I was out at a family member's house and the lawn was gorgeous. Not a single dandelion in sight. Now I am not one of those people who embraces the dandelion. I consider it a weed. I remember hearing a quote from someone famous that perhaps we just need to look at them differently. This is true for dandelions offer great nutrients in their leaves. So the next time you're hungry march outside and pick yourself some greens. You can also steam them up like spinach. Please don't eat them though if you use chemicals in your landscaping environment.
I asked this family member (yes, I am withholding who it is) how they got rid of the dandelions and they eagerly ran back to the shed and came out with a bottle of Weed Be Gone. I shot a look at my boyfriend who knows I don't put that stuff or any other chemicals on my lawn or gardens. Since the family member and I just recently got on talking grounds again and I didn't want to rock the boat with my GREEN LIVING CRUSADES, I kept quiet, hoping my boyfriend would interject. Well...now that bottle of Weed Be Gone is sitting in my shed and I don't know what to do with it. I won't use it. I don't want to give it away to family or friends. I don't want to toss it in the garbage. ...and I don't want to put it down the drain. ..so for now it sits.
Once I got home from this family member's house, I immediately googled how to get rid of dandelions naturally. There are many different remedies out there, I was quite shocked that so many people use chemicals. It seems we are losing ourselves and getting out of touch with the earth. The easiest fix, that is what we want. Well what if I said there was a much easier fix and it is free.
First of all, I encourage you all to check out the ingredients in Weed be Gone. It is said that the active ingredient is one of the ingredients of the Agent Orange that effected so many war veterans drastically. I would not feel comfortable with my children running around with bare feet soaking up this chemical. There are even stories of the dangerous cancer causing effects it has on our animals. Now Fido is important to you right? Or the effects it has on our wildlife and streams? Ok, now that I have probably got your attention, let's get back to learning how to get rid of the dandelions naturally.
First and foremost, you can PULL them out. Just make sure you get as much of the root as possible. There are also handy-dandy tools to help you accomplish this.
Secondly, you can discourage their growth by mowing often, also go around and pick off the heads before they seed. As you are likely aware there can be thousands of seeds from one flower.
The third way that I know of I actually find the most amazing. Pour boiling water over the center of the stem. You can literally watch them lose their green color and turn brown. I probably spent close to 3 or 4 hours boiling water on the stove and brought each pot outside pouring the water over each and every dandelion one by one. Ok I agree, this isn't the most efficient way to rid of dandelions but it is natural. I bet someone has already come up with a tool of some sort that heats the water the perfect temperature and is held in some kind of tank or something. All you have to do is wheel it around and spray each dandelions with hot, boiling water.
So, since I don't own this tool I dreamed up...I want back to the drawing board. Once again googling for more answers. This my friend seemed to be the magic ticket.
HOT VINEGAR:
•1. Boil Vinegar on the stove. Not sure how bad it is to inhale so don't boil long and use ventilation.
•2. Pour hot vinegar in a sray bottle. Use an old one cause the bottle might disfigure a little due to the hot water.
•3. Spray the dandelions with about three or four sprays of the hot vinegar. I heard doing this on a sunny day works better. Let the vinegar soak in and do its thing.
•4. Watch the dandelions turn brown and die....YEAH!!!
I probably did a patch half the size of what I had done the day before with the boiling water (3-4 hours) in about 10 minutes. Much, much easier.
I still think that boiling water is more natural and it is free (well besides, the cost of water and the electricity to boil it) but until I find the proper contraption I will stick with the vinegar.
I hope that this inspires you to put away the chemicals and strive for a more natural and clean environment, that is not only better for you, but for the environment as well.
Here is a photo from pouring the boiling water over the area. Keep in mind that this area was completely covered with dandelions. I am not talking about a few, I mean the whole area. We decided to kill them off and then reseed. 
I didn't get a picture of the vinegar method, but essentially it looks the same, just more specific spots, since I can aim better with a spray bottle rather than dumping water. I do realize that brown spots don't really look so hot but we let the dandelioin problem get so out of hand that we have to resort to this method. The plan is to kill them off as much as we can this year and reseed the grass and then hopefully have a nicer lawn next year. In the meantime, we will be actively picking the heads off of dandelions so they don't seed again, mowing often, and aggressively shooting them down with VINEGAR!!!!
That's Great!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing Ashley! I am going to have to give it a shot.
Jose,
Ashley
I have a L.P.Gas torch that is like a flame thrower, it works great on weeds, and I use it to start me camp fires. Plus guys like dangerous stuff I recommend having one around for weeds, camp fires and to melt your walk-way in the winter. Steve
Ashley you need some Stones to get rid of those Dandelions :)
The torches work best on newly emerging weeds. Be careful so you don't start a brush fire! The vinegar works well. It does not have to be hot (takes a lot of energy to heat it up). It does need to be done on a sunny day. Thanks for the interesting post. Oh, by the way, my grandmother used to make a wonderful wilted dandelion green salad. Bacon and its grease, some sugar and vinegar. Just thinking about it takes me back about 55 years to the time I worked for her and my grandfather on their large vegetable farm.
Interesting. Maybe I will give it a try as I am a notorious herbicide user - guilty!
Ashley, I have over an acre lot and I can't do much about the neighbors dandelions. I really need a more efficient way then boiling water or vinegar. We are talking days worth of work.
Ashley - I have been using vinegar on dandelions for years-- my hubby's cute grandmother suggested it years ago when we were being over run with them in our old house. I don:t boil it and I water it down. It works great and might be easier than the boiling method..great topic!
Thanks for yout tasking the time to provide us with this information in the Active Rain network. AR is the new "cyber backbone" of the industry, and with it's uplink to Localism.com it will transfrom the marketplace. Agents who don't see which way the cyberwind is blowing are going to find themselves at a considerable disadvantage inside of three to five years.
Vinegar - Not Just For Windows!!!
I do wonder about the time and carbon spent boiling all that water though - I wonder if a magnefying glass would work, like on ants?
Thanks for the tips Ashley
joseph
I just wanted to let everyone know that the vinegar works well without having to boil it. I have since tried just spraying the vinegar directly and it works great.
Hi Ashley,
You're right vinegar does work without boiling it. I've been using it to kill my grass--didn't boil it, just put it in a spray bottle without diluting it. I've had to apply several treatments, and it's taking longer than it would have if I simply used Roundup; but I felt better about using vinegar. I read that you can purchase a highly concentrated vinegar from feed stores, but I just used the store brand at my local grocery store. Once the grass is dead, I'm planting a native plant/flower garden in our little backyard. I've become sold on growing plants that are native to the area because it creates a healthier garden, and draws a greater variety of birds and butterflies (and other critters). Thanks for the great information!!
Hey Ashley--down here we don't have so many dandelion problems, but sandspurs and ANTS also can be effectively discouraged with vinegar, I have found!
Do you know hot to get rid of solicitors naturally?? That has been the trouble lately in my front yard!
"The main difference between dandelions and roses is that dandelions are much easier to grow!"
Fantastic, Ashley! In my city we`re fortunate to have a green lawn-care service who sell organic products, and they recommend a concentrated vinegar solution, sold as Elimaweed, for dandelions and other unwanted plants. From their website:
Earth Safe Elimiweed is a natural food grade vinegar which replaces non-selective chemical weed killers. Biodegradable, it does not accumulate in the soil and kills both annual and perennial weeds. Elimiweed works over a period of a few hours and is safe to animals once dry. For best use on patios, pavement, sidewalks, gravel, mulch and in spot control of lawns and gardens.
So if the homemade version isn`t working for stubborn weeds, you might want to try this stuff.
I knew about using vinegar for windows, and with baking soda for drains, but didn't realize it also had applications with landscaping. Thanks for sharing your research and results, Ashley!
I knew about this tip but haven't had to use it much this year - I am definitely getting some vinegar to get ready for any late blooming 'lions though! Just like with any weed killer, I'm betting that spraying on a hot sunny day is the most effective, if the vinegar isn't heated to begin with.
I have used vinegar for years now... I buy it in bulk at Costco. If the weeds are new/young I dilute the vinegar with water (1 part water to 3 parts vinegar) to make it last longer otherwise, use it at full strength. Using a watering can with a shower-type pour spout, I apply the vinegar directly on the weeds. I have found that doing this EARLY on a sunny day works the absolute best, and if it is very wet and/or rainy don't bother with an application at all. Vinegar works primarily by being soaked up by a thirsty weed as any damage done soley to the leaves is really only surface deep. The effects of vinegar can kill any plants in direct contact but doesn't seem to damage or ruin the soil at all (or leach out and kill surrounding plants). I would wait until the soil has naturally flushed out (like a good rain) for a couple weeks before attempting to replant. Don't pour vinegar next to a prized or sensitive plant just to be safe.
I have recently heard about using plain table salt to kill broad-leaf weeds like dandelions. You can apply 1 tsp. of salt directly on the dandelion plant or make a salt water mixture and pour it directly on the weed. I haven't tried it but it would probably work excellent with the boiling water method. It wouldn't hurt if you have a slug problem either....
I also use a very old-fashoined dandelion picker and pull the dandelios out by hand. It has a metal pincher type head with an attached rocker arm on a wooden pole handle that operates like this: the open pincher (attached to a pole type handle) is pushed down over the center of the weed; rock the pole sideways, pushing down on the arm attached to the pincher head; tilting the pole as far sideways as comfortably possible, pop out the weed - hopefully with the root. It is true, you have to try and get all the root or the weed will grow back (but at least it will be smaller). Using this tool when the ground is soft and/or moist is easier and the roots seem to come out better. I found this tool to work better than all the other dandelion pullers out there, even the fancier ones. You can follow up with some vinegar in the problem areas to kill any remaining roots too.
Thanks to everyone for trying non-herbacidal methods!
The hot water method seems to be temporary - many weeds just come back in a few weeks. I will try vinegar. Thanks for the post by K. Jones too - helpful~
Hey Ashley,
Thanks for the info! Your blogs are some of the best around. Vinegar is great for so may things... I use a combo of vinegar and water to clean my house.
I use a tool to pull them out. Its about three feet long so there is no constant stooping or bending. I keep a bucket in one hand the magic tool in the other and pop the weeds out and drop them in the bucket. It is easy as pie the tool is called The Weed Hound, and you can find one by calling 1-800-MyHound. I think I paid about ten bucks for it five years ago and it was worth every penny. It would still be a bargain at twice the price!
Betina Foreman, Realtor Austin Texas
I use to be a homeowner and now I live in a condominium and am not sick of yard maintenance one bit. Good tips if I ever get back out to maintaining the yard again.
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for the great post. Does anyone have a suggestion for noxious weeds. I have a horse stable here in Montana and I refuse to use chemicals. Vinegar hasn't really worked and after reading these posts I realized I might not be doing it right. I will try again in the spring when the weeds sprout up and try and hit them all with vinegar and water with my sprayer.
Any and all suggestions are welcome. I need serious weed help.
Thanks so much,
Kelly Parks
Vinegar will kill dandelions. Make sure to use vinegar with acidity of 20 or 30 for best results.
Available at organic Lawn and Garden Store.
Vinegar with 20/30% acidity sounds great to use. Tell me please where to get that high acidity? We also live on a farm and have a pond. Around our house and the pond are 3 acres. Dandelions take over even when we cut it often. I too do not like to use chemicals. So needing your help and advice ASAP will be appreciated.
Professional lawn care would be great if they would use the natural way ~ vinegar in a larger quantity of spray. That would kill my back some with 3 or more acres if I had to use a spray bottle. HELP and Thank you!
Rose
this method will work ok on sparatic dandelions, but use to much or to frequently and the ph of your lawn will change and become to acidic. be careful or you will end up with more problems.