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All silliness aside, I have a real issue with weed eating.

Now that we have moved back into town and don’t have acreage to have to deal with, I just have a regular size yard with regular size weed eating that needs to be done.

But I can’t seem to do it. I’ve tried on numerous occasions, and under the watchful, teaching eyes of my kids.

I don’t know if it is because I am left-handed or what, but every time I try, I either miss the weeds I am aiming for altogether, or I put big gouges in the yard...or worse, give a tree whiplash with the cord (which I know causes damage)

Are there any secrets of the trade that I could benefit from? And that my trees and other plants might benefit from?

[This message edited by WhatsRight at 1:46 PM, July 18th (Saturday)]

Pay someone else to do it!!

I own a landscaping company. 20 plus years experience weed eating. More importantly, a lot of years experience teaching people how to weed eat.

I'll try to give you a few tips that may help you.

First let's start with how you're holding it. I'm a righty so I will describe it as a right hander. But you can just do the opposite as a lefty. I know some lefties prefer to hold it as a righty though.

Starting with my right arm, I hold the throttle (trigger thingy that makes it go vroom vroom) with my right hand. I have 1 or 2 fingers on the throttle with my other fingers holding the weed eater thumb wrapped around the top. My right forearm/elbow rests on the top of the engine next to the spark plug. The spark plug is covered with a black rubbery thing on top of the weed eater so look for that. This is arm is what hold most of the weight of the weed eater.

My left hand holds the handle but is there more as a guide than anything.

So the scalping of the lawn problem. You want the head of the weed eater to match the lay of the land. So if you are weed eating something that is angled down to the left you want to match the head of the weed eater to that same pitch. So angle the head slightly to the left. Not only side to side but front to back as well. Too much angle on the head in any direction will cause a scalp mark on that side. Practice will get you better with this as well as knowing how close to the ground to go.

Whiplashing the tree and missing stuff altogether is the same problem. Learning the distance and length of your sting. It takes practice to learn how close you can get without getting too close. The tough part about that is that the string is not the exact same length every time. Try going slow, especially around trees. Start far away and slowly get closer and closer until the string just barely touches.

Hope this helps. It takes a lot of practice unfortunately. The good thing is, grass grows back.

Hey MyName!!!

I was going to post to send a shout out to you. Glad you saw this.

My gas weed eater kicked the bucket so I've been using an electric. Oh so fun dragging a 50 foot extension cord.

Going slow.is key like he said. Being so short I have to hold the damn thing up higher and man do my arms get tired.

I did discover that weed eaters are great for clearing all vegetation down to dirt. Besides allowing the poultry geese and ducks loose in the garden area to eat up the grass I also used the weed eater to get right down to dirt. Not good for the machine though I guess.

Dragn, I have an electric weed eater because I too am short -- and they make a version that fits me. No way can I use a gas model as one has to hold two things at once to start them and my reach span is too short.

Whatsright, about ALL, never wear open-toed shoes and always wear glasses. Safety glasses, regular glasses, just any type of glasses.

I'm waiting until the push, string weed eaters go on sale at summer end and plan to buy one. I borrowed one from a friend and oh my gosh! SO much easier to use.

I totally prefer the gas one over electric and dragging a cord. Of course i was the one who hit the damn cord once. That wasnt pleasant. Lol

Also cant get down to the end of the driveway with the corded one.

And ok um going to ask, what brand is shorter?

Other than the garden and walkways I've given up on the other areas. Chose instead to release the horny devils (goats) and let them eat down the plants.

Why didn’t I think of that...

I just need goats!

Why didn’t I think of that...

I just need goats!

As much as I love my goats no. Just no! For one goats arent grass eaters really. They prefer weeds and bushes etc. Sheep, they eat grass. Ducks and geese are good for keeping grass short but must be rotated or moved or will muddy the area.

We have a push mower and a riding lawn mower and the weed eater is the one that will cause me to sweat the most. So if you are out there doing this please do so in the evenings or when its cooler and make sure to drink alot of water.

With little to no rain most of the grass is now brown. The clover and plantain (spelling is wrong sorry, a vine like plant that covers well and has amazing softness and deep green colour is all that's left.)

Dragn, Black and Decker is what I have. But I'm going to get one of those push string trimmers because I'm tired of dragging an electrical cord around too.

My name...

Thanks so much for taking the time for that detailed tutorial! I am absolutely going to take my phone outside with your instructions and give it my best shot today. 👍🏼

Back when I had a large-ish yard the most important part of weed eating was getting the shoulder strap adjusted correctly.

With it adjusted the weed eater hung at just the right height to have the front edge of the string nose down just a smidge, so I could concentrate on getting close to things instead of having to control two or three things at once.

most important part of weed eating was getting the shoulder strap adjusted correctly.

Shoulder strap!!!! Theres supposed to be a shoulder strap. Well poomp lol. That would make things easier for sure.

Good Lord I'm stupid. I saw the subject line and initially thought this was a post about pot edibles.

I have a lot of trouble with small gas engines. It's not what you think this also goes for lawn mowers. I just HATE all the maintenance involved for so little use! I also am not fond of the storage restrictions.

So where possible I have switched to electric. I have a 40 volt hedge trimmer that I use to trim the grass. Literally a long story. I also have a lawn mower that also uses the same voltage batt, convenient. I HATE weed eaters on my yard because I have a street that backs up to a 4 lane (2 each direction) highway that during fire season I have to trim. A weed eater is totally useless against my weeds.

The hedge trimmer makes short work of them. I used to have a regular hedge trimmer BUT I got tired of having to repair extension cords. (I'm facing up hill and the cord comes over the fence and lays on the ground and I was always careful right up till I wasn't )

I like a particular brand ( sold in home cheapo, lime green and quite a lot of tools that use basically the same battery's either 18v or 40v) but I'm sure that most stores have similar. I have found mine to be very reliable and with enough power for most things. NO CORDS TO CUT!!!

JMO YMMV

I hate batteries for yard equipment. And tools for that matter.

Our driveway is 400+ feet. We keep both sides trimmed. Batteries just dont cut it.

Have an 18 volt set, drill, saws and man...had to cut a side door in duck coup. Drilled my holes with my dewalt then tried cutting the door with an 18 volt battery reciprocating saw. It lasted about a minute after being fully charged. Ended up bringing out the corded jig saw and running an extension cord.

Good Lord I'm stupid. I saw the subject line and initially thought this was a post about pot edibles

that's funny. Of course after just driving through a massive thunderstorm with funnel type clouds on each side of the road and having a tornado warning for my small town and the kids and wh taking shelter in the basement.....I could use something Happy to eat lol

I don’t know if it is because I am left-handed

No! We southpaws are very smart people!

I saw the subject line and initially thought this was a post about pot edibles.

2 It may help WhatsRight to ingest first and then weed eat!

Are there any secrets of the trade that I could benefit from? And that my trees and other plants might benefit from?

3 Yes! Consider this: A weed is but an unloved flower. Embrace the weeds. Love the weeds.

PS: Thank you, MyName, for the great tutorial. Now, if and when the heat wave is over (yes, even in Canada), H may try your method. Yesterday, however, he cleaned the edges of a small cement slab with a long-bladed knife. In the heat. In the hot sun. Not good!

I hate batteries for yard equipment. And tools for that matter.

I used to too... till I got my 80 volt battery operated weed wacker. I absolutely love it! I can go around a one acre yard... around the house and all my trees and shrubs on one charge. I like it so much I bought a chainsaw, a leaf blower and hedge trimmer that all work on the same battery.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times my gas powered wacker failed or refused to start. Don't get me started on corded ones.

A weed is but an unloved flower. Embrace the weeds. Love the weeds.

I've done this. Many of the plants we regard as "weeds" are the first to feed bees in the spring. There as some here that have amazing flowers and colours.

Our grass had gotten so bad, long here that we had no choice but to cut it. Cant send out the chihuahua only to then lose him in the grass lol.

Of course once cut it all turned brown.

Thus why I want to go the white clover route. Always green, soft and doesnt need to be cut lol. And sage for the horses if they graze.

Jana...

Bahahahaha

Thanks for the laugh!!!!!

Maybe it was my emoji...🤪

I have a battery-powered weed trimmer. Much nicer than a gas-powered one, for me. No fumes. No pouring gas into it. It's lightweight and quiet and works well. I get a lot done on one charge, and recharging the battery is pretty fast.

I also thought this was going to be a fun and entertaining post about cannabis edibles.