Will mulch kill baby weeds?

I came back from vaca to find a bed that had never had weeds before ONE FOOT high in SOLID weeds...! I'm trying to weed it, but it's taking ages to do and cover with mulch (Texas hardwood mulch I get at Home Depot). Has anyone ever just pulled most of the weeds and covered the stubs up with thick mulch? I'm almost willing to try that as the bed is 5'wide and about 30 feet long!!

Yikes! That's a big job. Honestly, I think the weeds would grow right through the mulch. Can you put down black plastic, on top of the weeds, for a few weeks - just to kill the weeds?

Thanks...actually, I had a similar thought last night. I'm pulling most of the weeds, then gonna place black plastic garbage bags down...then the mulch! But I did one section with thick mulch WITHOUT the bags...that will make a nice comparison for the record!!

Good idea. While we wait for the weed barrier to arrive for the vegetable garden we put down some black trash bags anchored with bricks so it will be quick and easy to move when the weed cloth arrives.

Why not use cardboard (its free) under the mulch?

Update: No more weeds!!

Great news! Was there any one method that worked better or were they all equal?

I used black plastic trash bags, (not torn open, so the plastic was doubled).

Thanks!

Lol just found this page

Cardboard works, also layers of newspaper. The advantage is that it breaks down and later you can plant without having to remove it.

Ditto to the above.

I've used cardboard with great success and it's well worth checking out the various cardboard available (here) at the front (inside) of some big box stores. The boxes that hold heavy liquid items (Ensure, Clorox, etc.) take forever to cut through with a utility knife but the cardboard strength is exceptional.

My latest project involved having two dump truck loads of dirt dumped right over St. Augustine grass into a berm. (I would have removed the grass but my husband didn't want me to....I think he thought I'd remove the grass and then not finish the project!) I then planted over 100 plants, placed Home Depot's professional grade black barrier cloth, and then HEAVILY mulched it all--100 bags!! There have been less than 10 weeds on the berm...guess it worked!