Gardeners urged to ditch vinegar to banish weeds and use natural item instead

While you may have heard that vinegar is a great way to kill off weeds – experts warn it may not be the miracle solution it’s cracked up to be. They advise using one handy tool instead.

With around the corner, you’re probably noticing an unsightly growth of weeds in your . Warmer weather and sunlight means that these invasive plants are able to reproduce like wildfire. Common UK weeds include dandelion, chickweed and the dreaded prickly milk thistle – all of which are incredibly hard to get rid of.

More than just ruin the look of your lawn, weeds can cause huge damage to your other plants. This is because they leech nutrients from the soil, leaving little for the plants growing in your garden.

READ MORE:

They can also harbour problem insects, like aphids, caterpillars and mealybugs. These creepy critters will swarm your garden, chewing up young plants and even spreading disease.

Worse still, weeds can damage the infrastructure of your home. They can grow through the cracks in your patio and even the foundation of your walls, destabilising their structure.

So, how do you get rid of them? It’s always tempting to turn to a weed killer, but these are usually made from harsh chemicals that can cause serious damage to wildlife.

It’s usually a better idea to turn to natural ingredients instead. However, while vinegar has been long-touted as an effective weed killer, it may be doing your garden more harm than good.

Peter Chaloner is Cobra’s managing director and expert. He warns that vinegar can cause collateral damage to the grass in your lawn, as reported by .

This is because it’s highly acidic and can have a detrimental impact on your soil. As it significantly lowers the pH, it can make it difficult for grass to soak up the nutrients it needs.

Instead, he recommends turning to a spade instead. “The more effective way is to simply dig. Take a hand trowel, or even a specialised weeding trowel, and dig around the weed, but be sure to get deep under the root to make sure it is entirely removed and will not come back.”

In particular, weeds like dandelions and broad-leaved docks are known to create extensive root networks, which dig deep into the soil. This means that you need to completely remove their roots to effectively prevent them from taking over your garden.

To prevent weeds from coming back, Peter also recommends taking good care of your lawn. This includes scarifying it to remove dead grass and other debris, which can encourage weed growth.

You should also take care to mow it regularly. This helps prevent certain kinds of invasive weeds from taking hold, like milk thistle and ragwort.