How to stop weeds coming through your decking

Read our guide on how to stop weeds coming through your decking. A deck is a great place to relax with family and friends. But weeds coming through your decking will drive you nuts.
So, how can you avoid getting weeds under your deck and losing your cool in the summer? All you need to do is a bit of planning.

5 tips on how to stop weeds coming through your decking

1. Remove the grass. If your decking hasn’t been laid yet, remove or kill the grass in the area that it will go on. By doing so, weeds are less likely to become established and spread. Also, you’re less likely to have grass growing through your decking.

2. Put down weed control fabric. Once you’ve removed the grass, the next step is to put down a layer of good-quality weed control fabric, such as Weedtex or Groundtex. It’s important to cover every inch of the ground where your deck will go. Leave a gap and it’s an open invitation to weeds to grow.

3. Add an extra layer of protection. Once the weed control fabric is down and secured with landscaping pegs, the next step is to cover it with mulch or gravel. Put a good, thick layer down – both help keep the light out and suppress weeds and anything else that might grow.

4. Wield the weed killer. Of course you might inherit a weed problem or not discover it until your deck is down. If this is the case, it’s worth getting the wield killer out and thoroughly treating the problem area. You will have to be persistent and it might take a while, but it could do the trick.

5. Be vigilant. Whether you’re tackling the problems of weeds coming through your decking before or after installation, it always pays to keep an eye out for any weed growth and spend some time on a bit of maintenance around and below your decking if possible. Get to the weeds early!

Another tip for anyone dealing with weeds already growing through decking is to get the decking taken up. It might not be possible and it is a much bigger project, but once the decking is up, you can follow the first steps above and tackle the problem much more efficiently. If this isn’t an option, check out our top 5 tips for effective weed control.

Overall, it’s worth remembering that weeds can be maddeningly persistent and even the most thorough planning can sometimes come up short. But the more you do and the more you invest, the better the results will be.

We hope that the guide has given you ideas of  how to stop weeds coming through your decking.