WEED HOUND

Catchy name, huh? I am writing today about a Dandelion-pulling Tool called the WEED HOUND. Why? Because it can save your back. A lot of people hurt their backs pulling dandys. Dandelions are in the family of Broadleaf Weeds and they will take over your lawn if you don’t stop them.

Basically, you have to kill (or remove) this long carrot-like “tap root” underneath these babies, or they come right back, without a care in the world. Opinions vary on how to get rid of them, and some of those opinions include dosing your lawn with herbicides and of course there is never any problem with that, right?

Now my mother had all sorts of tools for dealing with dandelions, and some of them worked, and one of them included what looked like a giant syringe that injected (poison) into the root, and another was like a big screwdriver that she knelt down and hacked at the root with. Ah yes. Very glamourous. She worked hard, and her back hurt.

So, enter the Weed Hound. The Weed Hound looks a little like a cane. You put the tip on the plant, step down, and then grab the handle and lift the plant right out. It really works. In fact, one of the reasons I like it is you can do the whole process of grabbing the root, pulling it out, and putting it into a compost bucket without even bending your back at all. Very elegant. It is made by a company called “Hound Dog”. Go figure.

I even saw a video on Youtube for it. By the way, he clearly misses the plant almost completely on the first try, and that never happens to me, but you be the judge. I don’t own any stock in Weed Hound, but I did get one at Home Depot. It was like $20 and it was very worth it. I hear you can maybe get one at Wal-Mart for $17.99. Very reasonable.

But it is a good and chiropractically appropriate gardening tool, and it’s fun. Imagine that. Fun pulling weeds? In fact, sometimes when I am thinking, I go outside and yank some Dandelions. It is very Zen. Let me know if you try it. Your back will let me know if you don’t.