue to live.

Therefore, you will likely need to apply more than one treatment to ensure that the roots are killed entirely, hindering any future growth, rather than just the top part of the weed appearing dead.

You should also apply the product on a sunny day. Sunshine and heat will help activate the acid and cause a reaction quicker. This will prompt quicker results, killing weeds completely after just a few treatments over the course of just a few days.

Best Method to Use White Vinegar To Kill Weeds

Using vinegar to kill weeds — like other natural methods — is a safe and effective way to get rid of invasive shrubs in your lawn or garden without the posing threat of chemical burns. By the time you spot the unwanted growers in your lawn or garden, it is likely too late to perform a preventative treatment.

This means you may be killing them with acetic acid at any time of year, whereas using it to prevent invaders will be done in the spring and summer. When using vinegar to kill weeds that have already seeded, you will need to apply more than one treatment, so it can reach the root of the weed to kill it completely.

When preventing a weed from seeding, you should use the vinegar mixture in the spring and summer as soon as you spot the first weed.

This will completely kill the weed and most likely will not require additional treatments, as it will not have a root that has formed a strong attachment to the soil.

Using it to prevent invaders will also reduce the risk of damaging or killing nearby shrubs, flowers, and grass in your lawn or garden.

By the time you have invaders in your lawn or garden, you will need to use many treatments of vinegar to kill the weeds. This can be risky to those shrubs and flowers nearby that you don’t want to harm.

To avoid that risk, you would be better off using pre-emergent products, this will fix the weeds that haven’t germinated yet, and also nourish the lawn at the same time.

For this reason, you may want to superficially kill the weed using one treatment but stop using the vinegar solution so that you don’t kill other nearby plants, flowers, and grass.

To do this, we recommend using vinegar to kill the weeds at the surface and then digging up the root to permanently get rid of the weeds.

Annual vs. Perennial Weeds

Oftentimes, we think of flowers as being annuals or perennials while overlooking that some invaders are classified as one of these two as well.

Annuals are weeds that only germinate once a year. Some types include crabgrass, chickweed, and pigweed.

Annuals are distributed by wind and animals, which is what gives many of them their names. Even though they do not come back each year, they spread and lay many seeds across the soil while they are active, making it appear as though they are a perennial and come back each year.

Perennials are weeds that sprout year after year. Some types include white clover, dandelions, and ivy. Perennial weeds, such as henbit, come back each year because the root of the weed survives through winter and will sprout new weed growth the following spring.

This makes killing or removing the roots of perennials so important. Failing to kill or remove the perennial weed will allow it to sprout the following year.

Depending on the type of weed you are killing (annual or perennial) will determine the vinegar method you will need to use to eradicate the weed.

For perennials, we recommend that you treat the weed with multiple applications to ensure the root of the weed is killed. If the vinegar does not kill the root, you can dig the root up out of the soil using a small hand trowel.

Killing the weed on the surface and then removing the root completely from the ground will ensure that the weed does not come back the following year.

For annuals, we recommend treating them with the natural acid solution for a few treatments. This will eradicate the weed and the areas surrounding the weed, preventing any seed that has fallen from the weed to germinate and grow next year.

What’s more, the ground surrounding the weed will likely become uninhabitable from the mixture sprayed, and it will not accommodate growing new invaders the following year.

Annuals are also easier to get rid of with vinegar because one application in spring or summer at the first sight of the weed is usually enough to do the trick, unlike perennials that have already established a solid rooting system and are here to stay.

To get rid of perennials with vinegar, you will need to apply it for multiple treatments before the root system of the weed finally dies.

Some Helpful Tips when Using Vinegar as Weed Killers

Just because the product is natural and safe for human consumption doesn’t mean that it isn’t harmful to shrubs.

Like commercial weed killers, vinegar doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t pick and choose which greenery to diminish and which to let live.

If the acid comes in contact with a plant, it will begin to weaken it and break it down. This is good for the invaders that we want to get rid of but bad for shrubs, flowers, and other grass that we want to preserve.

While the spray bottle method is the quickest and easiest for applying vinegar to the unwanted shrubs, it can be a little hard to control. We suggest purchasing a bottle with an adjustable nozzle that can spray a steady stream instead of a fine mist.

Holding the nozzle of the spray bottle between the base and the midsection of the invader will be most effective for killing them without reaching surrounding greenery, like flowers, plants, and other areas of the yard.

Spray bottles are most recommended with invaders that are not positioned near other shrubs and flowers. This way, you can spray them without worrying about any of the solution landing on nearby plants or flowers that you are trying to protect.

Weeds that are positioned in between flower beds, vegetation, or other healthy greenery may need to be treated with vinegars by using a paintbrush. Using a paintbrush to apply vinegars will give you the most control for where the solution goes.

You will simply paint the solution onto the leaves of the weed, making sure to thoroughly coat the stem of the weed between the base and the midsection.

This will ensure the weed gets a thorough treatment that will travel to the rooting system and weaken the roots, especially if it is a perennial weed. If you have a large area to cover, then a backpack sprayer will make life easier.

Always apply the solution to invaders on a day filled with sun. The sun will help the invaders dehydrate and wilt, which will get rid of them on the surface. Continue to treat them with vinegar so that the rooting system is killed completely.

This will ensure that the invaders are not able to come back next year. Even though it is considered a safe weed killer to use with pets around, it should be dry before pets are allowed to use the treated area. Also always wear gear to protect your skin.

The sunnier days, the better, as vinegars will react best with full sunshine. If it starts to rain soon after applying vinegar to unwanted shrubs, give them another treatment of vinegar.

Ultimately, the only downside to drowning pesky invaders with vinegar is if the soil surrounding the vinegar needs to maintain its pH level and if there are no other plants around them that will suffer from many treatments of vinegar.

Rain will wash off the vinegar that was on the leaves and stem of the invaders. This can keep the weed from drying out and dehydrating, which can affect the result of using vinegar to get rid of weeds.

If it rains soon after the vinegar was applied to the invaders, apply another treatment of vinegar as soon as possible. If there are no sunny days in the forecast, wait until there are at least three consecutive forecasted days of sunshine. This will give the vinegar the best conditions for wilting, dehydrating, and drying them out.

The Answer To, Does Vinegar Kill Weeds Permanently?

Yes, vinegar does kill weeds permanently! But not always, especially if the plant has a strong established root system.

Using vinegar as weed killers is a natural and effective way to get rid of weeds from your lawn or garden without so much manual labor or the use of weed pulling tools.

With a few household items and a little time, you can create a weed killer will kill both perennial and annual weeds.

Does Vinegar Kill Weeds and Grass?

When using vinegar as a weed killer, it is important to remember that vinegar is nonselective. It can’t pick and choose which plant to eradicate and which plant to let live.

This means that you will need to apply vinegar directly to the invader in which you want to kill. Vinegar that comes in contact with plants, flowers, and other grass will kill it as well, so it is important to apply the vinegar solution to the weed you want to kill and nowhere else.

Vinegar can be easily applied using a spray bottle, which is the most recommended method of applying. Spraying vinegar is quick, easy, and effective. The downside to using a spray bottle of vinegar to treat weeds is the lack of control.

If there are weeds or grass located in a vegetable garden or flower bed, we recommend applying the vinegar with a paintbrush so that you can control exactly where the vinegar solution is applied.

This way, the vinegar does not land on fruits, vegetables, or flowers that need to be protected and healthy.

Weeds that have been treated with vinegar will start to die in the first 24 hours.

You can continue to treat the weeds with vinegar for the next few days to make sure the weed has completely died. It is best to apply vinegar to weeds on sunny days so that the vinegar can cause a reaction on the weeds to dry them out and dehydrate them.

The combination of sun and acidic vinegar is what makes using vinegar to kill weeds so effective.

How Long Does Vinegar Last In Soil?

Vinegar doesn’t last long at all once it reaches the soil. It rapidly neutralizes, and loses its acidity.

How Long After Spraying Vinegar Can You Plant?

Due to the fact that the acidity of the vinegar is rapidly diminished, you are safe to go ahead and plant nearby fairly soon after applying your vinegar weed killer solution.