Killing Weeds in paths

Hi,

I'm against using chemical weed-killers but am also becoming rather worn down by the thrice annual ritual of scraping out all the weeds and moss from the mortar between my garden paths.
Because the previous occupants chose to lay paths made up of little blocks half the size of a house brick, there's nearly as much crack out there as there is path! And so to clear it is a pretty gruelling job, on hands and knees all day.
Any suggestions?
I was wondering about trying one of these - can anyone recommend?
http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/parasene-weed-wand-005953
Are there any other options - vinegar solution perhaps?

Thanks,

Andy

 

Semtex works but you will have to re lay the path.

 

The weed wand will work Andy but it will only burn the tops of the weeds off, not kill the roots.

 

I have one of these, as @Sheal says they do regrow and it`s tedious, I don`t have many places where weeds can grow, but it`s very slow even then , wouldn`t buy another.

 

Just use a weedkiller especially for paths, one application each year should be enough.
If not its not that difficult to reapply, and saves a lot of scraping.

If you want to stay organic, carry on scraping

 

There is an organic, biodegradable weedkiller available now, based on pelargonic acid (derived from pelargonium plants) which might be worth a try if you want to stay organic.

I haven't tried it myself, but it does look like an interesting alternative to the usual herbicides.

A couple of links:

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=26&cat=34&id_product=228

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/Too...ED-SPRAY-READY-TO-USE-750ml/product_info.html

 

I had a brick patio at my last house that had the same problem. The solution is remarkably simple.Boil the kettle, pour it on the weeds. I stopped doing that when I realised it's probably less eco friendly than weed killer, because boiling water also kills all the bugs that live down there too.

 

I use a weed burner but just to start the bonfire, not enough gas in a canister for my weeds

 

We use Wilcos own weed killer. As we have a long block paved driveway and patio we would never be able to keep on top of them any other way. Applied over the next week and reapplied late summer works fine. We do have a weed wand but I think we have used it only a couple of times on the bigger weeds.

 

I had same prob I made a solution of salt and vinagar did not stop them but slowed them right down

 

I thought the salt and vinegar suggestion very strange but my husband said that the local council are now using vinegar.

 

When I first heard I thought tad strange but have it a go anyway worked well garden smelt like a chip shop for a day or so

 

Mr "M" didn't give me enough pocket money to buy one of those.
Not to be thwarted, I thought outside the box and used: the gas cooker lighter
As others have said, it burned off the tops just lovely. Then they grew back
Now I hand weed

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Yeah, I thought of that but given the area in question it'd cost me more in electricity than it would to pay someone to scrape them out for me!

Sounds good, thanks @Trunky. I'll give this a try and report back.