Best weeding tool

The best weeding tool can help gardeners rid their outdoor space of pesky weeds. Whether you're growing your own vegetables, making beautiful flower beds, or just trying to keep on top of lawn maintenance, weeds can be a real problem. Not only do they look unsightly, but in some cases can actually damage the plants you are trying to nurture. If you're prepared to get stuck in, a simple hand fork and trowel are all you need to have a weeding session, but specialist weeding tools will help you get the best — and faster — results. Here is a selection of the finest available. 

Part of Spear & Jackson's traditional "Elements" range of gardening tools, this is an attractive, award-winning tool designed to get to the roots of dandelions. Although perfectly suited to remove this particularly stubborn weed, this can also be used for other plants too. It's 35cm in length, has a hammer finished epoxy coated head, and a weatherproofed ash wood shaft. 

Ideal for anyone with limited mobility, this tool can save strain on your back and knees thanks to its 3.3-foot, metre-long, length. At the business end, this has four 12cm long prongs that are pushed into the ground using the non-slip handle, then the push-action functionality forces them back out, hopefully with the weed attached. There's a built-in footrest plate towards the base to give you extra momentum with stubborn plants. 

This little tool from Finnish firm Fiskars means business. It has a precisely crafted stainless steel blade that curves at the perfect angle to get weeds out of cracks in paving and patio stones, and a smaller hook that's ideal for moss removal. The short handle gives you excellent control and has a soft grip finish for comfortable usage. This has a handy hole in the handle so you can hang it to store it. 

These great gardening gloves enhance what you've got by giving you claws for better gouging, digging, and gripping abilities. Offering a universal fit, the gloves are made from waterproof, non-slip latex with a breathable knit section on the back to make them comfortable for use over a longer period. The four built-in claws are made from strong and durable ABS plastics. 

This is a garden tool made to remove deep-rooted weeds with its forked blade designed to go either side of a weed's root to give you extra leverage. This has a durable, comfortable-to-hold plastic handle. The blade part is manufactured from epoxy coated carbon steel which is hardened and tempered with plated ferrule. This measures 28.5cm long and comes complete with a leather wrist or hanging strap. 

A small-scale rake can be a handy garden tool to remove loose-rooted, creeping weeds that grow across gravel beds such as varieties of speedwell and cranesbill, especially if you've let them build up. This tidy example has a corrosion-resistant, powder-coated steel head that measures 70mm by 120mm. The overall length is a manageable 29cm. The comfortable handle is made of tough plastic and has a hanging hole at the very end. 

This is a great universal weeding tool with a specially designed blade for prying out the deep dug in roots of dandelions, daisies, docks, and more. The blade's forked end helps grab onto the root and its curved design allows you to use the tool as a lever to remove the weed. This has a durable, rust-resistant, one-piece aluminium alloy shaft and an ergonomically designed handle to make it comfortable to use. There is a useful hang hole cut-out in the handle. 

Tooled up 

All these weeding tools will go some way to getting your garden to be a weed-free zone. Our overall staff pick, the Spear & Jackson "Elements" dandelion weeder is useful for more than dealing the yellow pests as it can dig down to help you loosen and remove any roots. 

Anyone with mobility issues, or who wants to work smarter and not harder, should consider the Flora Guard stand-up weeder tool. Thanks to this tool's long length and ergonomic design, you can use this tool to remove weeds with minimal bending. 

Another option we strongly recommend for anyone with any paving in their garden is the Fiskars "Xact" small weeding knife. This has a sharp blade specially designed to get into the cracks between paving stones and the like to help scrape out those pesky plants.