[Garywt]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I pull them by hand for a variety of reasons:

1. Why pay for do-it-yourself spray when you can do-it-yourself free without spray?
2. It's good for me. Fresh air, dirt on my fingers, the emotional well-being of co-existing with nature - the only time I can accept the existence of a cockroach, is if I see it in the garden.
3. As long as I'm ABLE to do it, I'll continue to do it. Sweaty exercise is healthy (just stay hydrated and get into the shade every 20 minutes).
4. Herb gardens and chemical weed-killers or pesticides means inedible or potentially toxic herbs. My landscaper does a pesticide thing for the lawn but he stays out of my garden, or else he doesn't get paid. The honeybees love my flowering oregano even more than I do.
5. Many of those weed-killers are toxic to birds and other animals, including dogs that groom themselves - including licking their paws after a walk.

I would pull them as well other than the fact I am only in Florida 4-5 weeks a year.