The UK's bestWeed Membranes2022 Review

If you’re creating a new raised bed, rockery or gravel pathway, the GardenMate Weed Control Fabric can help stop weeds from creeping up and ruining its appearance.

The geotextile fabric has a thickness of 100g/m² and is durable enough to last several years with limited sign of damage or thinning.

It’s stabilised against UV, so doesn’t become noticeably weakened by the sun’s rays, and is also thick enough to be covered by gravel, mulch, or sand without puncturing or wearing through. For reference, it’s about the same thickness as a tent’s ground sheet.

The 2 x 10 m sheet is suitable for covering areas up to 20 m², and there’s also a 2 x 5 m option and 2 x 15 m option available. If none of these sizes match up to the area you’re looking to protect, the fabric can easily be cut with a pair of sharp scissors. In this way, it can be tailored to the desired size and shape.

One downside of this fabric is that it can fray where it has been cut, so the best thing to do is allow for an extra 10 – 15 cm when cutting. This makes it possible to fold the fabric under at the edges, which will stop fraying edges from being visible.

Whilst stopping weeds growing through, it is still permeable to water. This allows plants that are protected by the membrane to benefit from rain water, and also means that water does not pool on the top of the fabric.

Overall, although the fraying is something to be aware of, this is one of the best weed membranes in terms of quality; it’s thick, long lasting and stops weeds growing through.

A decent option for larger areas, the Ansio Weed Control Membrane is available in sheets up to 50 m long. This big size could be particularly useful in large open spaces, such as allotments, without having to piece more than one sheet together and risk letting weeds in.

It can be purchased as either a 1 m wide sheet, or a 2 m wide sheet, depending on the area you are trying to cover. Cutting the membrane is easily done, using either sharp scissors or a Stanley knife, so you can create the exact size required.

The fabric is UV stabilised and shouldn’t degrade when exposed to the sun’s rays for long periods. It’s suitable for many different uses such as landscaping, driveways, flowerbeds and patios and is straightforward to lay.

Due to its thickness, the Weed Control Membrane doesn’t move about too much or flap around during the laying process, making it easier to keep control of. However, the edges are prone to fraying.

In order to avoid finding small fraying strands of plastic around the garden, many customers opt to fold the edges under before securing them in place.

One of the main disadvantages of how easily this fabric frays is that it can be difficult to neatly cut holes in the middle of the membrane for plants to grow through. In these cases, it’s harder to fold under the edges.

The green lines on the membrane help with creating straight folds, as well as with cutting the fabric in a straight line. Although, there are only vertical lines so it’s not as useful for cutting across the width.

Thanks to its size, this is one of the best weed membranes for large areas; however, it is not quite as high quality as others on the market. Nevertheless, it is well priced for the amount of material that you get.

Offering good value for money, this GroundMaster Heavy Duty Weed Control Membrane delivers a generous amount of fabric at a reasonable price.

Although it is not the cheapest membrane featured on this list, the 1 x 10 m sheet will be sufficient to cover the majority of garden flowerbeds, raised beds and gravel pathways. There are also plenty of other widths available, in case you need to cover a slightly larger space.

Made from woven polypropylene, this membrane is easy to lay and cut. It can be trimmed to size using sharp scissors, and adjusted to fit any area, even if it is awkwardly shaped.

Like most woven weed membranes, it is prone to fraying, so when cutting the fabric you’ll need to leave a little extra. This extra fabric can be folded under the edges to limit how much it frays.

Its woven construction means that it’s permeable to water and rainwater will therefore not pool on top of the fabric. Soil under the fabric will be able to benefit from the rain as well.

The membrane is effective at keeping out weeds and also sufficiently durable not to tear when put under a little pressure. For example, when pegs are inserted or when heavy items, like flowerpots, are moved across its surface.

Weighing up its quality and price, as well as how much fabric you get, this seems to be one of the best weed membranes to buy in terms of value for money.

Weighing 125 g/m², the Lita Weed Barrier Control Fabric is the thickest and heaviest weed membrane featured on this list.

Thanks to its density, it’s easy to lay and spread without the sheet acting up and blowing around, plus it can be covered with various material such as sand, gravel and bark without damaging the surface of the fabric.

It efficiently keeps weeds from growing where it has been placed, and is easy to cut. The 1 x 10 m sheet can be reduced in size if necessary, using sharp scissors, or holes can be cut in the centre of the sheet to allow plants to grow through.

The fabric can be held down with pegs, which need to be purchased separately, and doesn’t rip in the areas where it is secured.

Overall, this is one of the best weed membranes if you’re looking for something thick and heavy duty. Customers report that it is noticeably thicker than some of the other products on the market, which should help with keeping weeds at bay and the garden tidy.

It comes folded, instead of on a roll, which means it can’t just be pushed out to distribute it in the garden; however, as mentioned it’s not too unruly to control when the sheet is entirely opened out.

Even though the sheet is made from heavy-duty polypropylene, it still allows water and air through to the soil. Not only does this avoid water pooling on the fabric’s surface, it also means that the soil benefits from natural ventilation and rainwater.

Measuring 2 x 10 m, the Yuzet Heavy Duty Weed Control Fabric is a UV-stabilised membrane made from polypropylene.

It’s relatively thick, with a weight of 100g/m², and will stop the majority of weeds growing through. The amount supplied will cover an area of 20 m², and if you have several smaller areas you can cut this membrane to size accordingly.

Sharp scissors will need to be used for the cutting, as the edges do fray quite a lot. This is common with a lot of woven weed membranes, and the situation can be improved by folding the edges of the fabric under before securing them down.

The Yuzet Weed Control Fabric can be used as an underlayer for artificial grass, or as a protective layer in vegetable patches, flowerbeds and driveways. It will also help keep an area temporarily free of weeds if you’re not decided what your plans are for the space yet.

To maintain the health of the soil beneath, the fabric is permeable. Water and nutrients can reach through, even though weeds won’t be able to grow. Therefore, it won’t ruin the ground beneath whilst the fabric is in place.

One of the only downsides of this membrane is that it arrives as a folded sheet, not on a roll that can be easily unfurled in the garden. The sheet needs to be unfolded first before it can be cut to size or laid out.