Credit for this answer goes to my mum.

When we (wife and I) moved into our current home 4 years ago, the front and back lawns were covered in dandelions (and other broadleaf weeds). I didn't want to go the herbicide route, and after speaking with my mum, she said the only way to truly get rid of (control) dandelions is to hand remove them (important: you need to remove root n' all) and recommended using a small hand garden trowel for doing so.

I didn't have a "small hand garden trowel", instead I bought a small (and cheapish) builders trowel and used that for 3 years:

Then last year on clearance (paid $1) I picked up a Fiskars Softouch Weeder:

Both of the above hand-tools have worked well in removing dandelions (roots included).

• The first three lawn cutting seasons I pulled a lot! of dandelions, at least once a week I would walk the lawns and hand remove all the unwanted plants I saw (all of them went into a plastic bag for offsite disposal).

• During last year's lawn cutting season I noticed a big drop-off in the number of unwanted plants I was removing, except for crabgrass (but that's a whole other story).

• This years lawn cutting season I've only had to remove a handful of "small" (young) dandelions, this is to be expected as I can't control dandelion seed heads blowing into my garden (though I wish I could).

• Yes, getting any unwanted plant under control via an "organic" approach is going to take patience and time, but if you stick with it, you will see (excellent) results.

• And bare in mind, even if you go a "non-organic" route, you're pretty much "forced" to continually use the chosen method if you don't want to see the unwanted plant(s) return.

If you wish to read more about how I approach "organic" lawn care, go here on SE:

• What's an organic way to discourage crabgrass from a large "lawn"?

Good luck!

Credit for this answer goes to my mum.

When we (wife and I) moved into our current home 4 years ago, the front and back lawns were covered in dandelions (and other broadleaf weeds). I didn't want to go the herbicide route, and after speaking with my mum, she said the only way to truly get rid of (control) dandelions is to hand remove them (important: you need to remove root n' all) and recommended using a small hand garden trowel for doing so.

I didn't have a "small hand garden trowel", instead I bought a small (and cheapish) builders trowel and used that for 3 years:

Then last year on clearance (paid $1) I picked up a Fiskars Softouch Weeder:

Both of the above hand-tools have worked well in removing dandelions (roots included).

• The first three lawn cutting seasons I pulled a lot! of dandelions, at least once a week I would walk the lawns and hand remove all the unwanted plants I saw (all of them went into a plastic bag for offsite disposal).

• During last year's lawn cutting season I noticed a big drop-off in the number of unwanted plants I was removing, except for crabgrass (but that's a whole other story).

• This years lawn cutting season I've only had to remove a handful of "small" (young) dandelions, this is to be expected as I can't control dandelion seed heads blowing into my garden (though I wish I could).

• Yes, getting any unwanted plant under control via an "organic" approach is going to take patience and time, but if you stick with it, you will see (excellent) results.

• And bare in mind, even if you go a "non-organic" route, you're pretty much "forced" to continually use the chosen method if you don't want to see the unwanted plant(s) return.

If you wish to read more about how I approach "organic" lawn care, go here on SE:

• What's an organic way to discourage crabgrass from a large "lawn"?

Good luck!