5 Best Weeding Tools of 2024

My first impressions of the Fiskars Xact Weed Puller were very good. It’s the most pricey of the tools I tested, yet it still remains very affordable.

Straight out of the box, I noticed that it’s surprisingly lightweight. The handle is made from plastic, which keeps the weight down, although Fiskars are keen to emphasise that the handle is glass-fibre reinforced! 

At just 950 g, it’s very manageable and won’t be a nuisance to get out of the shed. This also means that it will still be light once it’s got a weed in its grasp, which is good because you don’t have to immediately release weeds when pulling them out – you can transport them to a bucket or wherever you want to put them

The primary selling point of this weed puller is that you can work without hurting your back. Suitable for gardeners of most heights, the 89 cm ‘working shaft’ is a good length, with an additional 10 cm of stainless-steel blades on the end which are inserted into the soil surface around the weed. There is also an option with a telescopic handle available, in case you’re concerned about this being too short.

To say I was pleasantly surprised by this weed puller would be an understatement. It worked brilliantly pulling weeds from both the lawn and our raised beds and, as Fiskars claims, there is no bending down required. 

It doesn’t just remove the visible part of the weed. It gets down to the root so that they don’t grow back. And, if you’re worried that this sort of weed extraction might fill the lawn with mini-craters, the holes that are created by this weed puller are only a maximum of 4 cm in diameter, and easy to fill in by pushing the dirt with your foot.

That’s not to say that it’s perfect. The lack of instructions means some trial and error is needed. In fact, the first few minutes I was convinced it didn’t work at all. You need to push it into the ground, then slightly pull the tool towards you. This closes the tines at the bottom, trapping the weed. The food pedal is a handy feature and allows you to get it into the ground with relatively little effort. 

Remove the weed puller from the ground, then with a little pressure on the orange section of the handle you can release the claws and drop the weed. 

Due to the diameter of the base, it’s only really suitable for larger weeds, as small weeds won’t get caught easily in the puller’s jaws. You’ll also struggle to use it on ground that’s too hard – but when it rains, or the ground is damp from dew, the blades should be easy to push into the earth.

When used in these conditions, this is one of the best weeding tools available. It’s a useful long-handled tool that will help spare your back and it’s very effective at removing larger weeds.

Neat and compact, the Gardena Combisystem Patio Weeder is another weed puller that I was eager to put to the test. It has a contemporary design that initially looks a little complicated, but I was surprised at how easy it was to use. 

Unlike the Xact weed puller, this weeding tool has been designed for patios. It has a hooked end that allows you to hook onto weeds growing between paving slabs, as well as a blade on the other side for precise removal. Gardena claims that this weeder can be used to remove grass, moss and weeds, leaving behind clean paving joints. 

I was very impressed with the handle. It fitted well in my hand and was easy to grip, and I could have used it for a long period of time. The blades are also very good quality, sharp enough to remove weeds but not so aggressive that they will damage your patio! They have been ground on both sides which makes them both resistant and durable. 

The handle is part of a combisystem, although I wasn’t able to test this. This means it can be fitted to any other combisystem handle, so you can easily change it if you prefer a longer handle. 

So, did it work? While I found this weed tool did a good job removing weeds on patios, it certainly didn’t get down to the roots, although you wouldn’t expect that from this tool. It did a great job neatening up my front driveway and removing weeds between the pavings, though a fair amount of physical labour was required. Care does need to be taken not to damage your patio grout. 

While this tool is compact and lightweight, this does mean that large weeds are harder to tackle. I’d recommend it for smaller weeds and neatening up certain areas. 

Going by handle comfort and effectiveness, I’d happily recommend this weeding tool. 

If you’ve not got a huge budget for your garden tools, I’d recommend the Garden Tools Multifunctional Manual Weeder. This multifunctional tool can be used for a range of gardening tasks, and the compact size means it’s very easy to store. The multifunctionality also makes it by far the best value for money of all the tools I’ve recommended. 

This tool can be used for sawing, digging plugs, measuring, shovelling and even opening bottles! It has handy measurements which means planting bulbs accurately is much easier, and I’m confident it would do most of these jobs very well. But we’re here to talk about its ability to remove weeds. I tested this tool in my raised beds, as it was compact enough to get to the weeds in between the plants. 

Straight out of the box I was impressed with the quality. It has a good weight to it, with a solid wooden handle. The stainless steel blade is engraved with measurements, which was a really useful touch. The total length is just 33 cm, part of which is taken up by the handle. 

I found this tool to be very effective. It pulled weeds from the roots with relative ease, although I only managed to test it in soft soil. I found it most effective when used on dandelions and other weeds with long roots. 

While comfortable to use thanks to the wooden handle, I wouldn’t want to use it for hours. The handle wasn’t as ergonomic as that of others I have tried. For this reason, I probably wouldn’t use it to remove large quantities of weeds and I would recommend wearing gloves to prevent blisters. 

The charm of this weeding tool is in its simplicity. There are no fancy materials or design features. The construction is very good, and it made me realise that there’s often no need for complex and expensive weeding tools. I would be surprised if I’m not still using this 10 years down the line!

Finally, it was exceptionally easy to clean after use.

All in all, I’d highly recommend this weeding tool. I couldn’t believe how affordable it was given its functionality and quality. 

Arguably the simplest of all the weeding tools I have tested, the Spear & Jackson Daisy Grubber is a great little tool. It’s just a touch more expensive than the Garden Tools Multifunctional Manual Weeder, although it doesn’t have the same multifunctionality. 

This is another weeding tool with an almost unbelievably simple design. You can imagine gardeners using this tool 100 years ago, and I’m sure we will still be using these tools in 100 years’ time!

It, too, felt very good quality. The head is epoxy coated which I believe improves resistance to rust, scratches and humidity. While specifically designed for daisies, I used it to remove a range of weeds and it did a very good job. 

It removes weeds from the roots with minimal damage to the lawn. The compact size makes it ideal for flower beds, as you can get in between your plants to remove the growing weeds without doing any damage. I also tested it on my lawn, and it was equally effective. 

Like others I’ve recommended, there are a few design touches that just give it that high-end feel. The leather strap makes it very easy to carry, and I liked the subtle branding on the wooden handle. I’ve been fortunate enough to test a range of Spear & Jackson products now, and I’m always impressed when it comes to quality. 

A couple of downsides. I can imagine this wedding tool getting harder to use in the summer months, or when the ground is very hard. There’s not much leverage to work with due to the compact size, so I think removing weeds without damaging the ground would be harder. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test this, as our ground is very soft. Thank you Great British weather!

Of course, this smaller tool does still need to be used close to the ground, requiring a lot of bending or kneeling, so it might not be the best weeding tool for gardeners with more limited mobility. It is, however, an inexpensive item that offers good quality considering how sturdy and effective it is.

Finally, while the design is very similar to the Garden Tools Multifunctional Weed Puller, it doesn’t have the same multifunctionality, yet it’s a little more expensive. For this reason, I’m not going to score it so highly when it comes to value for money. 

I’d say this is one of the best weeding tools if you want an effective yet simple weeding knife. It has a comfortable, ergonomic handle and is very useful for removing both small and medium weeds.

Clearing weeds and moss from between paving without kneeling isn’t always possible, but the Newman and Cole Long Handle Weed Brush makes it a lot easier. It’s been designed for clearing smaller weeds from patios, while it can be used from a standing position which makes it ideal for those with limited mobility. 

The first thing I noticed was the quality. With a wooden handle and a neat ‘Newman and Cole’ engraving, this weed brush felt thoughtfully designed from the start. The bristles are seriously heavy duty, made from wire. The working length is 120 cm, so it can be used fully from standing. 

The bristles charge through smaller weeds that grow between paving stones. It’s most effective when used on smaller weeds and moss. I found it fairly useless on large weeds but on small ones growing between the cracks, well, you can see the results!

One downside I noticed is that a ‘scrubbing’ motion is required. This makes it more physically intensive than other weed tools I have recommended, as the weeds need a few passes. I didn’t find it particularly effective at removing weeds from the roots either. Instead, it broke them apart so they may come back. It did dramatically improve the appearance of our front driveway – an area that has required some TLC for a while!

Another thing to note is that the bristles are very tough. For this reason, I opted not to use it on our new patio in our garden, instead opting for the driveway. I would be concerned that it could damage the grout if used too vigorously, so care is definitely required. 

The bristles did get clogged with damp dirt and bits of leaves too, which have proved difficult to remove. In hindsight, I should have used it in drier weather. 

All things considered, I was pretty impressed with this weed brush. While fairly labour-intensive, it did a great job tidying up a slightly neglected area of our home!