The One Costco Outdoor Gem I’m Buying Every Summer (It Saves Me Money!)

With homeownership comes many perks and just as many quirks (if not more), like the chore of maintaining a weed patch that becomes a hazardous jungle if you don’t spray weed killer every summer. That’s a task my husband and I tackle yearly, and — not sure if you’ve ever had to buy weed killer, but — it gets pricey, fast. Thankfully this season our Costco membership was the unsung hero that essentially halved the expense, and we welcomed the savings.

When I became a Costco member I never expected a random lawn care item to be a favorite find, but I’m certainly happy to have discovered the hidden gem. We bought Ortho WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer in a two-pack, which gave us two gallons of chemical and a battery-powered sprayer for $25. 

That’s nearly the same price as a single gallon of Roundup Weed Killer, sold at a hardware store like The Home Depot, for double the product. What’s even wilder is that one gallon of the same Ortho spray is also $25 on Amazon. And yet, my single gallon from Costco shook out to be around $12.50. In this economy? I’ll take it.

The package labeling claims that the product works in hours on crabgrass, dandelion, clover, bermudagrass, buffalograss, fescues, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and zoysiagrass. I am no botanist, and I didn’t necessarily time its effectiveness, but it got the job done. And so far we’ve only used part of one bottle, which leaves us plenty to last the rest of the summer when the patch of doom inevitably needs touch-ups. 

Amazon reviewers of the Ortho spray are big fans of the formula, regardless of price. “I followed the instructions, and within hours I noticed the dandelions wilting!” one happy shopper wrote. “This is by far the best weed killer I’ve used,” another raved, while one reviewer said that it “went a lot farther than [they] expected.”

Our particular infestation hides behind our detached garage. When we moved in, the rogue foliage overtook it, and it was an urgent issue to address. We have plans to remedy the regrowth with a more long-term solution, like pavers or gravel, eventually. But it’s one of those projects that keeps getting pushed down the never-ending house project list. Until we reach it, we’ll be keeping weed killer on-hand — and Costco is helping us do that and stick to our budget.