Question
I have dollar weeds in my lawn but more particularly in my raised flower bed.  I have been pulling and digging up the roots for a while now, but seem to get nowhere.  I live in Charleston, SC area and we get quite a bit of rain, and when we don't, I water my flowers.  The bed sits in the middle of my front yard and is in full sun.  I went to Lowes and the garden expert recommended I use Preen weed killer so it would not harm my flowers or rose bushes.  It does not appear to have worked.  I am tired of pulling these weeds.  Can you or someone recommend something good that will work.  I am even open to home or organic remedies.  I saw where Charlotte recommended sugar, but we have problem with ants here, particularly fire ants, and I have small grandchildren who play in the yard so I am afraid of the sugar increasing the ant problem.  Please help.

Answer
Use a glyphosate formulation with a colorant added. Spray the the dollar weeds carefully from a 'spritzer' bottle. Adjust the tip to obtain a directed spray. If you accidentally get some on a desirable plant (the colorant will show you), immediately snip off the part so that the chemical will not be translocated throughout the whole plant. It may sound like a painstaking exercise and I suppose it is; but the treatment is effective. Wear latex gloves. This will enable you to lift your desirable plants to get at more of the dollar weeds. Repeat as necessary (once a month).