This Burns Weeds in 1 Day! They Never Grow Again” — The Truth
That claim is misleading. Some treatments can make weeds brown and wilt within a day, but that doesn’t mean the weed is dead permanently.
Why weeds often come back
Vinegar and other contact herbicides can damage the foliage they touch, but they generally don’t kill the entire root system. Perennial weeds such as dandelions, bindweed and thistles can therefore recover and grow again.
⚠️ Be careful with viral homemade recipes
A common internet recipe combines vinegar + salt + dish soap. Extension experts caution against this approach:
- Ordinary household vinegar (around 5% acetic acid) may only provide temporary control.
- Stronger horticultural vinegar can cause serious skin and eye burns.
- Salt can accumulate in soil and damage desirable plants and soil health.
- These mixtures aren’t selective—they can kill plants you want to keep.
🌿 Better long-term control
For a garden or flower bed, pull or dig out established weeds and then use about 3–4 inches of mulch to block sunlight and suppress new growth.
For persistent weeds, identify the species first and use an appropriately labeled weed-control product according to its instructions rather than relying on a homemade mixture.
