The Easiest Way To Get Rid Of Weeds In Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has provided a lovely second life for gamers of all kinds. Some folks have taken to hosting virtual art galleries on their island, while others enjoy furnishing their homes and making them into more efficient (and adorable living spaces). One chore that every Animal Crossing homeowner seems to get sick of is pulling the weeds that can sprout up around their lovely islands.

If you're tired of dealing with pesky weeds, then you're in luck. A gamer by the name of Tyran Batten has started WeedCo Weed Removal Services. He and his cohorts will travel to your Animal Crossing island to pluck the weeds from your properties. This service is offered free of charge, though Batten says that tips are certainly welcome.

In a post on Reddit, Batten showed off his services in action. Describing the video as "highlights from WeedCo's employee orientation," the clip shows Batten training another player in the art of pulling weeds. There is quite a bit of precision involved, particularly when the weeds grow in the midst of a crowded flower bed. The pair have to take care to only pull the weeds and not the surrounding plants. There are also some trickier spots where weeds can grow, like around the edges of rocks or cliffs, or even hidden behind other flora. It's all about precision for WeedCo, and it looks like they do a thorough job.

When reached by Polygon for comment, Batten explained why he had the time and drive to get into such an interesting virtual profession. He said, "I don't time travel, so I like picking others' weeds. Whenever I go to friends' islands, it's the first thing I do. The customer can keep the weeds if they want, or they can use them as payment for services."

For those who are unaware, "time traveling" is how many players have gotten around certain limitations of the Animal Crossing series' "real time" aspects. It's a tried-and-true method that is generally frowned upon by the game's creators and many members of the Animal Crossing fandom, but that hasn't exactly stopped folks from doing it.

Essentially, some gamers access the settings on their console — in this case, the Nintendo Switch — and roll the internal clock forward or backward. This allows players to access events within the game that are usually a bit more contingent on the time of day. So for example, if someone started a new project or were waiting for a plant to grow in their game, they could jump forward in time to when those items are available.

It seems like a decent strategy, particularly for gamers who have much less time and patience on their hands. However, it does come with certain drawbacks. Even though your character may have "traveled forward" in time, the rest of the game has proceeded without your character in real time. That means that, since you weren't around to do your usual chores, a ton of weeds and pests may have sprouted up around the area in your absence. This can in turn lead to other characters being unhappy on the island, in addition to just making the place look like a mess. Of course, this all depends on just how far you've time traveled.

Still, for the folks who aren't too concerned with working off those little setbacks, time travel remains an option for Animal Crossing players. With this new service offered by WeedCo Weed Removal Services, it almost seems like it's a little more worth it. At least it lessens the number of issues you'd have to handle after time traveling.

Animal Crossing players apparently agree wholeheartedly, as demand for the service has been huge. In fact, Batten says that WeedCo had to hire additional employees to keep up with the number of job offers. 

Batten took to Reddit to find new weeders. Batten posted, "If you're interested in becoming a WeedCo employee send me a 30 second clip of your weeding skills and we might consider you for the job. And yes, if you pass the exam, you will earn yourself a WeedCo uniform!" 

Before long, Batten had made an update to that post, telling folks where they could more easily reach him and sharing a document with WeedCo's availability. He also confirmed that the service had hired on more employees, writing, "More weeders will be coming on Saturday!"

This is exactly the kind of wholesome community interaction we have come to expect from Animal Crossing fans. After all, these are the folks who took Doom Eternal and made it cute.