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As popular as the beautiful dandelions are with children, many hobby gardeners dread them. We have a few tips up our sleeve to get rid of dandelions.
The dandelion (Taraxum) is a versatile herb, which for some is just a weed, for others an important medicinal herb. Find out how best to remove the daisy family (Asteraceae) from your lawn and garden in our special article here.
The most important thing when removing dandelions is the timing, because once the dandelions have sown, it is already too late. If you can't find time to remove the dandelions before they bloom, you can buy yourself some time by mowing the lawn. When mowing, the flowers are cut off, preventing propagation for the time being - but of course the dandelion will continue to grow and will only flower a little later with this method.
Removing Dandelions: Various Methods
What makes dandelion so unpopular with gardeners? On the one hand, it crowds out other plants that are less competitive. The dandelion overgrows practically every location. On the other hand, it is difficult to remove because it has a long taproot and can spread rapidly with the wind with numerous seeds. Here are some methods for you to get rid of the dandelion.
Removing Dandelions: Mechanical Methods
To successfully get rid of the dandelion, there are several methods such as the mechanical method of cutting them out. To do this, you need a tool such as a weed puller, with which you can remove the dandelion along with the taproot. Of course you can also try this with a simple garden shovel, but it is much easier with special weed pullers. There are also special dandelion pullers on the market that have a corkscrew-like tip.
These cutters and pullers work very well on lawns, but these devices bump into the grooves between cobblestones and oursTerraces soon reach their limits - in contrast to the dandelion, because this herb is so strong that it can even burst asph alt. With such joints, you should rather use special joint scrapers.
There is still the method of flaming the weeds with a gas burner, but this method does not show any lasting effect on weeds that have a strong root system like the dandelion. It is therefore better to use the method of cutting out, with which you can also get the roots of the dandelion.
Removing Dandelions: Chemical Methods
If cutting out is too strenuous or time-consuming for you, you can also rely on chemical agents that can effectively remove weeds such as dandelion. There are a number of weed killers that will remove weeds from your lawn and often contain the following active ingredients:
- MCPA (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid)
- Dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid)
- 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid)
- Mecoprop-P (methylchlorophenoxypropionic acid)
Remedies like these remove weeds like dandelions while protecting your lawn. However, you should only use the agents on the lawn and not in your beds, because the active ingredients could damage your dicotyledonous vegetables or ornamental plants, such as legumes (Fabaceae) or daisy plants ( Asteraceae).
When using chemical pesticides, always observe the safety guidelines and the personal protective equipment that is absolutely necessary for the application. Avoid skin and eye contact and always follow the application rates given and the correct application. In principle, the use of herbicides in your own small garden is not yet necessary because of a few dandelion plants in the lawn or in the beds, because you can achieve good success in combating them with mechanical methods and household remedies.
Remove dandelion: home remedies
A very special method of fighting dandelions is the use of small rodents such as hares, rabbits or guinea pigs. If you or your children have such pets, you can simply eat them in your garden and let the dandelions get rid of them. These rodents are crazy about dandelions and by moving the outdoor enclosure or letting them run around freely, the rodents have the opportunity to eat the dandelionsexterminate.
You should stay away from home remedies such as s alt or vinegar, especially on paving and terraces, because the rain will only wash these substances into the soil and into the groundwater, which is harmful to the environment. In addition, according to the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1529, the use of s alt or vinegar as a weed killer is prohibited and therefore even punishable.
Avoid Dandelions
To avoid having to resort to drastic control methods in the first place, you can also prevent dandelions from settling in your garden in the first place. Dandelions are particularly fond of soils that are high in nitrogen, so you should avoid over-fertilization with nitrogen in vulnerable areas. In addition, scarifying is very beneficial for lawn weeds such as dandelions, because opening up the turf with the scarifier creates perfect spots where the flying seeds can easily grow. It is therefore better to avoid scarifying. However, what helps against weeds on the lawn is regular lawn mowing. However, you should not wait too long - if the weeds have already formed seeds, mowing will only spread the weeds on the lawn. Instead of destroying the weeds, you can also think about using the dandelions for other purposes. For example, dandelion can be used for syrups, teas or plant strengtheners. Here you can find out more about the use and use of dandelion.
Clover is also a common weed in our gardens. We help you to effectively control and prevent clover in your lawn.