We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass (mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!