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Ultimately, pulling weeds vs. spraying them depends on what’s happening in your yard and your personal preferences. Manual weed removal doesn’t introduce any chemicals into your landscape, targets specific problematic plants, produces immediate results, can be free if you go the DIY route, and is inexpensive with a weed service if you only have a handful of weeds. On the other hand, spraying is often preferable for severe weed infestations and situations involving difficult-to-pull weeds because it treats multiple weeds at once, is usually more effective long-term, is less time-consuming, and costs less when done by a pro.

Foxtail self-seeds and dispurses them among other grasses and pastures. The seeds can spread by wind and by attaching themselves to animals and humans. Seeds will germinate in their new location and become a new plant, which continues the spread of foxtail. Unfortunately, foxtail spreads easily, making it difficult to remove unless it’s caught quickly.

Pulling weeds can spread weed seeds and disturb the soil, leading to seed germination. Pulling weeds can also trigger growth in weeds that reproduce through their root systems—disturbing the roots without fully removing them may cause more weeds to grow from the roots.

If you have a lot of tree roots in your yard or have experienced issues in the past, you should use tree root killer every six months to prevent roots from infiltrating your pipes. If you have an active invasion and aren’t seeing results, check the instructions on the bottle to see how often you can use it in a short period of mine.