Summer is a season where you, as a homeowner, just want your home to look nice and your flower beds to be popping! Weeds can really put a damper on those vibrant colors though. We wrote an article on how to control weeds in an earlier article. Today we want to address a method of weed control that wasn’t mentioned in our previous article. That method is weed burning. Weed burning is a valid method of weed control.
How it works: A line of torches on flameengineering.com have been developed to help with weed control. These torches are designed for different settings.
- The Red Dragon is their heavy duty 500,000 BTU model. This one is designed for business class work. It’s best uses are for ranches, road crews, construction, grounds maintenance, and so on. You may have even seen the MODOT crews using this type of equipment along the highways.
- The Weed Dragon is their most common model. It’s a 100,000 BTU output, and is most commonly used for clearing home gardens, but can be used on small acreage as well.
- The Mini Dragon is a 25,000 BTU model that is used primarily for light duty spot weeding. It has a smaller nozzle than the other models, and is great for difficult to reach areas and focused weeding.
There are several YouTube videos that show how to use these torches:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhLCwDpTyn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3V6Q8JvCqE
Aside from the obvious awesome feeling of blowtorching weeds out of your life, there are a few pros and cons to using these torches.
Pros: A lot can be said about the good of these things in that they use an eco-friendly fuel—propane. They eliminate chemical waste, and remove human contact with potentially harmful chemicals. Can be used year round and has multiple uses. Can be used to start a grill, a fireplace, or even get that fire pit going that we built for you. Also, it looks pretty awesome!
Cons: It can be dangerous as weeds and other small objects like maple seeds can catch fire while using. Unless you use the mini-dragon, this tool is only useful for mass weed clearing in large open spaces. If you have anything you want to keep alive next to a weed, you’ll need to get it by hand. This torch’ll kill it. Also, if you burn the weed at the wrong time of the year, and it has started seeding, you might help in spreading the weed rather than killing it.
Is this a useful tool? Yes, it can be very useful. If you have a large project that needs done, this could be the tool for you. If you do buy one and use it, please comment on this post and let us know how it worked for you. And of course, please be safe, and use extreme caution by reading the user’s manual and following all of the manufacturers directions.
For more tips:
http://lawncare.about.com/od/productreviews/gr/weedflamer.htm
https://www.flameengineering.com
http://www.dewittlandscaping.com/2014/06/04/organic-weed-control-methods/
Monumental Lawn and Outdoor 