Dandelion Control: How to Get Rid of Dandelions in Your Lawn

Every spring the yellow flowers pop up across the lawn, and a few weeks later the puffballs scatter seed everywhere. Dandelions are tough because of their deep taproot, so mowing and pulling the tops off does little. This guide shows you how to confirm what you are dealing with, remove plants so they stay gone, and build a lawn that resists them. If you choose to use an herbicide, it covers timing and safety too.

How to identify dandelions

The common dandelion is a perennial that grows as a flat rosette of leaves with no real stem. Look for:

• Leaves that are deeply toothed or lobed, coming straight from the crown at ground level.
• Flower stalks that are hollow and leafless, with one yellow flower head on each stalk.
• Milky white sap when you break a stalk or leaf.
• Seed heads that turn into round white puffballs. Each seed has a little parachute that the wind can carry a long way.
• A thick taproot, usually reaching 6 to 18 inches deep and sometimes deeper.

Several weeds look similar, including common catsear (sometimes called false dandelion), chicory and perennial sowthistle. Use the stalk to sort them out:

If a stalk branches or carries several heads, it is not a common dandelion. The good news: digging, lawn thickening and most lawn broadleaf herbicides work on the look-alikes too, so the plan below still applies.

Why dandelions take over

• Thin or weak turf. Dandelions favor thin lawns, bare patches, garden beds and disturbed soil. Seeds germinate on or near the surface when soil is moist and warm, and light helps them sprout.
• Short mowing and poor care. Mowing too short, fertilizing at the wrong time and over- or under-watering all weaken grass and open space for weeds.
• The root. Buds at the top of the taproot regrow the plant. Mowing does not reach the rosette, and pulling usually snaps the root.
• Seed rain. Each flower becomes a puffball, and the seeds drift in from neighboring yards.

How to get rid of dandelions, step by step

Least-toxic options come first, the same order we use in our integrated pest management guide. For many lawns, steps 1 through 4 are all you need.

1. Decide how many you can live with. A few dandelions do no harm to a lawn, and the early spring flowers feed bees when little else is blooming (more on that below).
2. Thicken the lawn. A dense, healthy lawn shades the soil and crowds out new seedlings. Mow cool-season grass at about 3 to 3.5 inches and remove no more than a third of the blade at once. Fertilize on a regular program, with most of it in fall for cool-season grasses, and water deeply but not often. Reseed bare spots after a good soaking rain or watering.
3. Dig them out. Hand digging works well for single plants and small patches. Do it after a soaking rain or a deep watering so the root slides out. Push a long, narrow weeding tool (a fishtail or dandelion digger) straight down beside the root, loosen it, and lift out as much root as you can. Pieces as short as 1 inch can sprout new plants, so watch the spot for a few months and dig again if leaves return.
4. Stop the seeds. Pull or mow off flowers before they turn into puffballs. This does not kill the plant, but it cuts down new seedlings next year.
5. Spot-treat with a selective herbicide if needed. See the herbicide section below. Spot-spraying individual plants uses far less product than treating the whole lawn.
6. Refill gaps. Overseed any bare spots left after removing weeds, or new weeds will take their place.

The single most useful tip: a thick, well-mowed lawn prevents more dandelions than any spray. Herbicides kill the plants you have; healthy grass keeps new ones from getting started.

Organic and natural options, and their limits

Corn gluten meal is sold as a natural “weed preventer.” The research is mixed at best. Greenhouse results often fail to hold up outdoors, and it needs dry soil after seeds sprout to work, which spring weather rarely cooperates with. It is a decent nitrogen fertilizer, which helps the lawn, but do not count on it to clear out dandelions.

Selective broadleaf herbicides

Selective lawn herbicides kill broadleaf weeds like dandelions without killing most lawn grasses. Common active ingredients include 2,4-D, MCPA, mecoprop (MCPP), dicamba and triclopyr, often sold as mixes of two or three.

• Timing: late summer through fall (about mid-September to early November in much of the Midwest) is usually the best time. Dandelions are moving food down into their roots for winter and carry the herbicide with it. Late spring, after the plants have flowered, is a second choice.
• Weather: spray on a calm day, when temperatures are roughly 50 to 85°F and the soil is not dry. Hold off mowing for a few days before and after.
• Grass type: check the label. Triclopyr, for one, is not suited to Bermudagrass and some other warm-season lawns.
• Garden beds: do not use lawn broadleaf herbicides over flowers or vegetables. They can drift or move as vapor and damage nearby plants. Hand pull in beds.
• Nonselective herbicides such as glyphosate kill grass too and leave bare patches. Use them only as careful spot treatments, and reseed afterward.

Read and follow the label every time. See using pesticides safely for storage and protective gear.

Kids, pets and pollinators

• Keep children and pets off treated areas until the product has dried, or longer if the label says so.
• Store products in their original containers, out of children’s reach. Never pour them into drink bottles.
• Spot-treat rather than blanket-spray. Treating only the plants you need to, or digging instead, keeps the amount of herbicide in the yard low.
• Leave some flowers if you can. Dandelions are one of the first nectar and pollen sources in spring. Experts debate how good that food is, but tolerating a few in a corner of the yard costs you little.

When to call a professional

Dandelions are a do-it-yourself problem for most homeowners. A lawn care company may make sense if:

• Weeds have taken over most of the lawn and you want a full renovation plan, including soil testing, overseeding and a fertility program.
• You do not want to store or handle herbicides yourself. Ask for spot treatments rather than blanket spraying.

For help choosing a provider, see choosing a pest control company. Your county extension office can also give lawn advice suited to your grass type and region.

Dandelion questions

Why do they come back after I pull them? The root snapped and the piece left in the ground regrew. Dig deeper when the soil is moist, and remove as much root as possible.

Will mowing get rid of them? No. The rosette sits below the mower blade. Mowing before flowers turn to seed does cut down on new seedlings.

When should I spray? Late summer through fall gives the best results for most lawns, because the herbicide moves down into the root with the plant’s food reserves.