Organic Methods

Like the hints You can also use clorox and water 1/2 and 1/2 Long as you don't spray it. I use a rerally narrow stream just along the fence and it work's just fine.

What's the best way to get rid of bermuda (we call it "wire grass" here in the South), or at least to stop it from spreading? It even grows under sidewalks, weed-prevention cloth/paper, etc. It puts down a root, then grows over to another place, like "wire," and puts down another root. Some I have pulled up are several feet long.

Thanks,
Linda Hanna
North Carolina

Go Green!!
I like to just coat slugs I see with baking powder. Poor slugs...
And THE BEST way I have found to kill weeds with deep roots is to clip them off at the base and put a pinch of table salt onto the stump. It sucks into the roots and inhibits regrowth.
I LOVE sharing THAT one!! Discovered it while trying to get rid of a large patch of poison oak. I''m not allergic and wanted to get rid of it. Cut it down and it grows right back. Salt it and it dies! Works for thistle and other tough to get rid of weeds. The salt dissipates after awhile and other things will grow.
Happy gardening!

The salt thing sounds great. I have a real problem with thistle and I hate seeing it in my garden. Also you can use lavender oil in a spray bottle to assist with any flying insects. I also use a mix of garlic and vinegar in a spray bottle for my vegy's like califlower and broccoli let it set about 30 minutes and then rinse off with the hose. It keeps those nasty bugs from eating the leaves

salt does work very well, and thank you for the copper trick, the slugs love to eat up my hostas but the copper worked!

I do not have bugs but I am weeding all the time! I think it is wire grass but not sure. I do not want to use any chemicals because they are so close to my plant??

GratefulSpirit! you mentioned salt...will that work on my problem?

Anyone please help me with this issue..its killing my back to weed my whole yard. Plus I am real busy at work and just do not have the time! Thanks, mrsspade667 aka Maria

Maria, The salt does work- However! Be careful about how close and how much you use because it will also kill the plants you want if you use too much or get a little carried away! (I kind of learned this the hard way years ago, when I was rock salting some steps for ice....!)

I am sure that you all have heard of permaculture. If not you should check it out. Its a way of reflecting back to the way thing originally grow and work in the forest with or without intervention of humans. Its great there are many many many videos on you tube and many great articles online. They are worth checking out. You can start out simple and eventually keep adding permaculture aspects to your garden eventually it should take care of itself. Im sure that there will still be work to do... So dont fret.. :) Especially if you are like me and could not live without working outside with your plants.. :) Eggshells are good for keeping slugs out. Pea gravel works well also they dont like it. I use alot enviornmentally friendly phosphorus free dis liquids usually about a tbl spoon per gallon of water and put in a sprayer for aphids and mites. For catapillars my grandmother taught me to use flour . Place it in a stocking then shake it on cabbage. when they eat it it ill swell them up.

I am sure that you all have heard of permaculture. If not you should check it out. Its a way of reflecting back to the way thing originally grow and work in the forest with or without intervention of humans. Its great there are many many many videos on you tube and many great articles online. They are worth checking out. You can start out simple and eventually keep adding permaculture aspects to your garden eventually it should take care of itself. Im sure that there will still be work to do... So dont fret.. :) Especially if you are like me and could not live without working outside with your plants.. :) Eggshells are good for keeping slugs out. Pea gravel works well also they dont like it. I use alot enviornmentally friendly phosphorus free dis liquids usually about a tbl spoon per gallon of water and put in a sprayer for aphids and mites. For catapillars my grandmother taught me to use flour . Place it in a stocking then shake it on cabbage. when they eat it it ill swell them up.

I am sure that you all have heard of permaculture. If not you should check it out. Its a way of reflecting back to the way thing originally grow and work in the forest with or without intervention of humans. Its great there are many many many videos on you tube and many great articles online. They are worth checking out. You can start out simple and eventually keep adding permaculture aspects to your garden eventually it should take care of itself. Im sure that there will still be work to do... So dont fret.. :) Especially if you are like me and could not live without working outside with your plants.. :) Eggshells are good for keeping slugs out. Pea gravel works well also they dont like it. I use alot enviornmentally friendly phosphorus free dis liquids usually about a tbl spoon per gallon of water and put in a sprayer for aphids and mites. For catapillars my grandmother taught me to use flour . Place it in a stocking then shake it on cabbage. when they eat it it ill swell them up.

If Bermuda grass is like what we in NV like to call salt grass then spraying copper on the roots will most likely help. In NV we have a grass that is a bane and a blessing. It will grow with very little water and even in very alkaline areas, even with salt crust on the soli top. Great if you are trying to control sand/soil erosion from blowing wind and etc with less than 6 inches of rain a year. It will grow out here without watering it if it has a wet year to get it started. I doubt that salt will kill it but I know that copper sulfate will. It has very extensive roots, some go down past 5 feet in NV. If you pull or hoe it out, then spray the chunks that are left. If it is in a flower bed or yard, be very careful to get it on only the roots you want to kill. I found this out because the roots of salt grass had permeated out leach field and as a last ditch effort before calling out the backhoe I tried it. It worked. It killed the salt grass in less than a week. Our leach field was 6 feet down too. You used to be able to get it in the hardware department of Walmart or any hardware store. I haven't bought it in a while. The only other way I know is to literally sift the dirt that has been worked to try and pick out every last section of root due to it will root from any tiny section left in the soil. this has worked for me in smaller areas of my garden. It takes a few years of constant pulling, hoeing and sifting but it is possible. Good luck!

Would the salt work on Yucca plants. The people that had this house before planted yuccas everywhere. They are coming up in one of my raised beds where I have strawberry plants. Please let me know if I put salt on the yuccas if that will kill them?

Do you think that the salt will permanently get rid off comfrey and Jerusalem artichoke root? They are both taking over my yard. I like them both but not every where. Please someone I need HELP.

what do you use to keep the grass and weeds out of your strawberries? I have been told to use straw or wood chips. I don't want to bury the runners do I?

what do you use to keep the grass and weeds out of your strawberries? I have been told to use straw or wood chips. I don't want to bury the runners do I?

how do I keep roly poly pill bugs from eating my garden stuff?

Anyone heard of horsetail weeds? Or just plain horsetails? I cannot figure out how to get rid of them, nothing seems to work here in Western Washington State. I would sure love and appreciate any input on this tough weed. Thank you.

to draves3,
I have found with Yucca that the best way to deal with them is to simply dig them up and transplant them to where I want them. Depending on how well established they are, you may have to dig a pretty good sized hole to remove the Tuber roots (remind me of Peony's). If you don't want to replant them on your own property after all that, ask around to your neighbors and friends. I'm sure you'll be able to find a new home for them in no time. ;-}

I had horse tail grass and the only way to really get rid of it is to persistantly pull it out by the roots. I've read the roots can go up to six feet deep so dig them out as deeply as you can. It took some time and effort but with in a year or two it did not come back.

What is the best/easiest way to keep a veggie garden free of weeds? Our garden is fairly large, and I simply cannot hand weed the whole thing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I use grass clippings, I bought a manual push mower (love it). It has a basket on the back that is easy to dump. I put it around fairly thick. Not only does it help with weeds it also helps hold in moisture.

For slugs, I spray them with ammonia. I keep a spray bottle in my garden bag, and when I see a slug while gardening, I spray them. In early to late spring (in NE Ohio) I also spray ammonia around my garden boarders to help with slug eggs. Just be careful not to spray an earthworm!!

Just moved to property which was pasture for decades. Need advice in getting rid of chiggars in the grass naturally. Any suggestions would be appreciated - getting bit to death!!

Just moved to property which was pasture for decades. Need advice in getting rid of chiggars in the grass naturally. Any suggestions would be appreciated - getting bit to death!!

I use vinegar and water in a spray bottle to "melt" my slugs. It works good. The copper pennies around a plant didn't work so well for me, but it might for you.

Would anybody know how to get rid of fire ants. I live in Mississippi and just covered with the mean little devils. It seems I have bought everything on the market and nothing kills them they just move around. Any suggestions would be nice.

Getting rid of horsetail question: sell them; some people, especially city folks, use them in containers. Or, get a horse, they will eat them as they love them.

FOR blann;
we use this in ME for small and big ants so it might work for fire ones

1Tbs BORAX ACID(FROM DRUG STORE)+2 TBSP POWDERED SUGAR,MIX W/SOME WATER TO MAKE A SOFT PASTE AND SPRINKLE WHERE THE ANTS ARE
be careful if you have cats and dogs

I always thought roly polys were OK in a garden because they only ate decayed matter and left the living parts alone.

In the last 3 - 4 years I have been getting large ant hills all over my property. Any ideas how to get rid of them. I want a non-toxic method so I don't hurt any of my pets or the other critters on my property.

Does anyone have a way to stop Trumpet vine? Does the salt trick work?I have tried digging them up, but I never seem to get all the root. It spreads and comes up everywhere.

Anyone have any ideas on getting rid of creeping jenny or by it's other name, bind weed? Our place used to be farmed so it is wrapped up with it.

It seems like several of your comments show the need to use my new invention Lawn Jaws which because of their laid back teeth(like shark jaws) will get all of the root. Please give them a look at www.lawnjaws.com.