9 ways to get rid of lawn weeds without chemicals 

Last Updated on March 14, 2024 by Aaron von Frank

Trying to find natural ways to maintain an attractive, weed-free lawn without using harmful chemicals? In this article, we’ll detail simple natural methods you can use to manage your weed problem, build healthy soil, and grow healthy grass! 

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5 things you should know BEFORE you start killing your lawn weeds

Before we dive in, there are five important facts you should know BEFORE you try to kill weeds in your lawn:  

1. You can’t permanently eliminate every lawn weed.  

You will never permanently eradicate every weed species from your lawn. That’s because: 

• new weed seeds will blow in by wind and/or be deposited by wildlife such as birds throughout the year, and 
• all soil (including the soil in your lawn) has a “soil seed bank” containing multitudes of various types of seeds that can persist in the soil for years waiting for the ideal conditions to germinate.

In fact, some types of weed seeds such as lambs quarters (Chenopodium album) can persist in the soil seed bank for 40+ years waiting to germinate. 

2. Biodiversity is a good thing. 

Monoculture turf grass lawns have become popularized by agri-chemical and lawn care companies, but land with only one plant species on it is not economically or ecologically sensible or sustainable. 

So perhaps you can resist the marketing efforts and learn to live with at least a few other plant species (including weeds) in your lawn!  

3. Some weeds can actually help your turf grass. 

People used to seed their lawns with low-growing perennial white clover (Trifolium repens) to grow intermixed with their grass. That’s because clover (like all legume species) works with symbiotic bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available nitrogen in your soil via a process called nitrogen fixation. 

The excess nitrogen stored in the soil via clover’s specialized root nodules helps feed your grass, thereby reducing fertilizer needs. (This is the same reason farmers often use legume family plants as cover crops.)   

However, today many people consider various clover species to be weeds that they try to eliminate from their lawns. It’s also worth mentioning that clover flowers are beautiful and beloved by native bees and other pollinators. The same is true of flowers formed by many other common weeds.   

4. Many weeds are edible to humans.

Have you always wanted to garden edible plants but have trouble figuring out how to start a garden? Well, many of the weeds you might otherwise want to eliminate in your lawn are also edible and/or medicinal plants, e.g. you probably already have an accidental veggie garden in your lawn. 

Check out our detailed guide to help you identify and eat some of the most common edible weeds.      

5. Different weed species may require different control methods. 

Every weed species has different forms and functions. Therefore, naturally controlling various weed species may require different control methods, e.g. there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to weed control.   

Now, with these five understandings in mind, we’d encourage you to develop a thoughtful “weed philosophy” / management approach before you start acting out your herbicidal tendencies. (Ha!) 

9 methods to get rid of lawn weeds without using synthetic chemicals

Below are nine methods you can use individually or in combination to help naturally control lawn weeds. By “naturally,” we mean without using synthetic chemical herbicides.    

1. Grow taller grass by setting your mower higher. 

Michigan State University Extension recommends a turf grass mowing height between 3.25 and 4 inches as an effective way to maintain a healthy lawn. This grass height also: 

a) helps shade out and kill emergent weed seedlings, and
b) reduces soil temperatures thereby reducing weed seed germination. 

2. Leave your grass clippings to decompose in place. 

Instead of removing your grass clippings, let them compost in place after mowing. Why? 

First, this creates a thin mulch layer over the soil surface that will help block out weeds. Also, as the grass clippings decompose in your lawn, they’ll:

• provide a slow-release fertilizer to your grass, 
• boost beneficial soil microbial activity, 
• feed worms that help aerate your soil, 
• minimize soil temperature fluctuations, 
• build soil organic matter, 
• reduce irrigation needs. 

Contrary to some claims, leaving your grass clippings in place to decompose does NOT create “thatch,” as you can read about here.

3. Thinly top-dress your lawn with compost/garden soil each spring.

If it’s not out of budget, you can drastically improve the health of your lawn by top-dressing it with a thin layer (about 1/2″ deep) of nutrient- and microbe-rich media such as quality compost, finished manure, worm castings, or quality garden soil each spring as your grass is breaking dormancy. 

After a good rain or sprinkler session, the compost will disappear from view as it settles onto the soil surface below the level of your grass blades. This practice, combined with leaving your lawn clippings to decompose in place, can replace the use of concentrated fertilizer applications and reduce fertilizer runoff/pollution from your yard. 

4. Re-seed each spring to help grow thicker healthier grass that outcompetes weeds. 

Each spring, lightly re-seed your lawn with the same type of grass seed currently growing in your lawn. This will help create a thicker, lusher lawn that blocks out weeds. 

Re-seeding works best if you do it immediately after you top-dress your lawn with compost (#3 above), thereby providing a better seed bed for your grass seeds to germinate and grow. 

5. Use corn gluten meal as a pre-emergent treatment for weed seeds. 

Want a natural pre-emergent herbicide to apply to your lawn before your lawn breaks dormancy? After all, the best way to control weeds is by preventing them from developing in the first place. 

If so, try corn gluten meal (CGM), a byproduct of the corn milling industry. (You can buy CGM here.)

CGM controls germinating seeds but will not control weeds that are already established. For an overview of how this natural weed killer works, plus best practices in using it to prevent weeds in your lawn, read this brief guide from Iowa State University Extension. 

Note that if you use CGM, it rules out the possibility of re-seeding your lawn (#4) since it will also prevent grass seed germination. CGM works best if you already have lush, well-established turf grass and you’re simply trying to prevent new weed seed germination.

Another benefit: as CGM decomposes, it also provides a slow-release fertilizer for your lawn. 

6. Use annual rye grass in the cool months to naturally inhibit weed seed germination. 

If you live in a milder climate, you may want to consider seeding your lawn with an annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), which can improve your soil health and prevent weed seed germination. (For larger lawns, this method is a more cost-effective weed prevention method than CGM – #5.)   

We live in USDA hardiness zone 8a. In the fall, we sow annual rye grass that keeps our lawn green from fall through spring. The rye grass dies out as the weather warms in the spring just as our perennial Bermuda grass is breaking dormancy. 

In the meantime, the rye grass exudes *allelopathic chemicals which inhibit weed seed germination and also keeps our lawn photosynthesizing, nutrient cycling, and feeding soil microbes all year long. (*Definition: Allelopathic chemicals are secondary metabolites produced by some plants in order to obtain a competitive advantage over other plants, animals, and microbes.)

This year, rather than using annual ryegrass, we’ve experimented with a perennial grass, fescue, which also has potential allelopathic effects on common weeds. In our climate, fescue stays green through our cool and cold months before going dormant in the warm months when our perennial Bermuda breaks dormancy. We want at least one more year of experience/observing interactions before recommending this option though!  

7. Utilize hand weeding when it makes sense.

Hand pulling weeds is a good weed control practice for smaller lawns, especially if you’re dealing with young, easy-to-pull annual weeds where the entire plant can be removed. 

However, hand pulling is not the easiest way to control weeds in a larger area. It can also be almost impossible to hand-pull stubborn weeds that form new adventitious roots as they spread or perennial weeds with a long taproot (like dandelions). 

If you’re determined to remove these types of unwanted plants from your lawn, you can either use specialized hand tools like a dandelion weeder or the solutions detailed in #8 below. 

8. Utilize a natural herbicide when it makes sense. 

There are plenty of recipes for safe, non-toxic homemade weed killers to be found. These recipes typically utilize some combination of household items such as: 

• acid (specifically white vinegar / acetic acid or lemon juice / citric acid),
• salt (not always used and you don’t want too much salt in your soil!), 
• soap (used as a surfactant to help the solution stick to the leaves),  
• water (used to dilute the ingredients to the desired pH level and allow the finished solution to stretch further).

Here’s a good homemade weed killer recipe that’s effective on most common lawn weeds: 

• four parts vinegar 
• one part water
• add about 6 teaspoons of organic liquid soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) per one gallon of the herbicide mixture. 

Instructions: Whisk together ingredients in a bowl or bucket then pour them into a spray bottle or hand sprayer. Carefully apply solution only to desired weeds (avoiding grass) in the morning on a day when it’s not raining. Re-apply as necessary once per week until weeds are dead.  

If you’d prefer not to take the DIY approach, you can also buy a safe, highly rated organic herbicide via Amazon.  

*NOTE: Even safe herbicidal sprays can kill grass, so carefully spray only the desired plants or you’ll end up with brown spots of dead grass in your lawn as well.

9. Control weeds in garden beds adjacent to your lawn to reduce weed seed load. 

If the beds adjacent to your grass lawn contain weeds that are allowed to develop mature seeds, many of those seeds will end up in your lawn where they’ll eventually become new weeds.  

So try to keep those non-grass beds (vegetable garden, flower beds, etc) weed-free as well. How? Consider putting 3+ inches of mulch (wood chips work great) on top of the soil surface. Continue to top-dress with mulch once per year in fall or in late winter/early spring before weed seeds germinate. 

Properly utilized, mulch works better than landscape fabric, plastic sheeting, etc at weed prevention and it: a) boosts soil health/fertility, and b) doesn’t fill your yard with plastic pollution. 

If you happen to have weeds that persist despite mulching, you can utilize hand-pulling or natural herbicide sprays as detailed above.

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Wrap up & a quote 

Now you know how to reduce weeds in your grass lawn without using endocrine disrupting, carcinogenic chemicals that pollute our air and water and can cause harm to people, pets, and wildlife.

We hope, like us, you’ll also take a keen interest in learning more about the specific weed species growing in your yard so you can more thoughtfully coexist with them — and perhaps even invite them to dinner!  

Finally, we’ll leave you with a funny quote about modern lawns courtesy of Michael Pollan, one of our favorite authors and thinkers:

“Domination, translated into suburban or rural terms, means lawn. A few acres of Kentucky bluegrass arranged in a buffer zone between house and landscape, a no-man’s-land patrolled weekly with a rotary blade. The lawn holds great appeal, especially to Americans. It looks sort of natural – it’s green; it grows – but in fact it represents a subjugation of the forest as utter and complete as a parking lot. Every species is forcibly excluded from the landscape but one, and this is forbidden to grow longer than the owner’s little finger. A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” 

KIGI,