Don't use landscape fabric. Weeds seed into it and are very difficult to remove. Bermuda grass is very difficult to eliminate, It spreads both underground and by seed. You can dig it out (hard work) but it is difficult to get it all. What sort of path do you plan to make. Where does it lead?

You are signed up for pulling weeds when you put in a gravel path. Weed cloth will keep weeds from coming up from below but they will happily germinate in the gravel. As to killing the grass sans chemical just tack down black plastic where the path will go for a couple months and the heat of the sun will kill the grass (if it gets sun). I eliminated all my grass (corner lot…) with a 6” layer of arborist mulch that quickly smothered the grass.

The plastic will kill the grass beneath it, but if the borders of the path are Bermuda grass it will simply recolonize the area when the plastic is removed.

I’ve had Bermuda at every house I’ve lived in, and for paths or new beds, we dig up the grass then use cardboard or thick layers of newspaper under gravel/stepping stones. Yes, you’ll be pulling out Bermuda here and there for a while, there’s just no way around that, but IME less and less each year.

As mentioned, don’t use landscape fabric. Trust us on this … it’s an absolute nightmare to deal with. Bermuda just laughs at it.

There’s really no such thing as permanently removing Bermuda if there’s any within miles of you, but as I said, each year should get better with diligence about keeping it pulled up.

I don’t like using chemicals, but sometimes it’s necessary with how aggressive Bermuda is. “Grass B Gon” is good to have on hand — it’s much, much easier to pull it up after it’s been sprayed. I use it for Bermuda that grows in my Asian Jasmine ground cover.

ETA: We always used/use some sort of border on our paths. It won’t keep the grass out completely, but helps. If you don’t, you’ll need to edge quite often to stop the Bermuda creeping over and under.

Thanks everyone for the advice. i didn’t realize bermuda grows over and under. It appears weeds will always be in my future then 😏

Callirhoe123 - We’re keeping a centre patch of grass, with a gravel path wrapping around the edge of the garden. i guess the bermuda will grow under the barrier.