Banish Weeds From Your Yard With The Help Of A Clever Method From HGTV's Ben Napier

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For many people, dealing with weeds is the worst part of lawn maintenance and gardening. Mulching your lawn with grass clippings can be helpful for defeating a small crop of weeds, and minimizing garden weeds may be as simple as avoiding turning the soil, which causes weeds to come back by unearthing deeply buried seeds. However, neither of these methods will eliminate weeds sprouting from cracks and crevices in sidewalks, driveways, and paver stones. Ben Napier, one of the stars of HGTV's "Home Town," annihilates these hard-to-pull plants with flames. On Episode 4 of the show's eighth season, he shows how he burns weeds with a torch connected to a propane tank, proclaiming, "This is the handiest and coolest tool ever."

Napier claims that torching weeds is an "old farming trick" that's superior to mowing because mowing weeds "scatters the seeds, and then you got more." He keeps a bucket of water nearby in case the flames get out of hand, and places sod over any patches of lawn he scorches. Napier loves that the torch has additional uses such as lighting a grill. He and wife Erin Napier, the show's other host, joke that it's the perfect weapon for a zombie apocalypse and a handy tool for making a gargantuan crème brûlée. Manufacturers of weed torches often highlight more realistic alternative uses. The Quanie heavy-duty propane torch is marketed as a flamethrower for weeding, melting ice and snow, and even stripping away road paint.

According to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, a propane torch works best on broadleaf weeds and plants that are relatively young. Mature weeds with strong root systems may need to be torched every couple of weeks until they surrender. Keep in mind that propane torches are meant to boil liquids inside plant tissues rather than engulf weeds in flames. They shouldn't be used in windy weather or near masses of dried plants that could catch fire in no time.

In addition to killing crevice-dwelling plants, a propane torch can evict weeds from your garden. It's especially helpful if you've dredged up weed seeds by tilling the ground. Sunlight encourages the seeds to sprout. If you leave the resulting seedlings alone, they'll try to take over your garden. Instead, singe them with the torch while they're still small. After that, move the soil as little as possible when planting new flowers or vegetables. This will keep sunlight from reaching a host of other buried weed seeds.

You can also control pesky lawn weeds with strategic mowing. Lawn mowers are capable of dispersing weed seeds, as Ben Napier points out in the episode, but they don't necessarily have this effect. If you cut the weeds early, before they make seeds, they won't be able to do much damage. Try pairing this method with a hack that involves sprinkling sugar on lawn weeds, killing them in no time. Between these methods and the flame thrower, you should be on your way to a weed-free lawn and driveway in weeks.