I had a neighbor that took it upon herself to become the weed police. She lived right across the street from me and we would often talk about garden stuff in the middle of the street. She wouldn't wait for you to weed. If she saw weeds, you can bet she would head over to your yard and dig the weeds up. She especially had an intense passion for eradicating dandelions. Her lawn had to be pristine at all times.
She wouldn't weed in my yard, because she knew that I poked around in my yard every day. But then the two houses to the south of me became empty and the dandelions had her talking to herself quite frequently as she headed over with her butter knife. The ground on our side of the street was hard as rock if not watered and amended. Which made weeding much more work. But she was out there almost every day digging up the dandelions so they wouldn't end up in her yard. Mine was so heavily mulched that I didn't have to worry about the dandelions. I was fighting the grass coming from all sides. I had everything planted so densely so I'd never have to mow again. She told me my yard was scary. She didn't have any idea what most of the stuff I grew was, and I liked plants witha lot of thorns because her cat thought my yard was a litter box. Although I didn't have any sand whatsoever.
Some weeds are easy to snatch up when they are under two inches and don't have extensive root systems. But once they hit the four inch mark, a trowel is needed because the roots are more than twice thicker. The worst are those with thorns. I saw one of those nearby where my peas are growing. I told the roommate that if he ever sees them, they have to be dug up right away. A friend grew some "wildflower" mix seeds one year and the only thing that grew was a dense patch of those weeds that are like mascara brushes. They dig into your clothes and never cry uncle. They went into the washing machine immediately, but it was too late for me. I had welts all over my arms and legs. I think there were only a dozen flowers out of those four packets of seeds. Because they were supposed to be wildflowers, he let them grow and grow until they were about 4 feet tall before I told him I'd help dig them up. I knew they were weeds at 1 foot tall but he wanted to be sure no more flowers would come - it was four entire packets in just about 20'x2' area.
I walk around my yard inspecting anything that grows and looking for bugs. I'm not as familiar with the weeds here yet, but I make it a point to check out all that is growing in my neighbor's yards. If it starts growing in my yard, I can get rid of it quickly. As gardeners, it helps to know the weeds in our areas and how they propagate. Then we know how to get rid of them. Like most people know to take care of dandelions before they become fluffy lollipops. The local agricultural extension or university is also helpful. Although some info is only meant for farmers with acres of weeds to destroy. It will let you know the common weeds in your area. I never had morning glories until I planted something on the north side of my yard. I inspect all new plants much more carefully when planting now. My husband wanted me to let them grow. I know a lot of people that like them, but in Denver they are invasive. And such a pain to follow the vines to discover how much it had spread and tangled. I never got rid of them once they reached the strawberry patch. O could only limit their growth.
Anyhow, get some information about the local weeds and their propagation and then look up different methods for getting rid of them.
Dave, I pull weeds and leave them in a pile, to gather them up before heading inside. I'm too chicken to leave them out to dry more than a few minutes. I like to be rid of them. My roommate sometimes puts them in a bucket and forgets they are in there. I come along to get the bucket and the weeds are happily growing in the bucket with no dirt. And the one planter that has holes in the bottom, I've seen piles of dead weeds with their roots sticking out of the bottom, looking for some soil to grow in.
