A Guide to Controlling and Removing Dandelions From Your Landscaping

March 14, 2019

A Guide to Controlling and Removing Dandelions From Your Landscaping

When it comes to your lawn care and landscaping, dandelions are most likely going to be the most common and annoying pest to deal with.

However, we are going to share our guide for both preventing the dandelion population in your lawn and removing them completely. If you keep up with them, especially in the spring, they will become far easier to deal with.

How to Prevent Dandelions

The best way to prevent dandelions is by ensuring that your lawn stays at its healthiest. If you simply wait for weeds to appear and then destroy them, you’re making more work for yourself.

By managing your lawn properly, it can be extremely effective against weeds. Here are some of our top tips for avoiding dandelions altogether.

1. Grass Clippings

While it may be tempting to pick up your lawn clippings for the sake of neatness, consider leaving them on your grass.

Grass clippings actually do a great job of providing mulch for your lawn to protect against weed seeds. If the lawn is covered in clippings, the dandelion seeds won’t be able to germinate.

On top of being good for weeds, grass clippings are great for naturally watering and feeding your lawn as well.

2. Avoid Bare Spots

If you start to notice any bare spots in your lawn, try to make sure they are covered immediately.

Leaving spots in your lawn only invites weeds to begin growing in the area. Once you see the area, fill them in by overseeding.

3. Consider the Length of Your Lawn

It may be tempting for some of you to cut your grass extremely short, but longer grass will be an easier way to protect it from dandelion weeds.

We recommend leaving the height of your lawn at around 2-3 inches. This length will ensure that weeds that are trying to grow don’t have the light they need to thrive.

If prevention isn’t what you need, and you have dandelions already growing to deal with, here are some ways to get rid of them.

How to Get Rid of Dandelions

Depending on the way you want to handle the dandelions, you have a few different options. Here are some of the tried and true methods.

1. Pulling Them

Pulling up the dandelions is the most common (and the most strenuous) way to handle them. However, it’s a great way to get rid of the problem without using any chemicals.

There are tools available specifically for dandelion removal, or you can simply use a garden spade for the job.

To get started, make a cut into the soil with your preferred tool, and use it to pull up the weed. Make sure that you have a good grip on the stalk and the leaves while you scoop it up with the tool.If it doesn’t come up easily, make a few more cuts around the weed and then try again.

2. Reusing the Dandelions

Believe it or not, every single part of the dandelion is edible. The plant is actually quite nutritious and can be used for many different recipes.

These weeds are high in iron, as well as vitamins A and C. The only thing to really watch out for is the dandelions growing near a road, as there could be salt or other sorts of toxins in them.

If you are weeding your lawn in early spring, this is the ideal time to harvest the plants. They are the most tender and the least bitter this time of year.

3. Herbicides

If you are not up for pulling them out one by one, and you don’t want to eat them, herbicides may be the best option.

For some less toxic, slightly more natural options, vinegar is a great choice. Roundup also works very well.

Our Final Thoughts on Handling Dandelions