Weed Eater Safety

After mowing the lawn, you will need to trim the edges of the lawn using a weed eater. Weed eaters can cut through skin just as easily as cutting through plants and can send debris flying through the air when striking stones or woody vegetation. Weed eaters can be heavy, so be careful. Follow safety precautions so that you do not injure yourself or others.

When you start your weed eater, stand on firm, level ground so that you do not fall and injure yourself. Hold the weed eater with two hands so that you have total control. If you do not have the strength to hold the weed eater firmly, hire a landscaping service.

Most of the weed eating occurs near the ground, so you should wear boots with good traction and long pants to avoid accidentally cutting yourself with the weed eater. However, do not wear loose clothing that can get caught in the weed eater. Do not wear clothes that you do not want grass stains on.

Weed eaters make a lot of noise, so wear ear protection to avoid damaging your ears. The ear protection should form tightly around your ears and dramatically muffle the sound of the weed eater. Use your eyes more by looking around more often, since you will not hear any dangers approaching.

When cutting through vegetative matter, pieces can fly up and injure your eyes. Wear protective eye wear to avoid injuring your eyes. Remove any hard objects, such as stones and sticks, so that they do not damage the weed eater and send debris flying towards your eyes. Wear protective anti-vibration gloves also to avoid cutting your hands with either the weed eater itself or the flying debris. These gloves will also help you hold on to the vibrating weed eater. Do not cut vegetation within 30 to 60 feet from someone else since you can injure them with flying debris. Do not operate the weed eater any faster than you need to.

If you are working out in the sun, wear adequate sunblock. If there are a lot of insects biting you, wear insect repellent. Biting insects can spread diseases.

When you're finished trimming, let the weed eater run idle for a few minutes to let it cool down. Do not set the weed eater down unless it is turned off. When you have to perform maintenance on the weed eater, disconnect the spark plug so that the weed eater does not suddenly come on, potentially cutting you. Inspect the weed eater for a loose belt. When adding fuel, use the correct fuel mixture and do not add fuel when the weed eater is still hot. Remove grass from the weed eater periodically because an accumulation of plant matter can create a fire hazard.