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Vinegar as a weed killer? So you should really stay away from it

2020-08-13T11:22:23.764Z


Weeds are a thorn in the side of every hobby gardener. An inexpensive herbicide is vinegar or other home remedies - but you should stay away from them.


Weeds are a thorn in the side of every hobby gardener. An inexpensive herbicide is vinegar or other home remedies - but you should stay away from them.

  • The removal of weeds is often tedious manual work.
  • The use of home remedies as weed killers seems more tempting here .
  • However, this approach can result in fines.

Weeds that sprout from between the paving stones are a horror for many hobby gardeners. But they also find the laborious manual labor to scrape the weeds out of the cracks just as ugly. Herbicides seem to be the more user-friendly alternative - especially if the means for them come from your own budget at low cost. For example, vinegar * or salt are often used as a weed killer at the house entrance. However, this can have consequences, as the Rhineland-Palatinate Garden Academy is now warning.

Home remedies: Vinegar and salt as herbicides can result in fines

In a current press release, the gardening academy points out that hobby gardeners should pay close attention to the legal provisions when regulating weeds. Many would still use various household remedies as herbicides, according to the motto “What goes in my salad will also be okay for my driveway” . The Plant Protection Act, however, provides in Section 12, Paragraph 2 that the use of weed killers is only permitted on areas used for agriculture, horticulture or forestry .

The use of herbicides is generally prohibited on paved areas , according to the Garden Academy. These include paths and squares, sidewalks, garage entrances and courtyard areas . The ban affects not only plant protection products that are approved as herbicides, but also vinegar and salt. Anyone who nevertheless uses these means and is caught can be punished with a fine.

However, the legal situation does not seem that simple: In one specific case, an administrative authority imposed a fine of 100 euros on a man from Brake after he had used a vinegar and salt solution on the driveway to his garage and on the public paved area in front of his property used as a weed killer . The Oldenburg Higher Regional Court later acquitted the man (AZ. 2 Ss OWi 70/17, decision of April 25, 2017). The reason: In the opinion of the Senate, a vinegar-table salt mixture is not a plant protection product within the meaning of the Plant Protection Act, but a food. Therefore it does not fall under the law.

Also interesting : Killing weeds in the lawn: This is how it works with and without chemicals.

Killing Weeds: Alternatives and Exceptions

Nevertheless, it seems advisable to avoid such home remedies for weed killing on paved surfaces in order to avoid fines or legal consequences. Instead, the Garden Academy recommends mechanical removal, a hot water high-pressure cleaner (promotional link) or flaming - however, there is a risk of fire in the latter.

Incidentally, the situation is different when using these home remedies on " horticultural areas for lawn renewal and weed removal under woody plants, on borders and beds," says Walter Hollweg, spokesman for the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture (LWK) according to the editorial network Germany. Means: Vinegar and salt are allowed on beds in the house and allotment gardens, but not on the pavement. * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network.

Also read : You should never clean these three things with vinegar.

These ten mistakes can ruin your garden

These ten mistakes can ruin your garden

This article contains affiliate links.

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Jens Kalaene

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-08-13

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