>>>>I'm not really obsessive about the lawn, but I do like it to stay free of growing things other than lawn. I don't mind when the kids on the street run onto the lawn to get a ball, or walk on it to pick cherries from the cherry tree. I don't even get angry if somebody's dog poops on it.
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>>>>For my money, a lawn is not just for looking at. If you can't walk on it, what good is it? But I don't want it taken over by dandelions either. Grass is nice to walk on; dandelions, not so much.
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>>>I've kilt most of my grass trying to get rid of the dandelions that Dragan didn't come and get. Now, I'm waiting for the bermuda to come out of shock! Water and nitrogen should help!
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>>I remove them manually. I use one of those 'Weed Hounds', or whatever it's called. It's really just 5 long nails with a collar that causes them to spread when the collar is at the bottom. When you push it into the ground, the collar rises, and causes the ends of the nails to come together. It has a long handle, and a ledge to step on. So you put it over the weed, and press it down with your foot. Then you pull it up and it brings up the weed, roots and all. Cheap as dirt and easy to use. On the other hand, I think you have a tad more property than I do. In fact, make that 'tad' a very large one.
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>>I used to have it sprayed, but Toronto has banned weed spraying by professionals. The guy I used can't spray any more. Of course, the homeowner is still allowed to spray (for a while at least), because not being a professional, we have no idea what we're doing and might easily kill everything on the street. So you can see it's better if I do it than a professional.
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>Your way, pulling them out by the roots, is the most reliable way to get rid of them for good. And the most environmentally friendly, of course. I salute Toronto for banning spraying. Around here, anything goes as long as it saves someone a few pennies.

But don't forget, as of the present (I may be wrong, but I think there is another year's grace) it's only banned if done by professionals. I can kill everything in the neighbourhood by doing my own spraying and it's ok. If you ask me, they did it backward (much like everything else city council does). They should have banned spraying by homeowners and given the professionals a few years grace.