Now that the only thing green and living in my lawn is the dandelions, how do I kill them?

[HotHotterHottest]

Just that really. At least they're easy to see.
Is there a pet friendly weedkiller I can spray or paint on or am I better to try and physically remove them and their very long tap root?

A long weed remover. However, they do provide early food for pollinators, so can you not live with them? As long as you mow or dead head before the seeds form, they won’t spread.

I remove dandelions with a very long knife. I make a small circle round the dandelion and then prise it out. You may need to fill the hole with compost.

Leave them. The bees need nectar and pollen from somewhere.

Don't use weedkiller, it's terrible for the ecosystem. If you really don't want to leave them for the bees just dig them up with a trowel.

I use an old fork (the type you use to eat), just lever them out. I have never seen a bee or butterfly on a dandelion in my garden and we have bees from February through to December. There are plenty of other things for them in the garden (winter flowering heather etc) so I don't care if there aren't any dandelions!

Leave them! Their tap roots create / return nutrients to the soil.

Why would you want to remove them ?

Don't. They may be the last thing keeping bees alive.

Why would you do that! They are persistent for a reason- to feed the insects. Please just think.

Please leave them,for the good of the bugs.

What's wrong with them?

Let them be.

Dandelion tea

List of benefits from AI. I buy dandelion tea to drink but you can make it yourself.

Dandelion tea is a caffeine-free herbal infusion made from the leaves, flowers, and roots of the dandelion plant, rich in antioxidants, vitamins (A, C, K), and minerals like potassium and iron. Its primary health benefits include liver support and enhanced digestion, as it stimulates bile production to help break down fats and eliminate toxins.
Key advantages also include its action as a natural diuretic, which helps reduce water retention and bloating without depleting potassium, and its potential to regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol levels through anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, the tea's high antioxidant content supports immune function and may improve skin healthby reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.

Jeez, it's dandelions not children I'm killing!

Ok, I'll leave them!
Happy now?

So everything is dead except for the one thing that you now want to kill?

As others have said, don’t kill them they are an important nectar source, in fact the way things are going they’re going to be pretty much the only nectar source. Really the thing to do is change your lawn to plants that are drought resistant. Lawns are a bit passé, given the current situation.

I see bees on them all the time in early spring.

Butterfly wise it’s for the caterpillars. They lay their eggs on the leaves. Caterpillars munch and then they become butterflies.

Yes, thank you 😊 bugs and bees really need whatever nectar they can get atm

If you keep taking the leaves off they die after a while, I discovered this when I was feeding them to my rabbit.

I want to know why everything I want to grow is dead, everything I don't want is green and rapidly expanding ( brambles!!)

I love dandelions. They bring such a vibrant beautiful colour to a lawn.

I don’t understand why so many people hate them in their gardens.

But if you don’t like them, surely mowing them or cutting the heads off before they go to seed will stop them spreading?

Normally there are other flowers available. But so much is dying from the heat,there's less availability so I am more tolerant of the weeds that are hanging on than if the grass was a vibrant green

I'm sorry 😂

You can use a natural weedkiller like Richard Jackson's, or a long thin trowel to dig deep and remove the root. Mowing often also wears them out, but in this heat it's more likely that you'd end up the victim!

To be honest it's not worth the effort this year. Unless you're totally overrun I'd just let it slide until next year.

I would actually prefer (and did have on my front lawn) more dandelion than grass. I don't know why we're obsessed with boring grass, that people cut to within an inch of its life, but wage war on dandelions

Don't. Insects need every help in drought.