6 tips for keeping weeds and dandelions off your lawn

Weaselly weeds: How can you get rid of dandelions? From CTV Kitchener’s Max Wark: If you follow three simple steps, you’ll have far fewer issues with dandelions on your lawn.

It’s the time of year when flowers are starting to bloom. Dandelions too.

While some people enjoy the splash of yellow a dandelion gives their lawn, many people disagree – seeing the weed as a nuisance and nothing more.

In 2008, Ontario banned hundreds of pesticide products commonly used to treat weeds.

Since then, the question of how to get rid of dandelions has resulted in untold numbers of folk remedies and personal recommendations. But which of those are actual solutions?

Here are six pieces of expert advice on keeping your lawn free of dandelions and other weeds.

1)  Total prevention is a myth. Chris Chamczuk, the general manager of Waterloo Region’s Nutri-Lawn business, says nothing can completely prevent weeds from sprouting up on a lawn.

2)  Keep your lawn thick. According to Chamczuk, weeds are more likely to grow in places with less grass cover. Saturating your lawn with grass seed can help promote lawn density and discourage weeds from taking hold. “The weeds can come back if the long is week,” he says.

3)  There is no miracle chemical cure. Even the pesticides now banned in Ontario only keep weeds at bay for a few weeks. The product Chamczuk currently uses turns weeds black, but doesn’t stay in the soil – meaning the conditions that allowed that weed to exist will also permit others to grow.

4)  Fertilizer, fertilizer and more fertilizer. Chamczuk says people who opt for spray-bottle treatments don’t buy or use nearly enough of it. He uses a weed killer called Fiesta – and says about six or seven litres of it should be applied to every 1,000 square feet of lawn.

5)  Focus on the part of your lawn that gets the most heat. To figure out where that is, Chamczuk recommends heading outside in the early afternoon and finding the hottest section of your lawn. That, he says, is going to be the area most at risk of weeds.

6)  Aeration helps. It’s a costly treatment that involves removing little bits of soil from your lawn. Experts say it removes undesirable elements in the soil and helps stimulate the growth of grass.