Weeds growing on path and driveways, though crack or gaps in concrete and paving, or in empty garden beds are very easily taken care of without chemicals or digging.
How is that possible you may ask? Go put the kettle on, then come back here and I’ll tell you! Seriously.
One of the most effective weed killers for locations where no other valuable plants are growing is just simply boiling water. Have you ever known steamed, boiled or blanched vegetables to come back to life? Pouring boiling water over a plant will cook the foliage and the roots in seconds, as no plants can withstand temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) for very long. It couldn’t be easier. Just boil up some water, locate the weed, and pour the boiling water over it. It’s fast, cheap, and easy with no environmental impact or toxicity.
There is no excuse for using poisonous weedkillers on weeds growing through cracks in the pavement or along walls. Any synthetic man-made chemical herbicide will just wash away eventually into drains and waterways and pollute the environment, the one you live in! You can pour all the hot water you want where there are no other plants around, without any concern about damaging other plants. If any manage to come back, simply repeat the process. You’d be crazy to go and pay money for weed killer to spray such areas.
The Health Risks of Toxic Weedkillers
Also, there’s another major consideration with using poisonous chemical weedkillers such as Roundup which contains the toxic chemical glyphosate. We need to weigh up the benefit versus the risk. Is saving a few seconds by spraying a glyphosate-based herbicide or some other nasty concoction of chemicals worth the risk to your health and wellbeing?
For decades we’ve been told by both the chemical companies manufacturing the weedkiller glyphosate and government regulators that is is ‘safe’ but as it turns out, it’s not! in 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conducted their own independent research and determined that glyphosate (the active ingredient in the Roundup herbicide) is a probable human carcinogen (Class 2A). In the US, California courts passed a ruling in 2015 to require ‘Prop 65’ cancer warning labels on glyphosate-based weedkillers.
What’s come to light in the court case so far is that the chemical companies appear to have shelved their own research findings that showed links to cancer, manipulated the US EPA, prevented other independent government research from taking place, and funded huge propaganda campaigns where ‘shills’ were hired to influence debates on online media to sway public opinion. Yeah, these chemicals are safe, sure…
These are what you’ll now see on glyphosate weedkillers labels in California. It’s about time others followed their lead to protect public health!
Is this long-term health risk worth any short-term time-saving convenience?
Your water should be boiling by now! Happy environmentally safe weeding and you can make a nice tea afterwards too while you’re at it.
For more information on herbicides and alternatives, see these related articles:
- How to Neutralise Glyphosate (Roundup) Herbicide Contamination in Soil
- Why Herbicide Use is Not Compatible with Healthy Soils
- How to Identify and Treat Herbicide Contamination of Commercial Soil, Compost and Manure
- Is Tree Stump Killer Herbicide Safe Around Ponds?
- How to Kill a Tree Stump Without Poisonous Chemicals
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