tenplay wrote:

My large backyard is constantly infested with weeds. It is mostly grass
rather than lawn. I can't use herbicides because my backyard borders a
wild bird sanctuary and lake. What do you suggest for getting rid of
the weeds? I have used a handy tool called the Weed Popper, but it's
tines are too far apart and often miss the roots of the weeds. Also can
weeds like dandelions reroot themselves if they are left on top of the
ground? Thanks for any advice.


If you pull the dandelions they will probably come back from little
pieces of root that broke off, but they will have lost most of their
store of energy and should now be easy to kill. Dandelions on top of
the ground can reroot, but they usually don't unless you toss them onto
bare dirt and a hard rain washes them in. Even then, they are easy to
pull up again. I usually toss weeds into a sunny patch of lawn and let
the sun dry them up. Then I mow them with the mulching mower next time
I mow.

I use 2,4-d in a squirt bottle and spray dandelions and thistles in my
front lawn. In the garden, I just pull them up, and then use a hoe to
cut them down when they come back. In the flower beds, I use a
combination of pulling them up and very careful application of 2,4-d.
In the back lawn, I don't worry about the weeds except for "creeping
charlie" which has to be pulled up anyway.

I suggest you buy a spray bottle (NOT a hose-on applicator) of
Weed-B-Gon and spritz the worst of the weeds with that. Meanwhile, you
can work on getting your lawn healthy with dethatching, proper watering,
airation, or whatever it needs, so the grass can compete better with the
weeds.

Bob