How to kill grass and weed roots in pathway paving gaps

caff

caff

caff

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In my front pathway, the paving stones are quite small and there are a lot of gaps, but the previous owners let it go and now I have constant weeds and grasses growing in the gaps.

I've recently pressure-washed the gaps out, and bought some "Sika FastFix All Weather Jointing Paving Compound" from Wickes. Apparently this sets like mortar, so should hopefully stop the weeds and grass growing back.

However, I don't fully trust it - and I'm wondering if there is a good way to kill the root structures down in the gaps first?

Options I've thought of are:
  • Fire! I could use a burner down the gaps?
  • A weedkiller & grass killer combo? If there is a good product out there.
  • Some kind of other method?
Any tips appreciated.
 
Cheers. I feel like the weedkiller chemicals are the best bet, even though I appreciate they're not the best for the environment, I'm hoping this is a one-off job.
 
I found a 5 litre tub for £48 which is probably too much for what I need - but it is high strength 360g/l Glyphosate as recommended by everyone, so I'll apply it locally using a handheld sprayer.

I think for £10 a litre it seems good value.

And any leftover, I'll keep it in the "special chemicals" section of the shed #breakingbad
 
marinersfan said:
I use boiling water, what with having a dog. He sticks his nose in everything so I'd rather not kill the little pillock.
Click to expand...
It's a fair point, and though I don't own pets it's one I'm keen to avoid. I'll definitely cover it with sheeting after using any chemicals for a day or so. Then water soak, and apply the paving setting compound. Obviously there might be run-off to the pavement as well, so will try to flush away with a hose.

I hope this will be ok.
 
It'll be fine, even with pets you're better off covering the treated area (or blocking it off), until the chemicals have done what they need to and get washed away.
 
caff said:
I found a 5 litre tub for £48 which is probably too much for what I need - but it is high strength 360g/l Glyphosate as recommended by everyone, so I'll apply it locally using a handheld sprayer.

I think for £10 a litre it seems good value.

And any leftover, I'll keep it in the "special chemicals" section of the shed #breakingbad
Click to expand...

yes that price is the going rate now. It used to be £25 - £30 and £90 for 20 litres but it shot up during Covid lockdown and never came back down in price
 
I'd check glyphosate will work for your use case as typically you want to spray it on leaves so it can be absorbed and taken down to the root.
As you've pressure washed all the above ground stuff away I'm not sure it'll do anything.

Some of the other recommendations which change the soil composition may be better.
 
Kamakazie! said:
I'd check glyphosate will work for your use case as typically you want to spray it on leaves so it can be absorbed and taken down to the root.
As you've pressure washed all the above ground stuff away I'm not sure it'll do anything.

Some of the other recommendations which change the soil composition may be better.
Click to expand...
Hmm this is a good point, thanks.

Some articles say it must be applied to growing leaves, others say you can apply and a small amount will be absorbed into the roots...

I'll dop a bit more investigation before applying it. I might wait until I see regrowth, then apply, then clean out again and lay the mortar.
 
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We used glyphosphate weed killer on out block paving and it didn't do much. Salt however killed pretty much everything.

Cheapest salt possible and apply when dry to get down into the gaps.
 
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