In another review, I wrote about how well Scott's Turf Builder 2 with Weed Control worked in regards to making my lawn greener and healthier. Unfortunately, I think it waited too late in the spring season for it to effectively take care of my dandelion problem. The result was the Scott's did real well with the under developed weeds, but did not do as well with the more mature dandelions. Eventually, I had to look into another solution, to defeat the yellow minions that invaded my yard.

As I did with the purchase of the Scott's Turf Builder 2 with Weed Control, I stopped by the local hardware store and researched several brands of weed killer that they had in stock. (Let me tell you, for a guy that loves to own and work on high-tech gadgets, this whole procedure was a very boring task) I was searching for two primary factors in this quest for weed control:

1. I had to be able to apply it in a simple and easy way.
2. It had to be a product that would cover the entire lawn.

The first is self explanatory. Let's face it, anything that is tough to deal with or tough to do, is either bound to not get done right, or not get done at all. I figured, if I have to mix two parts of this with one part of that, then spread it with a special applicator, that needs to be pumped up, I will lose interest in the process altogether in record time. Believe me, there were several products that have more procedures within their instructions than many of the electronic doodads I work on. Not good.

The second had to deal more with logic. The one thing I know, if I were to get a weed killer the comes in a little spray bottle, and spot shoot the weeds, chances are I will constantly be shooting the little yellow buggers on a weekly basis. Believe it or not, I do have some semblance of a life and the last thing I want to be doing is a weekly weed patrol. By picking a product that covers the whole lawn, there is a better chance of eliminating not only the weeds that are currently growing in the lawn, but also potentially eliminating any new growth before has the chance to stick out its little menacing yellow head and mock me in defiance.

Most of the products I researched in the store covered either #1 or #2 but not both. It finally came down to three products, one was a generic brand and I tend to avoid generic brands when I can, another was a name brand, but since it was on sale the store only had one bottle in stock and the final product was Ortho Weed B Gone. What also gave Ortho Weed B Gone an advantage was the fact that you can also purchase an applicator, called the Ortho Dial 'N Spray, that you can hook on to the end of your garden hose to distribute to weed killer over your entire lawn. It seemed to definitely meet both the required criteria, so I grabbed several bottles as well as an applicator. Weeds, prepare to meet thine maker!

As it turned out, I was right in my assumptions. The instructions on the back of the bottle were very straightforward and clear as to how much spray should be allowed to flow through the Dial N Spray applicator. (I will warn you, if you do not know exactly what kind of grass you have, it can be a bit more tricky, because it does have different settings for different grass types) All I had to do is, connect the trigger part of the applicator to my garden hose, fill the applicator's container with the weed killer, then screw the container back to the underside of the trigger. Then you dial in the correct amount of flow instructed on the back of the Ortho Weed B Gone bottle, (believe me, it is much easier than I can ever actually explain it) turn on the water and pull the trigger. (Another word of warning: Even though the Ortho instructions state that you should wear a long sleeve shirt, pants and gloves, to protect your skin, I would also suggest a respirator, because you don't really want to breathe this stuff if you can avoid it, and the stuff is very high on the PU scale)

The business end of the applicator has a deflector at the end of it to deflect the water/weed killer solution to spray a wide path, which enables you to sweep broad strokes over your lawn. It is a fast process, it takes about the same time it takes to fertilize your lawn with a granular fertilizer spreader. You'll also see the results extremely fast too. Within 24 hours, most of the weeds in my yard were looking very sickly and in two days time all of the dandelions were either dead or dying.

In conclusion, Ortho Weed B Gone is definitely the " Terminator " of weed control. My dandelions were dead and gone within a few weeks and they do not come back during the spring season. I do notice that other types of weeds grow at different times of the lawn growing season, so it is usually wise to keep a few bottles around when those weeds decide to show themselves. (or to add to the Terminator pun, as Arnold would say " I'll be back! " *grin*) I have found that using a combination of Ortho Weed B Gone and Scott's Turf Builder for fertilizer will turn your lawn from an average lawn to a greener, healthier, weed free lawn.








Recommended: Yes