The Weed Wrench is an all-metal tool originally designed to pull broom plants in California. It is very effective at pulling small to large trees out of the ground, even out of dry, hard soils. It has a set of jaws which clamp strongly onto the stem, and let you lever the plant out of the ground. Remember that when you yank (er, wrench) plants out of the ground you can disturb the soil and encourage new weeds to sprout, so monitor your sites after treatment. Four models are made (Heavy, Medium, Light, and Mini), and I have used them all except for the Light model. They work great. The only problem with them is that they are heavy and also pretty expensive. However, they are sturdy, will last, and even if you do figure out how to damage them they can be repaired.

I cannot say enough good things about weed wrenches. I love 'em. Volunteers love 'em. You can pull really big plants out of the ground.

Of course, some plants have deep roots that are not very sturdy. If you use the Weed Wrench (or the Root Talon) on these plants, you will just snap the root below-ground. If the plant can resprout from the roots, you may be wasting your time.

Below are some specifications about the various Weed Wrench models. You should contact the manufacturers to see if they have changed their prices and what their shipping costs will be--since the Weed Wrench is so heavy, shipping charges range from $5 to about $23, and even more for shipments to Hawaii.

Mini: Handles up to 1-inch stems. Dimensions and cost: 24 inches tall, 5.25 pounds, $82.00
Light: Handles up to 1.5-inch stems. Dimensions and cost: 44 inches tall, 11.5 pounds, $130.00
Medium: Handles up to 2-inch stems. Dimensions and cost: 53 inches tall, 17.5 pounds, $155.00
Heavy: Handles up to 2.5-inch stems. Dimensions and cost: 62 inches tall, 24 pounds, $189.00

Contact Information
Weed Wrench Web Site


--Barry Rice, TNC/GIST, May 2000