Although their yellow flowers can be used to make wine and the leaves are a tasty addition to salads, few people want to encourage dandelions to grow in their garden. Unlike shallow-rooted weeds, the deep taproots of dandelions make them difficult to pull out. Store-bought herbicides do kill dandelions, but the chemicals are harmful to waterways, people, pets and wildlife. For a healthier way of ridding your yard of dandelions, concoct your own herbicide with a handful of common household ingredients.
If you can boil water, you can kill dandelions. All you need is a stove-top kettle or electric kettle and water. After bringing the water to a boil, pour it directly onto the leaves of the dandelions, making sure that enough water reaches the root. Within two to four hours, you'll notice the leaves have turned brown. You can then pull out the dandelion, root and all.
Isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is readily available in the first aid section of most pharmacies. Mix 2 tablespoons of the alcohol with 1 quart of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spritz your dandelions being certain to wet all the leaves. The alcohol sucks the moisture from the leaves and kills the plant. This mixture is best applied on a sunny day when there is little wind. If the leaves haven't withered after a couple hours, spray the plant again.
You can use the natural acidity of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to destroy your dandelions. Simply pour pure vinegar into a spray bottle and spray the unwanted plant until it is covered in vinegar. Within a few hours, the leaves will wither and turn brown. Doing this on a hot, sunny day will help speed the demise of the dandelion. After the plant dies back, pull it out and rinse the area with water.
If you only have time to attack your dandelions on a cool or cloudy day, adding lemon juice will give your vinegar more of a punch. Adding dish soap will help the mixture stick to the leaves better, giving the vinegar and lemon juice more time to work against the weed. When using this recipe, opt for an all-natural, biodegradable dish soap. Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1 quart of vinegar. Pour this into a spray bottle and spray enough to thoroughly coat all parts of the dandelion. If the dandelion hasn't completely withered within three hours, spray the plant again.
- The New Sunset Western Garden Book; Kathleen Norris Brenzel, editor
- European Environment Agency: Kill Weeds with Hot Boiling water or Simply Burn Them
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