Controlling Weeds in Pavers, Patios, and Driveways

Just as you control the weeds in your lawn and landscape beds, other parts of your outdoor living space may need weed control; such as pavers, patios, and driveways. This blog explains in detail the various ways to control weeds in pavers, patios, and driveways that either a homeowner or professional can do.

Apply a Pre-emergent

Just like applying crabgrass pre-emergent to the lawn in the spring to prevent crabgrass, a pre-emergent weed control applied to pavers, patios, and stone driveways help suppress broadleaf weeds throughout the year.

Timing of this application is critical; it is important to apply it early in the spring before weeds start to germinate. The pre-emergent weed control acts as a barrier at the surface of all the joints and cracks in between paver stones, or driveway cracks. A pre-emergent works by appling the product before weeds germinate so when they do, that barrier controls the weed prior to breaking through the surface of the crack or joint.

Applying a pre-emergent is a great tool to largely reduce the weed population throughout the spring and summer months. So, what can be done for the weeds that sneak through the cracks and emerge on your patio and driveway? Keep reading, and we can answer that question for you!

Non-Selective Herbicide

For the weeds that were not controlled with the pre-emergent application, we recommend applying a non-selective herbicide (i.e. Finale) to spot treat weeds as they emerge. It is important to recognize when using a non-selective herbicide, it will negatively impact any plant you get the material on. Be careful not to spray any grass or ornamental plants that could be near your patio, pavers, and driveway.

Paver Locking Sand

In addition to applying various weed controls, upkeeping paver stones can help control the weed populations from year to year. When landscapers install pavers as a patio, walkway, or driveway, they finish the installation with putting down a polymeric sand or paver locking sand. This sand has small amounts of cement in it that help lock the stones in place. Over time this does erode and should be replaced to keep stones from moving and prevent cracks for weeds to come through.

This product is available at landscape supply stores, which is different than a general home improvement store like Lowes or Home Depot. It is also important to note that this sand, like grout, comes in different colors, so make sure you pick accordingly.

So how does this help with weeds? The polymeric sand acts as a hard barrier between the paver stones that locks everything in place, this also is a tougher barrier for weeds to break through. If the polymeric sand is put down correctly, it certainly helps reduce weed growth as there are little to no cracks between the pavers.

For information on how to apply the polymeric sand to your pavers, be sure to read the label on the product for instructions.

Conclusion

Weeds in pavers, patios and driveways can be controlled throughout the year with the help of pre-emergent weed control, post emergent nonselective weed control and re-applying paver locking sand when needed. With these three measures, weed growth should be very minimum between pavers and on stone driveways. If you are in our service area and would like an estimate for treating your driveway, patio, or walkways, please give us a call at 908-281-7888 or request a free estimate online.