Tools for Removing Grass in a Driveway

Torch

• A propane- or butane-powered torch works well for scorching small grass plants along bricks and pavers where the space is too tight for any tools. The heat of the flame cooks the leaves and kills the grass. Larger plants with thickened or well-developed roots might send up new leaves, but smaller plants will shrivel and die.

Hand Weeder

• This simple tool has a covered handle and a short, notched blade at the end of a 12-inch shaft. Simply poke it under the soil at the base of a weed and push down on the handle to pop out the plant. If the soil is moist, the weed will pull from the soil easily. This is good for areas of the driveway where there is a 1-inch gap or more and for plants with centralized stems, like dandelions.

Garden Sprayer

• Fill a garden sprayer with a broad-spectrum herbicide like glyphosate and spray the driveway a couple of times per year. The chemical works systemically through the leaves, killing the roots over a few days. Once the plant shrivels and dies, you can simply sweep it away or let the heat of the summer sun disintegrate the plant.

String Trimmer

• This may well be the most common tool that people use to remove weeds growing in driveway cracks, but it isn't the most effective. What it is good at is cutting the weed at the surface of the driveway. Some weeds will die without their leaves but others, like grasses, will continue to grow. A more effective approach is to use a string trimmer in combination with a herbicide, simultaneously removing the upper part of the weed and killing the roots.