A popular Instagram Reel is showing the world we don't need commercially sold chemical ingredients to kill pesky weeds. All we need is some leftover sawdust and a little patience.
The scoop
Leftover sawdust is much more useful than it seems. According to the home DIY projects Instagrammer Caitlin (@bumblinghomediyer), the sawdust you see as trash is actually useful for killing weeds that may be invading your property.
First, collect the sawdust you may have produced for a home improvement project or other work around your house. Sprinkle it in driveway cracks or between garden pathways where you'd rather not see weeds conquering these areas.
Make sure not to put the sawdust in your garden or where you do have plants growing because these are obviously plants you want to keep alive.
One important thing to keep in mind: Only use sawdust from wood that you know, and stay away from black walnut dust, which can be poisonous and do more damage than you probably want.
How it's helping
Not only can this method save you money and time — since you don't need to buy weed killer at the supermarket — it's also much more environmentally friendly.
Weedkillers are a type of herbicide, and the most common herbicide is glyphosate, which kills biodiversity and makes ecosystems more vulnerable to pollution and rising temperatures. Glyphosate can also leach into the surrounding environment and has been found in rivers, which can poison fish and other aquatic animals, as well as plant life.
Also, the production of plastic containers for commercial weed killers creates harmful air pollution. The plastics industry is extremely damaging to the environment in so many ways, as a lot of plastic ends up in our oceans. The more we can avoid the use of plastic, the better.
Using sawdust to kill weeds is a much better solution since it doesn't require the use of poisonous glyphosate, nor does it introduce more plastic into the environment. And, of course, you'll save more than a few dollars.
What everyone's saying
Some people had a lot to say about using sawdust to kill or prevent weed growth.
One commenter was so surprised they said, "You are a genius!" while another said they were "filing this away under house hacks."
Interestingly, one Instagrammer asked if sawdust is often used in fertilizers, to which Caitlin responded by explaining how fresh sawdust kills plants while older sawdust that has been composted for a year can indeed be used as fertilizer.
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