A lot of people pose a question of how to kill the actual weed itself, without killing their grass or other surrounding plants. What they haven’t been told about the pesky little plant is that its presence in your garden is allowing nitrogen back into the soil. Some people recommend just mowing your lawn and allowing the clover to help your soils nitrogen content. It is also one of those rare breed of weeds that will stay green even if you live in a place where temperatures and climates can fluctuate. It would be nice to have a green lawn in summer as opposed to your next door neighbors putrid yellow. So, some would argue that the safest weed killers are none at all.

There are some things you will not be able to get rid of when trying to fly around the “safety” route concerning weed killers. It is meant to kill the weed, not generally maim it. If you want to get a good mean weed killer it is going to contain at least three or four herbicides. The more milder ones will contain one or two. The main point to take into consideration about these clover weed killers is that they all have at least one active herbicide meant to destroy the weed or plant itself. There are four main herbicides including 2, 4-D, Mecoprop (MCPP) and Dicambu.

These are the main herbicides that are mixed and matched within products, all very effective in killing clovers and any other weeds that commonly grow in your front yard. Generally, with clovers. the two most effective killers of the four are the MCPP and the Dicambu. Dicambu, when used in high amounts will have a higher chance of ruining other plants in your garden if you are not careful. The chemicals in it stay in your soil, so if it does end up killing your plants, you may need to redistribute and start all over with new soil. It is best, when talking about killing clover weeds to use MCCP, or a killer that has MCCP as your main chemical herbicide.

The easiest natural weed killer to procure is actually nothing more than water. Yes, water kills weeds. This only fails to make sense until the rest of the concept is heard, however. The water must be boiling hot before it is applied. This quick, effective, method of killing these unwanted plants works very quick. The weeds will absorb the water into their system and the high temperature will destroy it from the inside out. This is similar to reasons why people are told not to water their outside plants and gardens during the hottest part of the day.

Beyond the source of all life known as water, there are other well known weed killers available. These range from highly acidic fruit juice, to vinegar. The type of juice and vinegar purchased directly from a store for consumption may not be potent enough, however. As a killer of plant life the best method will involve further distillation of store bought vinegar or lemon juice. These two items work because of the acetic acid they contain. Acids are one of the most common weed killing agents used. Other acids used are sulfuric, nitric, and pelargonic acids. These are found in grapes, apples, and carrots. The weed killer WOW! uses a formula derived from these types of plants, just as Burnout uses vinegar and lemon juice.

Natural killing agents for weeds come in many varieties. The best part is that using compounds made from primarily sulfuric or nitric acids will not only kill the weeds but also improve the ground soil. Sulfuric acid oxidizes with almost any mineral to create sulfates. These work well as a fertilizer aid for plants. A similar action occurs with nitric acids. This compound mixes with minerals to form nitrates, another important source of plant nutrition. Using organic chemicals such as this will destroy the weed problem and increase the health of the lawn altogether.

One of the commonly used weed killers in the industrialized world is Glyphosate, commercially found in Roundup brand weed killer. The primary use for this weed killer against dandelions is as a post-emergence herbicide, meaning after the plant has come out of the ground. Glyphosate will also kill the grasses around the dandelion sprayed, so care must be used in application. As with most widely used herbicides, there are strains of weeds that are starting to show resistance to Glyphosate. Care should be used with this chemical, as it is an irritant and other chemicals found in many herbicidal formulations with Glyphosate are known to be toxic to humans.

Another common chemical is 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid also known as 2,4-D, found in the Ortho Weed B Gone brands. 2,4-d is considered an industry standard for a residential use weed killer. The primary draw to 2,4-D over other weed killers is that 2,4-D is considered a selective herbicide, in proper amounts it will not harm the turf grass but will kill broad leaf weeds such as dandelions. It is also used as a post-emergence herbicide. There are some links of 2,4-d to cancer; however, it is considered non toxic to humans.

A home remedy used to kill dandelions involves a mixture of salt, vinegar, and a few drops of dish detergent. This concoction is sprayed into the center of the rossette in a focus stream and will generally kill the weed within a day. This is not a selective solution, however. If applied in a random or sloppy manner this will kill turf grass just as easily. The benefit with the salt/vinegar solution is cost effectiveness and nearly zero toxicity to humans and pets.