Weeds in lawn

[rangor gubbins]

Anyone got good suggestions for how to easily get rid of lots of weeds in my lawn.
Don't want to use herbicides because of the kids.
And also, how short do you cut your grass. I tend to cut our lawn quite short and I wonder if that's letting the weeds get in and take over.

 

[Semple]

The weeds will still get in regardless of the length of the grass.

Ultimately you can't stop them, so it's more about ongoing maintenance. You can get pet/child friendly weed killers. Even so I tend to zone off an area of the grass to focus on. That plus a good knife I find to dig around the weed and pluck them out - need to ensure you get the root otherwise it'll just grow back in a few weeks time.

Keep on top of them over the summer and you'll find less and less of them.

 

[rangor gubbins]

The weeds will still get in regardless of the length of the grass.

Ultimately you can't stop them, so it's more about ongoing maintenance. You can get pet/child friendly weed killers. Even so I tend to zone off an area of the grass to focus on. That plus a good knife I find to dig around the weed and pluck them out - need to ensure you get the root otherwise it'll just grow back in a few weeks time.

Keep on top of them over the summer and you'll find less and less of them.

Thanks. I'll have a look for child friendly weed killers. Have just read @danlightbulb lawn recovery thread. Better get myself a scarifier, and more grass seed.
We live next to a field so lots of weeds around. I'm not after a perfect lawn, but just something a bit more grassy than we'vegot currently. Some bits are more weed than grass.

 

[ChrisD.]

Get some elbow grease and a root removal tool (or knife)

Or just accept that most weeds are green and it doesn't really matter as long as it's cut short.

 

[dave28]

I cant see how, people use selective weed killers because there is no easy way, they grow and spread like cancer even in terrible rocky soil that nothing else likes to grow in. You will find weeds there loving it

 

[radderfire]

Get a weed removal tool, the ones with a long shaft with a forked cutting blade on the end and make your new hobby weed removal. Little and often is the way forward.

 

[Personality+]

I ended up using a weed burner, probably not the best choice, but it's free fun burning things.

 

[sjballo]

I have a Fiskar weed puller that pulls weeds out at the roots....quite therapeutic sniping weeds out of the grass well! It won't stop them coming back but it's been the best method I've found (so far).

 

[bainbridge]

I just regularly mow the grass short and this stops the weeds from taking over

 

[rangor gubbins]

I have a Fiskar weed puller that pulls weeds out at the roots....quite therapeutic sniping weeds out of the grass well! It won't stop them coming back but it's been the best method I've found (so far).

Looks like like a nifty device

 

[Richie]

Looks like like a nifty device

It's a great device albeit it will leave holes in your lawn so needs backed up with soil and grass seed to fill them back in

 

[SpellowHouse]

Just pull them out!

I have the same problem. I can't use chemicals because I have pets. I bought a cheap weed puller (cost £5. Get one with a really fine tip), and started one year pulling them up. The first year I probably went out a dozen times, pulling up weeds, but this has reduced now to less than an hour, once, in the spring, and a few more checks during the course of the year.