Try to use a product called Trimec by PBI Gordon or Turflon Ester by Monterey Chemical. They will both work on what you are trying to do. Don't apply it when the temperatures are above 75 also don't apply any water for a 48 hour period. Then
go ahead and do a second application in two weeks. After they are under control put seed down and after the seed is established put down some sort of pre-emergent like barricade.

Here is a link that might be useful: do_it_ your_self_website

Welcome to the lawn board!

Dandelions are a common problem, but are a fairly easy weed to control. If you don't want to use herbicides, your best bet is a little device called a Weed Hound. Basically, you stick it around the weed, step, and pop it out of the ground. The "trick" with dandelions is getting the whole root out. As you probably noticed, they have a long tap root that looks a bit like a carrot. If you leave any of that in the ground, the weed can regrow. The Weed Hound does a great job of getting the whole root out.

As for moss, it is really a symptom and not a problem. It tends to take over places that are shady, compacted and low in nutrients. You can rake the moss up, but it will come right back unless you improve conditions in the problem areas. That might mean trimming back some low branches, aerating, and tossing a little compost around.

Ted,

Thanks for taking the time to answer me. Are these natural products or is there some reason you're recommending them? When you say "what you are trying to do" do you mean the moss or the dandelions, or both?

Bill,

Thanks for the warm welcome! :) I generally hang out over on the Home Decorating board. But it's that time of year when I want to get outside and make the yard pretty and I'm suddenly reminded that I have everything to learn.

If THIS (picture of tool on left) is the weed hound of which you speak, that's what I have. I agree that the dandelions come back if you don't get all the roots... but this tool only gets all the roots sometimes. Trust me, I was out there day after day after day using that thing. I must have a kazillion dandelions. lol! I never ran out of them. I just couldn't get on top of them with that tool. I had hoped, but nope.

The moss is worst on one side of the house where the ground is mushy wet 9 months out of the year -- I mean squish-squish-squish when you walk on it. Maybe it needs aerating and I can put compost on it - thanks! I'm not going to use Weed n Feed there again -- my neighbor there laughed at me and asked me "NOW do you see the error of your ways?" Yes, I did. The lawn didn't particularly look better, but it sure needed more mowing than was anywhere near fun.

I suppose putting down compost in the other area wouldn't make the lawn crowd out the dandelions? With my luck it would be the reverse.

I noticed something. One neighbor uses a service to come spray heaven knows what on his pretty lawn. My lawn that is near his has no dandelions. My other neighbor does absolutely nothing and he's overrun with dandelions. My lawn which is closer to him is lousy with them. I even put weed n feed and dandelion poison on the d'lions on HIS property that abuts mine. But nah. Dandelions love him.

Heck, if I knew the little beggars were really clean, I'd be picking them for salads. But I've done stuff out there before so I don't know that.

I just feel a bit sad. The lawn looked so perfect when I moved in here about 2.5 years ago. It was fairly new sod at that time. But there sure must have been a lot of dandelion seeds in that sod.

There are a couple of tricks in getting the whole root out with a weed hound. The first thing is that you have to make sure the ground is at least damp, if not wet.

When you use it, make sure you get it right over the center of the weed, where the root is. Step on it, then give it a twist.

Then (and this is important) pick it up by the knob that sticks straight up, not by the handle that juts out the side. If you pick it up by the handle, it can loosen its grip and you don't get the root.

For the past 2 months I've been pulling weeds. I'm seeing those darn things in my dreams. I bought one of those weed pullers that Bill recommended and they work like a charm. I would not be without one. I literally had thousands of weeds but you really have to be persistent. I was, and now they are pretty much gone. I just bought my new home too and the property had been neglect for several years. I also have plenty of moss growing in backyard right near the tall cedar trees that block the sun. I've just been raking like crazy, I aeriated that part with my weed puller (believe it or not) added some sand, top soil and sprinkled some grass seed on it and said a small prayer. I'm sure the moss will come back eventually but at least I'll have it under some sort of control. Good luck with yours. Oh by the way, depending on your age, (I'm older than dirt) you might want to consider investing in a good heating pad for your aching back.

I forgot to mention that I'm with you. I don't like using any sort of chemicals. I love the birds and wildlife too much. Yes, I wouldn't be surpised if some of these chemicals causes cancer and other diseases. My ancestors were farmers and I doubt they went to Home Depot to buy chemicals for their gardens etc.

Welcome to the board!

After pulling with the Weed Hound, one of the best ways of making sure that they don't come back (or invite friends over to play) is to thicken the lawn so that it won't allow a weed to grow.

One, mow as long as you can stand it--the top deck on your mower. Longer grass shades out weeds and also grows deeper root systems that make it healthier.

Two, water rarely (where you are, maybe not much at all). Apply 1" per week (rainfall counts) all at the same time. During a hot, dry period in summer, twice a week may be necessary.

Three, feed it. Grass is a nitrogen hog. If you'd rather not use synthetics (I sympathize and don't use them myself), check the Organic Lawn Care forum for a lot of tips on how to feed your lawn organically.

Four, seed the blanker areas. That'll close the holes. The best time to seed is in fall, but if you have a Pacific climate that doesn't get hot in the summer you can probably manage to get away with a spring seeding. Spring seedings get lots of weeds, though.

Do those things and in a year or two no self-respecting weed will come anywhere near your lawn for fear of being run out of town.

Bpgreen,

Yes, you're right about all of that, and that was a good description.

Cadence,

Bless your heart. I hope you have better luck with this than I did. I really gave it all I had to give it and I couldn't win.

I was born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. ;) Good point, I should get a heating pad. I have a massager and also a massage ball I stick behind me in my office chair.

Morpheuspa,

Thanks for the welcome! I'd love it if the lawn would be thick and crowd out weeds. Thanks for all the great tips. Now this is interesting... the back yard where the dandelions are so bad is on a sprinkler systerm (bless the PO). It is set to go off every night for ten minutes and I only have it turned on when we're not getting rain. From what you're saying, could this be a lot of my problem?

I'll try to find the organic lawn care forum, thanks.

It is set to go off every night for ten minutes and I only have it turned on when we're not getting rain. From what you're saying, could this be a lot of my problem?

Ding, we have a winner! It certainly isn't all of the issue, but it's causing some of it. Watering like that encourages weeds to sprout because seeds like to be damped down daily.

This year, try playing it more by ear. Water the grass for an hour or so (set out a tuna can to measure the actual amount of watering) only when it starts to wilt. That'll discourage weeds and encourage good strong roots on the grass.

What would happen if I spray all the dandelions down with vinegar? Would I have a kazillion brown spots in my lawn? Forever?

Temporarily, yes. What happens over the long term depends on the lawn. Fescue and ryegrass don't spread very much, so the hole should be reseeded. Kentucky bluegrass can spread about the size of a baseball per season so it takes care of its own small holes (it goes faster if well-fed).

Right now I must have a thousand small brown dead holes in the lawn. The old dead stuff will drop off and disappear in a week or three, and the bluegrass will fill it in by the end of May with no trouble.

Morpheupsa is right on all counts. Take a sledgehammer to the timer on your sprinkler. Poor cultural practices like over watering and/or misapplication of fertilizer directly correlate to a good deal of the issues people see in their yard.

If you're game you might do a web search for weed flamers too. Some are big noisy and downright scary but Rittenhouse has just come out with an electric version that is perfectly scaled for the homeowner that has a heating element rather than an exposed flame. Err on the side of caution when using one of course but the bottom line is none of these weeds survive flaming.

Thanks so much! I'll do things differently this summer then.

I've got a weed flamer. I need to find it and fire it up. I was just thinking about that last night. :)

Wow this board moves fast.

Well, here it is...September already. Thought I'd update on my weed progress over the summer. You guys wouldn't believe how beautiful and lush my lawn is right now. Pulling all those weeds OMG I thought it would never end but it did. You couldn't find a single weed on my front lawn with a magnifying glass. My lawn is thick and green. Even my neighbors are commenting and asking me how I got it that way. I just worked really, really hard, and pulled them all out without any use of chemicals whatsoever. Now I'm getting ready for fall/winter and next week I'm going to add a bit of lime to the lawn.

Ps. I read here where someone thought about killing weeds on their lawn with vinegar. Not a good idea. It will also kill your grass. Vinegar use is good to kill weeds on cement, rock crevices etc. Just be persistent and pull them out a bit everyday (make sure you get out the roots or they'll just come back. You can even overseed your lawn to thicken it up. Good Luck.

My yard has a bad case of moss. It is so thick that water does not even get down to the grass roots. What can I do now (July) to control this and? I live in Bremerton, WA.