Weeds are an old nemesis of many homeowners. They can be a particular nuisance if you own a paver patio or driveway. There are many effective ways to get rid of weeds, and today we want to talk about a very different one. We want to teach you how to burn weeds in a driveway.
If that sounds extreme, don’t worry. Using fire to deal with weeds can actually be a good idea, depending on how big of a problem they are for your installation. To many homeowners, the advantage of not having to resort to heavy chemicals to deal with weeds is a big reason to use fire.
So let’s go right into it and teach you this different way to get rid of weeds.
Burning Weeds on Driveway
The act of killing weeds with fire is called flame weeding. To do it, you’re going to use a tool called propane torch, many times also referred to as weed torch. They are easy and safe to use, as long you know how they work and take care when using them.
The propane torch creates a small, controllable flame at the end of the metal rod. The idea is not to use the flame to completely set the weeds on fire, but rather just burn tissue enough so it dies on its own.
Needless to say, you should never use this method during drought periods and absolutely never around flammable areas.
So let’s go to the steps on how to use a propane torch to kill weeds:
- Sweep the area of any leaves, dirt and other forms of biological material. You have to make absolutely sure no combustible material is around the area.
- Light the torch, with the lowest possible “setting”, if you have that option. Walk slowly around the area, pointing the flame at the weeds.
- Use the fire on the leaves of the weeds. The fire will instantly evaporate the moisture in the weeds, which will cause them to die. Something between 1 and 10 seconds of exposure to the flame is already enough.
- Once finished, sweep the area of the remaining burned down weeds.
Why Burning Weeds Can be a Good Idea?
Flame weeding is, as strange as it sounds, one of the safest methods you can use to get rid of weeds. The only danger involved in it is with the flame and propane torch itself, but as long as you’re careful when handling it, you’re not going to have a problem.
We say it is safer because you’re not risking damaging the pavers with the heavy chemicals that are usually used for this kind of business, like bleach or pesticides. These methods can not only damage your pavers, but also your groundwater and vegetation.
With flame weeding, you have none of those problems. It is one of the most natural methods to killing weeds there is.
Disadvantages of Burning Weeds
As good as it is to deal with seasonal weeds, flame weeding is pretty ineffective against perennial weeds.
Don’t know the difference between those two? Don’t worry, it is actually quite simple.
Seasonal weeds are the easiest ones to deal with. They don’t have very deep roots and can be easily killed with the flame weeding methods.
Perennial weeds, however, are the ones that can get deep-rooted in your installation. They come back every year, and the only way to get rid of them for good is to destroy their roots. There are different methods you can use for that, we’re going to discuss them later on.
Here is a quick reference list of the most common types of weeds according to the seasonal and perennial categories.
| Seasonal Weeds | Perennial Weeds |
|---|---|
| Ragweed | Dandelion |
| Crabgrass | White Clover |
| Spotted Spurge | Common Nettle |
| Common Chickweed | Broadleaf Plantain |
| Knotweed | Ground Ivy |
| Annual Bluegrass |
Alternatives to Burning Weeds
As we previously mentioned, flame weeding is one of the most natural ways to kill weeds. But sadly, they don’t work on perennial (ddep-rooted) weeds.
Keeping up with the “as natural as possible” idea, there are still some techniques you can use to kill the roots of the more resistant forms of weed.
One of the best ones is so simple it might surprise you: boiled water.
Simple boil water on a kettle and then pour it on the weeds. You can even add some tablespoons of salt to make sure, around 2 per liter of water is good enough.
In this article, we discuss some other natural options to kill weeds.
Professional Help Dealing With Weeds
Weeds are something that cannot be slept upon, especially the perennial ones.
It is not just an aesthetic matter. Deep-rooted weeds can compromise the integrity of the soil beneath your installation. This can cause real structural damage to your driveway and give you a bigger headache than you expect. Is best to deal with weeds right away.
A good course of action is to hire professionals in the hardscape business to help you. They can identify the weeds, how they might be affecting your installation, and safely remove them based on those observations.
We here at S&S Pavers have been providing that type of service for the past 10 years to our customers around the Sarasota and Manatee Counties, in FL.
If you happen to be around the area, why not get in contact with us? You can call us anytime at 941-773-3098 or email us at sales@sspavers.com for a free estimate on our services. We would be happy to help you with any paver installation and maintenance need you might have.
