How to Kill Weeds Between Paving Stones

If you have a freely draining patio set in sand like I do you may have noticed weeds growing up through the cracks. These are generally caused by seeds that have landed on the patio and germinated and can be easy to eliminate. The most obvious way to deal with them is to try to pull them up. But for a less labor intensive and eco-friendly way consider using boiling water. Pouring boiling water on the weeds will kill them fast. I did this the other day with a line of grass that was beginning to come through the cracks. I took a tea pot and filled it full of water then boiled it on the stove. Once it boiled I took it outside and poured it on the weeds. Here is how they looked a few minutes after the treatment.

And here it is a day or two later.

The dead weeds will completely fade away over time. (I did purposely avoid the little maple seedling to transplant later.)  Repeated treatments may be necessary for weeds with deep taproots but it will get them too if you are persistent. You can use this technique in the yard and the garden but remember that boiling water is non-selective! It will get your prized perennials along with the weeds!

The advantages of using boiling water to kill weeds:

• Boiling water is cheap.
• Boiling water doesn't add chemicals to the environment.
• Boiling water is very easy to make, no fancy formulas.
• Boiling water will take care of almost any weed in one to two treatments.

No chemicals and very little effort, sounds good to me!