I Do Not Have a Lawnmower or Weed Eater: How Can I Get Rid of Tall Grass?

Options

• If you don't have a lawnmower or weed eater, there are several other ways to get rid of tall grass. If you have neighbors, ask to borrow their lawnmower or weed eater. If your neighbors don't have a mower either, hire a lawn maintenance service. Lawn service professionals typically charge based on the size of your lawn, the obstacles in your landscape, such as trees or fences, and the frequency of mowing. If you can't afford to hire a lawn care service, purchase a sickle or a scythe. These tools are frequently used in gardens to remove crops, tall weeds and over-grown grass. These tools are recommended for small lawns only.

Importance

• It is important to keep your grass well-maintained, not just for the trimmed appearance. By keeping up with maintaining your lawn, your grass grows in denser. Depending on the type of grass you have, you need to keep it at a specific height to prevent the grass from experiencing stress as it grows. For example, if you have blue grass growing in your lawn, keep the height between 2 and 3 inches. Follow the one-third rule when maintaining your grass: never cut more than one-third of the length of the grass. This prevents your lawn from being covered in long clippings when you're ready to mow.

Clippings

• Remove long grass clippings from your yard. Although decomposing clippings provide your lawn with nutrients, long clippings block your grass of needed sunlight and trap moisture, creating the perfect damp environment for mold growth. Over time, the thick clumps will kill your grass. Short trimmings should be left alone or raked evenly over your lawn. You can use the long grass clippings as mulch on top of the soil around flowers and plants to encourage moisture to stay in the soil. Only lay down an inch or two or the clippings; otherwise, the grass will block airflow and water from getting to the roots.

Considerations

• If your grass is just too long to cut without a mower or weed eater or if your lawn is too large to use a sickle or scythe on, kill your grass and start over. Apply white vinegar to your grass. Vinegar works best to kill your grass when it's hot outside. After applying several applications to the tall grass, it will die. Remove the dead grass. Laying down seven or eight layers of newspaper over your grass will also kill it over time as the layers block out sunlight and air. Plant new grass or lay down sod in place of the dead grass.