[chili]

weeding wand

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Weedkillers+Insecticides/Garden-Weeding-Wand/invt/0249825?htxt=cs%2FSobnmzCzj7ziKH3CJkF8XTYvIdGyLXw4jPlaAVkM1sewFJarRPnpS6YjiGx4PGZH5DohyjqZl%0AT2IA7omgHA%3D%3D

[HelenK]

Might do for a laugh if I had the money to spare, I've always fancied a flame thrower     

[gillwrig]

I got one for the mother in law and she never used it as she said she was too scared of it !

[8doubles]

They are ok for taking off the seed heads but don`t kill the roots , my friend has got one but does not use it much now after the strawberry straw episode.

[Kristen]

I have a paraffin flame gun

http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/garden_equipment/pest-weed-control/product.php?pr=1059


Excellent for burning off weeds once weed killer has killed them. Also use it on the gravel drive (without weed killer, the weeds tend to be struggling to grow there anyway, so heat pretty much does for them), and sometimes on green material (less effective than weed killer).

I tend to run over them briefly, on a nice hot day, which wilts them very seriously, and then a few days to a week later go over them again by which time the foliage is dessicated and burns off completely.

It produces a lot of heat which will damage plants nearby, so I can't run close to plants, even with the hood covering the flame.

Got mine at a car boot sale for a few quid.

[Yorkie]

As others have said it doesn't kill the roots so you will get regrowth pretty quickly.  It will also kill soil organisms whether beneficial or otherwise.

I wouldn't use one on my plot.