Low Tech Alternatives To A Weed Eater? (or, "i Fought The Lawn And The Lawn Won

susanm9006 said:

Perhaps you just need a new Weed Eater? I got a Ryobi battery operated one last year. Nice and light and I can edge trim the whole yard without needed to recharge the battery. Don’t know how I ever got by without it.

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Kflowers said:

If you are terrified of snakes you may want to do this. I don't think snakes can hear, but they do notice vibrations. Start up your lawn mower near where you want to work, with the blade hide above the grass - you aren't cutting grass here - and let it vibrate on the ground for 5- 10 minutes. This will let the snakes know humans are in the area. Snakes really don't want to be around you any more than you want to be around them, though perhaps not quite as much as my sister doesn't want to be around them.

If you are walking near where you need to weed take a walking stick and thump the ground and again give the snakes time to get away.

Your neighbor's dogs have probably helped move the snakes out of your area. Our neighbor's cat is working on removing all of them from our neighborhood.

This has worked well for us, including when walking in the woods or woodlets.

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Kflowers said:

If you get a weed eater battery, pick it up. Hold it for awhile. The placement of the handles on the battery version is really much more comfortable and less back stressful than on the electric. The over hand hold and avoiding the cord, put a lot of stress on the lower back. Also you can get a smaller battery weed eater, one that's lighter and that makes a difference.

Get two batteries so you can switch out if you want to have a long session. Personally, I think there is a lot to be said for the battery saying enough, go sit down, cool off, and let the motor do the same.

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Kflowers said:

Going back inside and cooling off before you discover the wonderful and weird world of heat exhaustion is what breaks are for. Also so you can drink a little water before you have to get the special expensive water at the ER.

Ask our cat, she as previous cats feel summer means time to hide out in the fridge. yes, seriously.

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cheeser said:

Well, thus far, my problem seems to be the combination of the vibration from the weed eater, and having to support its weight at the same time.

I don't have any problems from the vibration from the lawn mower or the edger, because the wheels support the weight. And I can wield a hoe, shovel, or any other garden tool all day without any trouble. I can even move the generator and compressor all by myself. However, after about ten minutes with a weed eater, my neck and back are pretty much shot.

But I will check to see if I can find a demo model of the weed eater you use and see how it feels. Maybe I just haven't stumbled across the right one for me yet.

Just curious, what kind of battery does the Ryobi use? It's such a PITA to keep having to stop and swap out batteries for other weed eaters like I've been doing! And can you buy spools of line that are ready to just pop in, or do you have to wrap your own?

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susanm9006 said:

They are One Plus lithium batteries. I have a blower and a hedge trimmer that use this same battery so I do have two of the batteries. One in whatever machine I am using and one charged and ready to go. The batteries do last a long time though. Last fall I trimmed over 100 feet of hedges on three sides and the battery was still fine.

Unfortunately you do need to wind the plastic string on the holder.

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cheeser said:

Sounds like a scythe may be my best bet, at least for now. I also need to clear out a bunch of undergrowth and stuff that got out of hand during a recent family emergency. You'd think the weeds and whatnot would have the decency to stop growing while I needed to focus my attention on other matters.

The torch does look pretty effective, but our wood fence is pretty old, and I'd probably set the darned thing on fire. Hee!

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Talien said:

A scythe is definitely effective and you'll get a good workout swinging one around but you won't want to use one for trim work around a fence, table, bird feeder, etc. It's not very precise at all.

For a torch you can take a hose and spray anything made of wood that can't be moved, just be sure to soak it really good right before you burn weeds around it. It probably isn't the best solution for large scale vegetation removal but it will still work. The big advantage is there's no vibration and if you get a model that has wheels for the tank you don't have to worry about carrying it around on your back.

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