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Vinegar cannot tell the difference between weeds and desired grass types; it kills everything it touches. Only use a vinegar or vinegar-based solution if you are relatively confident that you can navigate around the plants and grasses you want to keep. Also, don’t spray vinegar on a windy day, or it will blow onto other plants.

It’s not legal to intentionally damage a neighbor’s tree. Even if the roots of a tree encroach into your yard, if you damage or kill a tree that belongs to your neighbor, you can be held liable for the damage in most cases. Since herbicides can spread through the tree, causing damage to the whole tree and not just the roots that are on your side of the property line, you shouldn’t poison your neighbor’s tree. The other downside to this method is that if the tree dies, it can fall onto your property and cause more damage, so herbicides are best avoided in this circumstance.

The fastest ways to kill weeds and unwanted grass include burning them, pouring boiling water on them, or pulling them out by hand, as these methods work almost instantaneously. For a quick-acting solution that works within a few hours, you can use a commercial-grade herbicide like glyphosate or a DIY vinegar, salt, and dish soap mixture. While effective, be aware that commercial herbicides introduce chemicals into your lawn. The slowest method for killing weeds is to starve them of sunlight and nutrients using mulch or fabric covers.

Mowing a lawn will, unfortunately, not get rid of clover, and it may even encourage it to flourish. Let your lawn grow to a healthy height of over 3 inches and then set your mower blades no lower than this level. Higher grass will cut out the light that clover loves and discourage it from spreading.