Last Updated on March 19, 2023 by Editors
The gardening task of removing weeds is often ineffective when you use a garden hoe. On the other hand, the hand pulling method is effective but quite laborious. Having Manual Weed Wackers or Manual Weeders as a weed remover tool is a must! In this useful guide you will find out why!
What is a Manual Weed Wacker?
Having a specialized weed remover tool in your storage shed may seem like a luxury especially if you already have hoes for weeding or outdoor power equipment like string trimmers. On the other hand, the manual weed wackers or manual weeders are the best garden hand tools you can use to pull and remove weeds.
While these garden weeding tools may feel redundant for a small garden, they are very useful weeder tools for lawn, raised beds or in larger outdoor living areas. In addition, if you want to remove wild plants that grow where they are not wanted then the manual weeders are good alternatives to herbicides.
Manual Weeders uses
The weeds can be fresh or old and deep-rooted. Depending on the types of weeds the manual weeding tools can be used:
- To grab, pull, uproot and remove the pesky weeds
- As tools to cut weeds. Also, for clearing and obliterating weeds.
Manual vs electronic
There are many reasons to choose a manual weed wacker or weeder over an electronic one. For one, they are much cheaper. Manual weeders are also much quieter than their electronic counterparts, making them ideal for use in residential areas. Another advantage of manual weeders is that they are much lighter and easier to maneuver than their electronic counterparts. Finally, manual weed wackers are much more environmentally friendly than their electronic counterparts, as they do not require batteries or other power sources.
What are the different types of Manual Weed Wackers?
There are a lot of manual weeding tool types. Some garden weeding tools are designed for clearing tall grass and weeds including dandelions, thistles and others in large areas. Additionally, you can use other manual weeder types for pulling, extracting and removing weeds. The common types of manual weed wackers are:
1. Grass Whips – The Manual Weed Wackers for clearing weeds
The Grass Whip, also known as Manual Weed Cutter or (manual) Weed Whip is an effective manual weed cutter tool that you can use to clear weeds in overgrown areas. Manual weed cutters come in two basic varieties. The first variety is an L-shaped version which looks like a gold club.
The second one is the triangular-framed version. The triangular-framed weed cutter hand tool usually is a double bladed weed cutter. Also, it is more stable and can cut larger weeds.
2. Stand Up Weeders – The Manual Weeders for pulling weeds
The Stand Up Weeder is a stand up Weed Puller and picker tool.
It is a long handled weeding tool. For this reason the stand up weeding tools are used for uprooting weeds efficiently without bending over or kneeling.
3. Hand Weeders – The small Manual Weeders
These hand weeder garden tools are the lightweight, portable and one of the least expensive hand weeding tool versions of the manual weed wackers. The small weed remover tool is a hand weed puller that is better suited for detailed weeding in tight areas, small gardens, yards and raised beds.
In addition, here are some hand weeder tools that are specialized to be used as dandelion weeders.
4. Garden Knives
The garden knife or soil knife is a multi-purpose gardening hand tool.
The garden knife tool can be used as a weeding knife and a digging knife.
5. Hori Hori Knife
The most common garden knife is the Hori Hori knife. The horihori knife is actually a digging knife used for carefully excavating plants. It is a Japanese gardening knife. Hori means “to dig” in Japanese.
The hori hori digging knife has a blade with a straight sharp edge and a serrated edge. The latter enables the hori hori garden knife to be used as a saw too. It’s a magnificent garden hand tool.
6. Crack Weeders – The Manual Weed Wackers for cracks
These great weeders are hand weeding tools with a L-shape blade. They are weed crack tools that are able to remove weeds between pavers. Also, they can be used as a tool to get weeds out of cracks. These manual weeders can be used for removing grass, weeds from the joints, cracks and gaps between paving like cobblestone or brick patio. In addition, the crack weeders can remove weeds from walkways, driveways and on walls.
Also, these garden weeding tools can be used to remove mosses that are growing on top of concrete and brick pavers.
7. Sidewalk Weeder
The Sidewalk Weeder is a very small Crack Weeder with a corrugated blade.
Its purpose is to cut weeds from the cracks in sidewalks.
8. Weed Sickle
The weed sickle or weeding sickle is a garden hand tool with a hook-shaped blade.
This garden sickle is sometimes called as grass sickle. It is a sickle for grass cutting.
You can use the weed sickle to cut weeds because it is used for cutting and clearing weeds mostly.
9. Scythe for grass cutting
The weed cutting scythe has a large curved blade and a very long shaft. In addition, it has two short handles: One in the middle and one at the end of the shaft. Surprise: This long handled weeder looks like scythe.
These long handled weeding tools are very good as tall grass cutters.
Manual Weeders vs Dandelion Weeders
Are the manual weed wackers different than dandelion weeders or dandelion extractors? The short answer is no. They are exactly the same. The reason for the different names is because the dandelion is the most common weed type.
Dandelion Pullers vs Manual Weeders
Are the dandelion pullers different than manual weed wackers like the stand Up weeders? The answer is no again. The Dandelion Pullers is just another name for stand up weeders.
When to use Manual Weed Wackers
Whether hand pulling or using a manual weed wacker or manual weeder, weeding tasks like uprooting weeds are easier and a lot more effective when the soil is wet. The best time to weed is after a rainy day or after watering the soil deeply. The soil becomes moist and loose which makes pulling and uprooting weeds a lot easier.
Manual Weed Wackers Care
The garden weeding tools can last long if their maintenance occurs on a regular basis:
- Remove the soil from your manual weeder and clean it with water after each use. Use a wire-bristle brush if needed.
- Always soak this garden tool in a disinfectant to sterilize it when working on diseased plants.
- Use a clean rag to dehumidify the garden weeding tool really well.
- If your weeding tool is long handled then examine it to confirm that its head is attached tightly to its handle. Take a look at the fasteners and tighten or replace the screws when it ‘s necessary.
- When its blade gets dull, use a hand file to sharpen it. Always oil the blade before storing the manual weeder before winter.
- If the handle of the garden weeding tool is wooden then, annually, use a finishing oil to finish it. Furthermore the wooden handle may need light sanding with a decent 120 grit sandpaper to sand off splinters.
- Store your manual weed wackers in a dry location like a garden tool shed.
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