Over 12,000 years ago mankind created the first garden and set in motion the longest war of all time – the war on weeds. And, despite the myriad innovations of the millennia that have since passed, weeding appears to be just as laborious and rudimentary as ever. Famously, legendary gardener Monty Don likened the “duty” to that of a chimney sweep “pushed up a chimney” and said that weeding meant he “hated” gardening for the first decade of his professional life.

However, a recent breakthrough means Britain’s army of green-fingered enthusiasts are rejoicing as industry experts are heralding a new highly effective vodka-based weedkiller. The solution, made from strongly alcoholic vodka and liquid detergent, has been shown to eradicate weeds within 24 hours if applied and deployed in the correct conditions.

Gardeners everywhere know the pain of constant weeding all too well so we’re always keen to embrace any new ideas emerging on this subject. The clever science behind the success of the vodka solution is that it works by removing the protective waxy coating on plant leaves so that they dry, wither, and die.

To get the vodka to stay on the leaves of the weeds experts recommend mixing it with it few drops of liquid detergent – so a recipe of water, vodka, and detergent mixed in a spray bottle and then sprayed on the weeds is the easiest way to use this in your garden.

The solution needs to use vodka that is over 25% ABV or it will be ineffective and successfully curated solutions will work best on broadleaf weeds like dandelions and those growing in direct sunlight.

Finally, the gardening experts at Two Wests & Elliott warned gardeners that “care needs to be taken even when using these vodka-based weedkillers as the plants around the weeds can be affected at the same time, as well as the soil and your garden ecosystem. So it’s important that it is applied carefully to the weeds only and that there is no runoff.”