Why do weeds keep coming back on my drive?

By The Weed Guy·Last updated 2 September 2026

Because almost everything people try only deals with the top of the weed and leaves the root in the ground. Pull it, burn it or scrape it out, and the root that is still down there in the joints or under the gravel just sends up fresh growth within a week or two.

The weeds that take over a drive or patio are mostly tough perennials and grasses. Their roots run deep into the sand and sub-base between your blocks or slabs, and that is the part that has to die for the weed to stop coming back. When you hand-pull, the top snaps off and the root stays put. When you use a weed burner, you scorch the leaves but the root barely feels it. Even a jet wash just blasts the greenery away and leaves the roots to regrow, often faster because you have opened the joints up.

Supermarket weedkillers and anti-weed sand can help for a few weeks, but they are usually too weak, or applied at the wrong strength, to carry right down into an established root system. So you get a short spell of clear paving followed by the same weeds pushing back through, and you are back on your hands and knees.

Spraying with a proper systemic weedkiller works differently. The weed draws the treatment in through its leaves and moves it down into the root, so the whole plant dies off rather than just the bit you can see. That is why a proper spray lasts when pulling and burning do not.