I have a gravel driveway and would like to permanently kill everything that grows there. I saturated the area with Roundup which killed some of the weeds but not all, and after two weeks everything was growing again. I sprayed it with Green Thumb Weed and Grass Killer and that also killed only some of the weeds. Has anyone had any experience with anything that will permanently and totally kill weeds and grass and prevent regrowth for an entire season?
Bob
Try:
Asphalt or concrete will kill the weeds and prevent their reappearance.
I have usually had luck with spraying white vinegar on gravel and seams in concrete. ____________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA
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Its environmentally incorrect but gasoline will kill stuff withing a hour. slow regrowth does occur, usually 2 treatments per year do it. still cheaper than most vegation killers
yeah i know i am bad, it works fast and is still pretty cheap
The EPA might not like it, but diesel fuel works wonders with the weeds and grass in cracks.
J
Yep, but they want $1800 to pave the driveway. That'll buy a lot of weed killer.
Bob
Most weed killers only kil gowing weeds, Seeds are uneffected and will sprout when ready
Roundup will need reapps..
I use Triox Vegetation killer years ago but it letches away with rain & watering...............kills plants "downstream" Ooops!
cheers Bib
Leaches/washes away. Sure does and then into our, or somebody else's, water supply! How come, for example, the North American Great Lakes are becoming so polluted with chemicals. Chicago water supply here we come!
Driveways on the usually smaller urban lots are often already paved when you buy the house or cost little to do so! Coupla thousand maybe!
So whenever anyone mentions a 'gravel driveway' it envisions a rural area? That often means either ground water or deeper drilled wells for domestic supplies?
We have a well that today is unusable (certainly undrinkable) because of various neighbours over the years having irresponsibly used pesticide and herbicides. Sometimes for no better reason than a few dandelions!
Ah well; global warming, additional flooding and the increasing number of typhoons etc. will take care of all of us. Let alone a few weeds!
If there is soil and moisture, weeds will grow. Only a solid surface, as long as it is free of cracks, will be a "permanent" solution. Deeper gravel would probably help, but Roundup during growing season is probably the most effective choice. Strong stuff. If the growth is mainly broadleaf weeds - plantain, dandelion, etc. - you could keep a hose-end sprayer with broadleaf weed killer handy and hit the weeds when they reach a bothersome size and density. If it is grassy stuff, or a mixture, then a sprayer with vegetation killer should make quick work of it, used every month or so.
Isolating the gravel from surrounding lawn might help if weeds or grass are spreading in from the lawn.
Damn! You beat me to it.
About 20 years ago I used a Dupont product calaaed Vapam to kill everything, including insects, when I wanted to rebuild our front lawn "from the ground up". Worked great as I recall.
I think Dupont sold the product/name to some other company, but it's still listed on this page describing non-selective herbicides:
I have seen some really tough weeds come up right though asphalt.
And new seeds are deposited regularly. TB
You need to use a vegetation killer not a weed killer. You will still probably have to apply it at least twice each season.
Most garden stores and big boxes (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) sell total vegitation killers. These do work pretty well for a single season, but they have disadvantages as mentioned by others. They are not environmentally friendly, and the chemicals can flow downstream and kill other stuff. If there are trees or shrubs near the drive, I would be reluctant to use a total vegitation killer for fear of hurting the shrubs.
I have found a combination of round-up and preen works pretty well. Roundup kills the currently growing stuff, but won't hurt anything downstream, because it has to be absorbed through the leaves. Preen keeps new germination from happening, but doesn't kill anything that currently exists, so again you don't risk damaging existing plants. One application probably won't work for the entire season, but two or perhaps 3 applications per season should do it. You might be able to get away with a first application of both in spring, and then just preen in mid-summer.
Both roundup and preen are less damaging to ground water and the environment than a total vegitation killer.
If you already have a fair number of weeds, you will need to use 2 applications of round-up, about a week apart. Despite what the bottle says, in my experience round-up does not kill everything in one application. Round-up works best when things are growing, so it's effective in Spring.
Otho and some others are selling combination chemicals that seem to be a combination of round-up and a preen-like substance. I haven't tried them (I've just used the two products separtely), but they might be worth a try.
Terry
Chiil Stan-
I mis-typed I "used" Triox Years ago (25); once & it letched, I don't use it any more
eat a Red!
cheers Bob
I wouldn't use a lecher around my family either!
might need a priest for those
landscape contractors have much stronger effective chemicals, to be assured they are used properly....
homeowners type chemicals are weak versions of what used to be effective treatments.
theres a safe cheap effective treatment, spread rocksalt on the area and water it in preferably with hot water.
ever notice the dead grass near sidewalks treated with salt? just do it on your driveway.
i dump it in my washtub and add hot water a few times a year, espically in the spring, my terracota sewer line is bad, this kills the tree roots while the trees grow fine.
safe cheap effective
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