Last Updated on February 29, 2020 by Ecorf
Dandelions are received with mixed feelings by different classes of people. It is the kids’ delight because of the steady yet consistent blossoming. While gardeners may love the plant at the onset, the love soon begins to turn to hatred when the yellow intruders start to destroy the soil and other plants in your yard. Therefore, it’s essential to nip it in the bud before it gets worse.
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Why Should I Get Rid of Dandelions in Lawn?
Dandelions don’t hurt anything, but their tendency to destroy plants and the soil as well as calls for alarm. The unwanted bright-yellow dots that accompany it create an unpleasant sight that forces gardeners to yank them off. Besides, the Taraxacum Officinale, which is one of the most common kinds of dandelion, is reputed for blooming in spring and intruding on the lawn.
Now, if you’ve been angered by the sight of these unpleasant plants in your lawn, then we suggest the use of any or more of the following techniques to get rid of dandelions in the lawn.
Manual Uprooting
The first thought that may cross your mind is to uproot the dandelions. That is not a bad idea, considering that you can achieve that if you’re meticulous about it. It’s worth mentioning that the manual method is essential when the flowers are still blossoming and have not yet turned into seeds.
Here are the steps to use:
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Deploy a Weed Puller or a Small, Sharp Knife
Manual uprooting helps to prevent further loss of other plants. However, you must be careful when at it to avoid killing the grass.
To that end, it’s advisable to deploy a weed puller or a small, sharp knife to remove the plant. While at that, ensure that the tools are used to the root to pull off the plants thoroughly.
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Check At Intervals
Manual removal is a continuous process. So, you would need to check back after some days or a week to see if the weed has grown again. If so, use the same method to cut them off. Through consistency and the uprooting of the root at each removal, you would soon have a dandelion-free lawn.
Organically Remove Dandelions from the Lawn
The tips we have here are the “grandmother’s” method of getting rid of dandelions in the lawn(s). So, if you’re not particular about the manual approach, then you may want to use the steps below to remove the dandelions, organically:
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Heat the Water
The first step is to heat a medium-sized pot of water to a medium-high temperature. Set it down once it gets close to the boiling point.
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Pour Over the Dandelions
Put on a pair of oven mitts for your protection before carrying the boiled water to the lawn. When there, carefully pour the water over the dandelions. The rule of thumb is to ensure the boiling water gets to the head and the stem of the plant. That makes it easier for the water to get into the soil near the root of the plant.
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Repeat the Process
It doesn’t stop at the first attempt. Ideally, you should repeat the process about two (2) times per day. Continue at it until the plant begins to wither, after which it dies off.
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Remove the Stem
Once you’ve ascertained that the dandelions have withered and died, you can then remove the stem and discard the plant.
Chickens Can Get Rid of Dandelions
Unbeknownst to many homeowners and gardeners, chickens can help in the removal of dandelions without hassles. The rule here is to raise chickens and allow them to feed on the plant. It’s exciting to note that chickens love to snack on dandelions. So, once they’ve matured a bit, you can release them into the lawn where the dandelions are blossoming.
Although the model doesn’t guarantee the immediate and total removal of the plant, you can always release the chickens to feast on the plant when they resurface. That way, you would be feeding the chicks while removing your biggest headaches – the dandelions.
Engage in Spot Treatment to Get Rid of Dandelions
Although many homeowners would jump at the use of herbicides when the other methods failed, it seems they didn’t realize that spot treatments could help. By spot treating the plants, we’re looking at the selective removal of dandelions in the lawn.
In light of that, you can search for dedicated natural products, such as acetic vinegar, fatty-acid soaps, and botanically based oils. They help by establishing contacts with the leaves of the plants which, in turn, helps in killing the plants.
Get Rid of Dandelions by Filling the Hole with Pre-Emergent Herbicide
If you applied the first step of manually removing the dandelions in the lawn, then the tip we have here would help you in putting an end to the continuous influx of dandelions in your lawn.
Once the plants have been uprooted, you would notice that holes have been created where they previously occupied. To prevent the vulnerability of the surrounding soil to other aggressive weeds, it’s advisable that you fill the gaps with pre-emergent herbicides. That would help you to discourage a new enemy from taking root in the same position.
Use Coarse Salt to Get Rid of Dandelions
Coarse salt can also be helpful in the removing of dandelions in the lawn. To do that, you have to remove the flowers and the dandelion leaves. You would then put some coarse salt at the base of the plant, after which you follow it up by spraying some water atop the salt to dissolve it into the root of the plant.
Use Chemical/Weed Killers to Get Rid of Dandelions
When all efforts have failed, and you’re at a loss on what to do, you may want to take the easier but more drastic route of removing dandelions using weed killers. You should note that the chemicals tend to take off other plants in the process. So, you should consider them as a last resort.
Get Rid of Dandelions in the Lawn
Dandelions wouldn’t prove a hard nut to crack, provided you applied the steps listed above. Which of the tips did you use and found more efficient? Let us know how the outcome was on your lawn at home!