What Kills Plants Instantly: Homemade Alternatives

There are many things that can kill plants instantly, but what exactly is the best way to go about it?

Vinegar, salt, and boiling water are the quickest ways to kill your plants. Also watering too much or too little can be a fast and organic method to kill them.

If you wondering what kills plants instantly you are at the right place. We’re going to explore some alternatives you may not have thought of before.

What kills plants instantly?

We’re going to explore some alternatives you may not have thought of before.

The top killers of outdoor plants are heat and lack of water. Even just a few hours without water can cause irreversible damage or death for most types of plants.

While it may seem like the only way to kill a plant is by actually cutting, smashing, or burning it you could also kill your plants slowly by withholding things they need.

Salt

Salt is a very efficient way to kill plants since it takes the water away from them. It can kill most living plant material.

You can directly walk out on the lawn and dump some salt on unwanted plants. If it’s a plant in a pot, put some down on the soil and water it thoroughly.

You can also put salt in the soil around the plant, that way it will slowly absorb more of what is killing it. However, be careful when you use this method since too much salt in the soil won’t do any good for your plants either and may damage them.

Vinegar

Vinegar is a strong acid and will kill plants quickly. It’s also cheap and can be found at almost any grocery store, so you don’t need to worry about trying to find it either!

You can add vinegar directly into the soil of your plant or pour some on leaves that are touching the ground. Just like salt though, you don’t want to use too much either since vinegar can damage the soil and cause a bigger problem.

If you have any houseplants that are starting to look a little sickly, then give them a bath in some slightly diluted white distilled vinegar!

White distilled vinegar works as an organic pesticide for your plants so they will be free from any bugs or insects that may be trying to attack them.

You can also pour some straight vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz it all over your plants, just make sure you are spraying the leaves because it will dry them and even kill them if you spray the stems.

Underwatering or overwatering

While this may seem very simple, it’s actually a common way to kill plants. If you are not watering your houseplants or are overwatering them by giving too much water at one time, then they will die quickly of root rot or whatever else is in that soil that could be toxic for them!

Most plants do need a lot of water, but if you are doing it too much then the roots will suffocate and they won’t be able to absorb as much oxygen which can kill them or cause other problems.

The same goes for watering too little, if you do it too little then the plant can’t absorb as much water. The soil will dry up and the roots won’t be able to breathe, so they will die pretty quickly!

Boiling water

Boiling water is an easy way to kill plants instantly. With this method, you don’t need to worry about not killing the plant you are trying to get rid of!

Just boil some water and pour it onto your unwanted plants or into their soil for fast results. You can use this method on both outdoor plants as well as indoor plants.

For outdoor plants, the best way to go about using boiling water is by making a small hole in their soil and pouring some of it directly into that spot without touching or disturbing the rest of the plant. It will kill everything instantly!

For indoor plants, you can just pour boiling water directly onto the leaves or into their soil.

After using boiling water to kill a plant, it’s best just to remove all of its remains and throw them away so that they don’t start growing again right where you killed them.

Make sure that if you use this method, you use caution since it is extremely hot! If done correctly though, boiled water should kill any plants in your yard or home instantly and give them no chance of survival at all.

Bleach

Bleach is a strong cleaner and can be used in your home to clean up all sorts of surfaces. Many people like to use it with plants too, but this isn’t an effective way to kill them!

You can pour some bleach into the soil or directly onto the plant’s leaves for fast results when killing unwanted plants. However, just like boiling water and salt, you don’t want to use too much bleach since it can cause problems for your soil.

Be careful with how strong the solution is that you’re using as well! Bleach comes in many different strengths so just be sure not to mix anything up or pour a very weak mixture onto any plant because if it’s too powerful, it can damage or even kill the plant you are trying to get rid of.

Why would I want to kill a plant?

There are many reasons to kill a plant, these are probably the most common ones:

You don’t want it anymore

This can be because of its size and shape, color, and anything else that might bother you about the plant.

Maybe the plant takes too much of your time because its care requirements are higher than what you think they are or if keeping up with them becomes a burden on your schedule, then killing that plant is probably the best option available to you at this point in time.

Not what you expected

There are many reasons that can lead to you believing the plant is not what it should be or being what you expected. If you cant get rid of the plant by giving it away for free, you might want to kill it.

Taking up too much space

It might have grown too quickly for its container, or might have outgrown the space you wanted to put it in. Some plants can be quite big and take up a lot of room if that’s not what you expected then there is probably a reason to kill the plant.

Poisonous plant

This might be because you don’t want young children or pets to ingest any part of the plant, also it might make your other plants less healthy if placed too close together.

Poisonous plants can be dangerous and it is important to be careful when killing or disposing them of.

Causing allergies

If you are allergic to the plant then it might be necessary to kill it.

You can’t control allergies so if that’s the case with you then killing any plants that cause them is pretty much inevitable.

How do you permanently kill a plant?

After using one of the mentioned methods it is important to make sure you kill and dispose of all parts of the plants. It is also a good idea to make sure you clean any tools or containers that might have been used in order for them not to spread the problem if they had one.

Many plants are able to regrow from roots or other parts even after they are dead, so it is important to make sure you don’t leave any parts in the ground and throw it all away.

Final thoughts

As you can see, there are many reasons to kill a plant, and these methods of killing them will help make sure that they don’t come back.

Don’t forget about your safety while trying to kill plants and always wear protective gear! If using boiling water then be especially careful since it’s extremely hot and can cause severe burns.

If you follow these steps and take the necessary precautions, then killing a plant should be easy for you!

Pascal Harting
Pascal Harting
Efficient and self-sufficient gardening is what I love. I am all for a healthy but good-looking garden. After years of experience, I decided to share my knowledge and thoughts.

Related Articles