cibula11

So I read that the best way to get rid of dandelion's is to pull the weed out. I tried the spray and nothing. So, I spent a good 2 hrs pulling what I thought was just a few dandelions out of my side yard. Anyone know if I can use weed and feed to control this from happening again? I applied a crabgrass preventer about a month ago and dont want to damage the yard.

bethany14

You'll waste money and pollute your local water by using herbicides against them. Are they really that ugly? I suggest giving it up, and learn to love the pretty flowers. Their deep tap roots will keep your yard from becoming a big flat impervious sheet. They have culinary and medicinal uses, you can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion
or use your favorite search engine to find dandelion uses.
Good luck, and take it easy with those herbicides...

cibula11

I don't think a couple of applications of weed killer will pollute my city. While they do serve some "other" purposes, taking over my yard is not one that I will enjoy. I could send them to you and you could plant them in yours

CraigFL

When I had two acres of lawn(which I don't have any more!), I used weed & feed every spring and the dandelions were few.

cibula11

Yeah. I think because we (Iowa) got warm weather early this year, the weeds got an jump start. Now, I think I will have to use weed and feed earlier. I just hope that because I put on crabgrass preventer only 4 wks ago, that I don't cause any problems.

CraigFL

Usually, you would use weed & feed AFTER the dandelions pop up since it's supposed to be taken in thru the leaves. Crabgrass preventer works on the seeds so they don't germinate so you have to put it down early.

glennjanie

Hey Cibula:
Dandelions have such a deep tap root it is nearly impossible to pull them, and they have hundreds of hair-like roots shooting off the tap root. If there is any part of the root system left behind, they will be back. Then there are the little parachutes that blow around forever, carrying seeds of new dandelions.
There is very little defense against the seeds, since they ride the wind. The best course is to try to get all the neighbors to kill theirs too. A broad cast weed killer is not the best cure; rather a direct spray that will be taken into the dandelion systemically, thus killing the whole plant while sparing the surrounding grass.
Glenn

Kerrylib

I've got the same problem. Front lawn is in poor shape and is quite full of those pretty yellow flowers. If they weren't so prolific and invasive, a couple of them here and there would be of no concern. I figure I'll have to resort to an application of chemicals to knock them back and work hard to get the grass in good shape so there aren't good locations for new seeds to take hold.

A healthy lawn will go a long way to protecting itself by not providing bare spots where new seeds can germinate. I've got lots of places for that to happen. I hope to get that taken care of some more this spring. A little help from Mother Nature would be nice. 95+ summer temps without any moisture makes it hard to keep anything growing (besides the dandilions).

cibula11

I put some weed and feed on last Friday and we got about an inch of rain yesterday, so I'm hoping that it will really soak in and kill them off.

Regardless of what I do, I'm starting to understand that if my neighbors don't care, it really doesn't matter how hard I try.

justinfl

When we first moved into our house the whole backyard was filled with dandelions and other weeds. I spent weekends pulling dandelions and spraying the exposed earth. I found that using a screwdriver was the best way to pull them and get the majority of the roots out. Use the screwdriver to stab at the roots at a 45 degree angle from the base. I would do this repeatedly until the dandelion could be pulled with ease. Once the dandelion is out, spray the ground where the dandelion was uprooted. This works well for most weeds too, but the only problem is recovering the bare spot in the lawn. Sprinkle grass seed down and keep it watered and hopefully you will see sprouts in a few weeks. Using just the weed-be-gone sprays alone won't get rid of the problem, the roots don't die most of the time. Good luck, it is alot of labor but you will be happy with the results.