Battling weeds can be a big challenge for organic gardeners. How do you kill and keep weeds gone without the toxic chemicals?
Organic weed killers are here to help! Made of natural ingredients, these products are safer to handle and better for the environment. And because their components are biodegradable, they won’t leave your soil unsafe or infertile.
Not sure which organic weed killer to buy? We found all the best options and ranked them by their best features below!
Read on to see our top picks for the best organic weed killers and learn all about how to use them.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall:
Green Gobbler 20% Vinegar Weed & Grass Killer
Fastest-Acting Organic Weed Killer:
Natural Armor Weed and Grass Killer
Best Value:
Natural Armor 30% Vinegar Industrial Strength Concentrate
Best Overall
Green Gobbler 20% Vinegar Weed & Grass Killer
Green Gobbler 20% Vinegar is our top pick for an organic weed killer that’s highly effective and safe for organic gardening.
This single-ingredient concentrated vinegar kills a variety of common weeds, and comes ready to use for quick, convenient application.
Pros
- Kills many common weeds within days
- Ready to use with disposable sprayer included
Cons
- Strong vinegar smell
- Nonselective formula is not suitable for use on lawns
Best Fastest-Acting
Natural Armor Weed and Grass Killer All-Natural Concentrated Formula
Natural Armor’s Weed and Grass killer is another vinegar-based weed killing solution. The addition of clove oil mutes this product’s harsh vinegar smell a bit, making it a more pleasant-smelling option.
And it’s the fastest-acting ready-to-use organic weed killer out there, known for killing most common weeds in as little as one day!
Pros
- Kills many common weeds in just one to two days
- More pleasant-smelling than other vinegar concentrates
Cons
- Disposable sprayer included is prone to leaking
- Nonselective formula is not suitable for use on lawns
Best Value
Natural Armor 30% Vinegar Industrial Strength Concentrate
This extra-concentrated vinegar solution can be applied directly to hard-to-kill weeds, when lower-concentration formulas are ineffective.
But you can also dilute this product to half-strength and still have a highly effective weed killer! That makes this product our top pick for the best-value organic weed killer.
Pros
- Kills many common weeds within days, including harder-to-kill plants
- Highly concentrated solution is effective when diluted up to 50%, making it a great value
Cons
- Requires mixing/prep for proper dilution
- Strong vinegar smell
- Nonselective formula is not suitable for use on lawns
Best Pet-Safe
ECO Garden PRO – Organic Vinegar Weed Killer Spray
ECO Garden PRO’s Organic Weed Killer Spray is a unique formula with an additional active ingredient. It uses salt to kill weeds all the way down to the roots to prevent the plant from growing back.
One added bonus to this salt-based spray? It’s not only nontoxic for pets and wildlife, but may even actively deter animals from consuming treated leaves.
Dried salt leaves behind a texture that makes the plant unappealing for some animals to chew on. This can make it less likely your dog, cat, or tortoise will consume vinegar-soaked weeds before you can remove them.
Pros
- Kills many common weeds within days
- Penetrates to the root to minimize regrowth
- Safest option for pets and wildlife
Cons
- Requires additional purchase (sprayer not included)
- Strong vinegar smell
- Nonselective formula is not suitable for use on lawns
Best Weed Preventer
Espoma Organic Weed Preventer CGP25
Here’s a great option for a preventative organic weed killer to limit weed growth in your lawn.
Espoma Organic Weed Preventer is made primarily of corn gluten meal, which works to prohibit the seeding and growth of weeds.
Try using a hand-powered spreader with this product for easy application.
Pros
- Selective weed killer prevents weed growth on lawns without killing grass
- Prevents weeds while also feeding your lawn to keep it green and healthy
Cons
- Not for killing active weeds – only prevents new weeds from seeding
- Strong corn smell can attract insects and wildlife
- Non-lethal but possibly harmful to pets if consumed in large quantities (keep dogs away until product has degraded into soil)
Organic Weed Killer Buyer’s Guide
Keep reading for some fast facts about the different types of organic weed killers. This will make it easy to choose which one will be most effective for your particular weed-killing needs.
Types of Organic Weed Killers
Choose which type of organic weed killer is right for you by considering the weed situation you’re facing.
Do you have live weeds that you need to remove from your garden? A turf lawn you need to treat preventatively? Depending on what you need to accomplish, you’ll need a certain kind of weed killer to meet your goals.
Preemergence vs Postemergence
Use preemergence formulas to treat your lawn or garden preventatively. This is useful if you’ve already cleared weeds from an area and are planning to prevent regrowth.
Postemergence weed killers are used to kill active weeds by spraying the leaves of a live plant.
Selective vs Nonselective
A selective weed killer attacks or prevents a certain kind of plant growth, while permitting others to stay behind. Our #5 pick will do just this – keep your grass growing green while prohibiting invasive weeds.
Nonselective weed killers will destroy any plant in their path. Apply these with care. Spraying them inadvertently on flowers and other plants you’re cultivating is sure to harm them, if not kill them completely.
Ingredients
If you’re shopping for organic weed killer, you want to know what exactly is inside the product.
Here are the primary active ingredients you’ll see on the labels of organic weed-killing products and how they work.
Vinegar as Organic Weed Killer
The kinds of vinegar humans consume in salad dressings are much less concentrated than those used to kill weeds.
Concentrated vinegar is a powerfully corrosive acid – and it doesn’t discriminate. It will harm whichever plants you spray it on, including grass, making it a nonselective weed killer.
Vinegar-based organic weed killer should work to kill the most common broadleaf weeds.
For harder-to-kill plants like poison ivy, creeping charlie, and blackberries, you can try a highly-concentrated vinegar like pick #3 above. Frequent follow-up applications will be necessary, but each spraying will weaken the plant, which should die eventually.
Due to its acidity, using vinegar-based organic weed killer in your garden will affect the pH of the soil.
This doesn’t necessarily mean your garden beds will be rendered toxic, infertile, or useless. But it does mean that before planting in that area, you should measure the acidity of your soil. See if it’s still suitable for your plants, and amend the soil if necessary before planting.
Salt as Organic Weed Killer
Using salt to kill weeds is a common practice with many organic growers. It works because the weed absorbs the salt down to its roots. Then the salt draws all the water out of the plant’s cells, dehydrating and killing it to the root.
Salt is often combined with vinegar, like in the formula for our #4 pick above. Together, the two ingredients dry out the entire plant, killing it in days and preventing regrowth.
Corn Gluten Meal as Organic Weed Killer
Corn gluten meal-based preemergent weed killers will not clear your lawn of weeds. They only work by preventing newly germinated weed seeds from rooting in the soil.
But for these products to be effective, gardeners must follow the instructions carefully, reapplying according to the proper timeline. A single application without follow-up will not likely bring significant results.
Corn gluten meal weed preventers should work to reduce the emergence of common weeds like clovers, dandelions, and forsythia. They are not effective against vining and broadleaf weeds.
Method of Delivery
What’s most important to you regarding how to apply your organic weed killer?
Ready-to-Use Organic Weed Killer Products
When you buy a liquid weed killer product with an attached sprayer, it’s ready to use immediately.
If that convenience is important to you, products like the #1 pick and the #2 pick on our list are perfect choices!
Concentrated Formulas for Use with Sprayers
However, disposable sprayers are not necessarily the most effective or reliable. They’re more likely to leak, break, or fail quickly, since they’re not made for long-term use.
And organic weed killers require reapplication, unlike synthetic chemical formulas that destroy weeds more permanently, thanks to their severe toxicity.
So now you’re starting a regular routine of spraying for weeds. Investing in a quality weed sprayer makes sense. It pays off over time, since concentrated formulas are more cost-effective than those that come pre-diluted with attached disposable applicators.
And because the best weed sprayers are reusable, using them with concentrated weed-killer products reduces plastic waste. Some have precision nozzles that give you more control over your spraying area.
What to Look for in Organic Weed Killer
Since it’s not made for human consumption, you won’t find USDA Certified Organic seals on organic weed killer products. But you can and should read the chemical labels for all weed-killing products you use.
Be sure the weed killer’s ingredients are compatible with standards for organic food production.
That means they’re grown without any herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers banned by the USDA for certified organics.
USDA Organic Banned Ingredients
Glyphosate is the main ingredient in the most popular conventional weed-killer products.
Recently, it’s become common knowledge that cancer researchers have labeled glyphosate a carcinogen.
And glyphosate exposure has not only been linked to causing multiple different kinds of cancer. It has also been connected to other serious diseases like Parkinson’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Other banned ingredients for USDA organics include artificial preservatives, artificial colors, and other chemical additives commonly found in weed killers.
If you see any of these in the ingredients label of your weed killer, it’s not safe for organic use.
How to Use Organic Weed Killer
Be Safe! (Even with Organic Products)
Just because your organic weed killer is made of natural ingredients doesn’t mean you can handle it with reckless abandon. Consider that this is, in fact, a substance you’re using to kill a living thing.
Take measures to protect your skin, eyes, and lungs before handling chemicals, even organic ones. And always read product labels for toxicity warnings and required and recommended PPE.
Concentrated vinegars may not be lethal to humans and animals, but you still need to avoid direct exposure to them. The acetic acid content in vinegar concentrates makes them highly corrosive.
Wear pants, long sleeves, and boots with socks when you’re mixing and spraying organic weed killer. Chemical-resistant gloves and protective eyewear are essential as well.
Store Organic Weed Killer Properly
Concentrated vinegar products can corrode concrete and other materials if they spill and aren’t immediately cleaned up. And any chemical can potentially leak from its container, either while in use or storage.
Always store corrosive materials – including organic weed killer! – on low shelves with nothing consumable stored below them.
Frequently Asked Questions about Organic Weed Killer
Here are a few quick answers to some questions you might still have about buying and using organic weed killers.
Does organic weed killer really work?
Yes, organic weed killers really work – but not in the same way as glyphosate-based formulas. For that reason, how to use them effectively is completely different.
Weed killers with toxic chemicals come with the upside that they’re crazy fast and effective. But their downsides include that they’re highly dangerous to humans and animals and harm the environment.
Organic weed killers can be effective, too! Their only downside is that you need to reapply them consistently. It’ll take a little more time and effort. But organic weed killer is much safer for humans, pets, wildlife, and the planet.
Does vinegar kill weeds permanently?
Several of our top organic weed-killer picks are composed primarily of highly concentrated vinegar.
Check out this post on how to kill weeds with vinegar for all the details about how it works!
What do organic farmers use to kill weeds?
Industrial farmers growing organic crops have to deal with weeds, too – and on an even bigger scale. So how do organic farmers keep their land weed-free and safe enough for their crops to pass organic certification?
In short, organic farmers are using natural and organic weed killers like the ones you’re shopping for.
Here’s a list of all the non-synthetic ingredients farmers can use when growing USDA Certified Organic crops.
The Best Organic Weed Killer for Your Lawn or Garden
Ready to clear those pesky, unwanted weeds from your lawn or garden – without all the toxic chemicals?
We recommend our top pick, Green Gobbler 20% Vinegar Weed & Grass Killer, but any of the organic weed killers above can get you on your way to killing weeds safely in no time!
Visit our common weeds homepage to learn even more about invasive weeds and how to control them.