Roundup Alternatives

There are several glyphosate alternatives for controlling weeds in your garden, but not all options are ideal in all situations. You may need to try different alternatives for the various areas of your lawn and garden.

Interest in alternatives to Roundup has grown as concerns about glyphosate’s health risks mount. The United Nations’ International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared the chemical a probable cause of cancer. In the U.S., however, the Environmental Protection Agency maintains that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic.

Natural alternatives, such as manually digging up weeds by their roots, may be the most effective way to get rid of them. Putting down a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch will block sunlight that weeds need to sprout and will suffocate weeds under the weight of the mulch.

A handful of iron-based weed killers are EPA-approved. The active ingredient listed on the label is FeHEDTA, or hydroxyethylenediaminetriacetic acid. Broadleaf weeds absorb iron more easily and in higher amounts than the grass in your lawn. As the iron oxidizes, it kills weeds within hours after applying it.

Organic herbicides typically use natural oils or acids. These products are most effective when weeds are still small and less effective as weeds get older, according to the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

UCANR also found that organic weed killers were 60% to 100% effective if used in high volume against certain weeds before they were 12 days old. They were less than 40% effective against broadleaf weeds after 26 days.

Herbicidal soaps are also popular Roundup alternatives that use fatty acids to kill weeds. Corn gluten meal can also kill grass weeds and broadleaf weeds. Spread 20 pounds for every 1,000 square feet of garden, and water the area within five days. This should kill weeds for up to six weeks.

DIY Roundup alternatives can be made using easy-to-find household ingredients, but exercise caution. Even natural or organic ingredients can kill plants you want to protect, damage your soil or have negative health effects.

A popular homemade weedkiller recipe made from vinegar, salt and soap is effective at killing small annual weeds. However, it doesn’t work as well as glyphosate on larger weeds, according to Dr. Andrew Kniss, a professor of weed science at the University of Wyoming. Weeds are also more likely to regrow if the weed isn’t completely covered with the solution. 

Kniss also noted that the components of the mixture can be harmful. For example, he analyzed data from animal studies and found that acetic acid is about 10 times more lethal to rats than glyphosate.

Using Vinegar in Roundup Alternatives

Acetic acid, commonly known as vinegar, is used in many Roundup alternatives. It works by affecting plant cell membranes and causing breakdown on contact. Herbicidal vinegar isn’t the same as table or cooking vinegar, and the acetic acid concentration for herbicidal use is 10% to 20%, compared to 5% acetic acid in table vinegar. Some herbicidal concentrations may reach 30%.

At the correct strength, acetic acid burns the plant quickly. Bright sunlight makes vinegar more effective, and it kills most broadleaf weeds. Over 90% of weeds die within 24 hours, but it can also kill plants you don’t want to kill. Make sure you only target weeds. 

Use caution and proper protective clothing when using strong concentrations, because they can cause severe eye, skin and respiratory damage. Make sure not to expose pets or kids to strong vinegar-based weedkillers. Concentrations of 11% or more can burn the skin and may even lead to blindness. Always read labels and follow safety directions when using Roundup alternatives that have acetic acid.

With concerns about glyphosate damage to other crops and the rise of Roundup-resistant weeds, farmers have sought effective alternatives. Farmers are also at higher risk of exposure to significant amounts of glyphosate, which may lead to health problems.

The first Roundup-resistant weeds cropped up in a Delaware soybean field in 2000 and have been a growing problem ever since.

As of 2021, the number of glyphosate-resistant weed species has risen to 48. These include water hemp, palmer amaranth, marestail, horse weed, giant and common ragweed, Italian rye grass, Johnson grass and others. This affects farmers because glyphosate-resistant weeds can reduce crop yields and increase weed-control costs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

One effective Roundup alternative for farmers may be biopesticides, a staple of organic farming. They’re made of naturally occurring substances found in plants, animals, minerals, fungi and bacteria. The EPA reported more than 18 million acres were being treated with biopesticides in 2015.

As of 2025, more farmers are using biopesticides as seed treatments to enhance crop control and crop yields. Seed treatments in the United States are now used on hundreds of millions of acres of corn, soybeans and cotton.

Since January 2025, the EPA has registered 15 new biopesticide active ingredients. In October 2025, it issued a proposal to register a new ingredient. This ingredient would be used on Brassica vegetables, bulb vegetables, root and tuber vegetables, cereal grains, corn, cotton, legumes, oilseeds, peanuts and soybeans.

Bayer AG, the drug and chemical company that makes Roundup, promised in June 2019 to spend $5.6 billion over the next 10 years on herbicide research. As of February 2026, about 170,000 Roundup lawsuits claiming the pesticide caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other cancers have been filed in courts around the United States.

As of 2026, Bayer is no longer producing or selling glyphosate-based Roundup products for the U.S. residential lawn and garden market. The company began producing and selling new Roundup formula products in late 2022. Some of the original formulas of Roundup residential products may still be in stores, but they are no longer produced or sold by Bayer.

Some farmers have used an older pesticide called dicamba. Like Roundup and Roundup Ready seeds, this pesticide can be sprayed on crops that have been genetically modified to be resistant to it while killing the weeds around them. But it’s believed to be responsible for destroying 3.6 million acres of unprotected crops in 2017 when wind caused it to drift.

Crop rotation — changing the crops grown in a field from season-to-season or year-to-year — can break up weeds’ growth and reproductive cycles. Growing cover crops that protect and enrich the soil during the rotation also helps.

Physical weed control uses brute force against weeds. Mechanical weeders pulled behind tractors can rip weeds out between rows. Thermal weeding uses flames, steam or hot water sprayed onto weeds to kill them.

Robotic weeding uses uncrewed vehicles to identify and remove weeds from crop fields with minimal human intervention. The machines use computer vision, mechanical tools and other features to identify and target weeds for removal.

French company Naio Technologies has developed weeding robots for use in the U.S. and many other countries. The company says its electric robot Dino can cover almost 10 acres in eight hours on its own.

The person operating the robot types in instructions, such as field and crop row dimensions, on the four-wheeled robot’s controls. It then uses GPS and cameras to move through the field using cultivator blades to rip up weeds.

Weeding robots that use artificial intelligence are also being developed. They can be autonomous or remotely controlled. AI helps the robot target weeds while minimizing soil impact. These compact robots can also be more affordable for smaller farmers. 

Solar-powered ecoRobotix, for example, uses artificial intelligence and cameras to navigate and identify weeds as it passes over. Two robotic arms spray pesticide precisely on weeds, using 20 times less herbicide than conventional sprayers.