Homemade Weed Killers

• Vinegar is often recommended as an effective, easy-to-use homemade weed killer. The biggest downside to vinegar is that will kill everything you spray it on, not just weeds. Therefore, if you decide to use vinegar, be careful with the application. Vinegar works as a weed killer because it contains acetic acid, which removes moisture. Spraying vinegar on plants draws out the moisture.
  
  Salt and liquid soap are also considered top homemade weed killer ingredients. In fact, many homemade recipes call for a mixture of a cup of salt and a cup of vinegar with a tablespoon of liquid dish soap. You can spray this mixture on weeds, but it will kill desired plants too. You can try wiping the solution onto the leaves of weeds to avoid getting it on desired plants.
  
  Salt sucks the moisture from plants. While salt kills weeds, it remains in the soil and can trouble roots from distant plants. And if you salt the soil, forget planting anything in that area for at least 2 years or longer, depending on how much salt gets into the soil. If weeds are sprouting up in cracks in your driveway, salt might be the best choice.
  
  

More Weed Killers

• Other common weed killers are as simple as boiling water. However, like many homemade killers, use this with discretion. This is best for clearing out a large area instead of smaller patches of weeds in between desired plants, since it will cook all plants, including their roots. Bleach and rubbing alcohol are two other substances often used. Like vinegar, both of these products will kill all plants, not just weeds. If you do get bleach on a plant you want to keep, wash the plant off.
  
  

Pest Control

• A common homemade recipe for pest control requires four cloves of garlic, a small onion, a small jalapeno pepper, a teaspoon of Murphy's oil soap, a teaspoon of vegetable oil and a gallon of warm water. To make it, crush garlic, onion and pepper and add a quart of water. Let it soak for 2 hours. Strain this mixture into a gallon jug and add the other ingredients. Fill the jug with warm water. Garden pests don't like the vegetable ingredients and will disappear. The spray won't harm plants. Control cabbageworm, leafhoppers and whitefly, among other pests, with this solution.
  
  To control aphids, lacebugs, whitefly and bronze orange bugs, try soap. Mix 2 cups of water with 2 tsp. dishwashing soap and spray it on insects.
  
  If you have a snail problem, try putting the mixture into glasses and pushing them into the soil of your garden. Snails will fall in and drown.