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Weeds are a common nuisance, and will make your patio look uncared for in a way that little else can. Aside from a discarded fridge or a burnt out car, weeds will always bring the look of your patio or driveway down, so it is important that you are able to reduce the impact that they have on your house in an easy and efficient way. You will no doubt understand that weeds are things that can grow back, so it is as much a part or prevention as simply getting rid of them in the first place. For a simple step by step guide to getting rid of the weeds in your life, have a look over the following tricks and tips. First off, you will need the right tools. You will obviously need gloves, as this will help you work faster and without worrying about getting your hands dirty. You will also find that some weds can have thorns on them, or spines that make everything a little less comfortable in terms of handling. You want to be able to treat the weeds roughly, and work quickly, and if you are worried about hurting yourself whilst working, then the job won’t be as effective. Get a decent weed killer, looking in to natural ones as well as harsh chemicals. You may want to avoid some of the weed killers that have more toxic ingredients in them if you have young children, as the fumes and residue can be quite dangerous. Have a trowel for large roots, and a thin stick or bit of cane for scraping between paving cracks if you can get a finger or hand in there!Pull the visible weeds from their places, ensuring that you get the root as well as the showing parts of the plant. The root will be the place from where the weed grows back, but if you get rid of it, then the likelihood of the same weed reappearing will be dramatically reduced. If in doubt, you should be sure to get up as much of the plant as possible, so keep digging down with the trowel or the stick, to ensure that you have as much of it out as you can. Repeat this process in all areas where there are weeds, and when you have got as much of the root up as you can, spray the area with weed killer, or dump a load of salt in the ‘wound’ as it were, so that the remnants of the root that may be left down there are killed off completely. Spray all areas that are affected by the weeds with weed killer, to reduce the likelihood of them coming back, as this will mean that you don’t have to repeat this process too regularly. You will find that that de-weeding properly will mean that you are only having to do it a few times a year, whereas knocking the heads off of the pants as a quick fix will only solve the problem for a short period. De-weeding can make a lot of mess, so be sure to have a decent brush on you, and sweep the soil that you brought up on to the surface back in to the cracks, to fill them out and make the area look nice and even. You will find that you should always weed before you scrub the patio for this reason, as you don’t want to have to do it all over again!