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AN EXPERT has shared how you can get rid of pesky dandelions for good using a popular cupboard essential.
Although dandelions can certainly brighten up any garden - and entertain kids for hours - these yellow weeds can actually be brutal to your outdoor space.
According to experts, dandelions release a chemical that can actually stump the growth of other plants in the area - but luckily, as reported by , there's an easy way to tackle the problem.
As stated by one pro at the US-based Montana State University, vinegar can in fact be used as a natural herbicide to banish these weeds thanks to its high concentration of acetic acid.
This is the component which gives most vinegar its unique, pungent smell, often making up 5% of the popular household liquid.
"Understanding the way acetic acid affects plants can help explain when it might be effective for weed control," Noelle Orloff, the university's Weed and Invasive Plant Identification Diagnostician, .
"First, acetic acid acts as a contact herbicide, meaning it impacts only the parts of the plant it touches.
Acetic acid ruptures plant cells, causing fluids to leak and plant tissues to dry out.
''It does not translocate or move within the plant to the roots or other plant parts.
''Good coverage of leaves and growing points at the top of the plant is necessary."
According to the whizz, vinegars with the highest concentrations of acetic acid at 20-30% are usually most effective when it comes to banishing pesky dandelions.
Distilled malt vinegar or white vinegar is as close as it gets when it comes to kitchen cupboard essentials, usually containing between 5-10% of the acid.
Avid cleaning and gardening enthusiasts can purchase white vinegar from Sainsbury's for as little as 40p.
To ensure the best results, spraying the yellow weeds until they're completely wet is also vital - and when these are finally dead, all that's left for you to do is to dig them out of the ground.
"Smaller and younger weeds are generally more susceptible to vinegar," she continued.
"Seedlings at the two to four leaf stage are ideal because all leaves can be contacted by the spray solution, leaving the plant with inadequate resources to resprout."
However, if you've decided to give this hack a go, gardeners should use vinegar with cautio.
This is because the purse-friendly kitchen bargain ''non-selective'', meaning that it will injure not just weeds but almost any plant other it touches.
To prevent any damage on your lawn and across the outdoor space, it may be worth using vinegar only for weeds sprouting in the cracks of patios or driveways - and steer clear of those dandelions growing amongst other plants.
The pro continued: "Acetic acid tends to work best in hot and sunny conditions, and surfactants may improve efficacy.''
Not entirely convinced and want to try out a safer methods?
Then the claims you can kill off dandelions with any unwanted cardboard you may have lying around the house.
Simply layer this on top of the weeds and cover it with wood chips - this cost-effective hack will eventually smother and kill them.
"This will block light and prevent growth, causing the root to die. Keep soil covered for a few years to ensure this method is effective," the pros explained.
