Weed removal in Animal Crossing has become the hot new business venture
No weed wacker included.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are constantly looking for ways to become Bellionaires. Most will trade turnips on the Stalk Market, but more entrepreneurial-minded islanders, like Tyran Batten, have started their own business weeding islands and selling the Weeds to turn a modest profit.
Batten is the founder of WeedCo Weed Removal Services, which will clear its customers’ islands of any pesky weeds. Best of all, it’s totally free since Batten can sell the weeds he collects to Leif after he’s done. “He was buying weeds for double the price, and my Nook's Cranny was closed for renovation," Batten tells Inverse. "I decided to offer my services on [the] r/ACtrade [subreddit] so I could sell the weeds to Leif.”
Any players who spend or purchase 200,000 Bells worth of goods, have had Nook's Cranny open for 30 days, and have been visited by Mabel undergo a forced upgrade to the store that shuts it down for an entire day. For many players, this benchmark overlapped with the version 1.2 update that introduced Nature Day and Leif to the game, so it became impossible to sell anything for that day — except for Weeds to Leif.
Leif was one of the only vendors left open on Batten's island, and because Leif will purchase Weeds for double the standard price, it presented a compelling business opportunity.
Batten and Essjane wearing their WeedCo uniforms.
It was after Batten's initial post that fellow islander and Redditor Essjane offered to join the WeedCo team, which gave Batten the idea to create a recruitment video to continue growing the budding company. The brief clip amassed nearly 7,000 upvotes on Reddit Tuesday and was picked up by new sites like Eurogamer and Polygon.
That led to a massive influx of applications from the Animal Crossing community on Reddit.
“The most hilarious thing about all of this is that I have received infinitely more people interested in joining the team than I have received from people who want their town to be weeded,” he said. “I might have to recruit the entire player base, only to have no one to weed for!” Batten has received more job applications than he has customers, which bodes well for community engagement but poorly for business profits.
Batten asked interested applicants to send him a 30-second video clip showing off their weed-wacking skills, but pro grass-plucking abilities aren't the only key to becoming a member of the WeedCo family. Batten said the best part of the job is meeting other islanders and seeing their islands rather than the amount of Bells he’s made. He’s looking for candidates that will share the same outlook on the job: Putting fun community experiences before profits.
That’s exactly what made Essjane an ideal applicant. She’s reached the end-game of New Horizons and just wants to relax and travel to other islands.
“I love helping people!" Essjane tells Inverse. "I’ve had a 5-star island for a few weeks and have been scammed before, so I want to give back to people. I have anxiety and there’s something comforting about picking the weeds ... the sound it makes and everything. I saw his offer and I wanted to join right away! It doesn’t cost a Nook Mile Ticket to go to someone else’s island so it’s perfect.”
While the service is completely free, WeedCo always welcomes tips. Batten will happily accept anything from Bells to fruit.
His favorite tip, however, was an experience rather than a payment: “My favourite tip was not actually a tip, but rather an invitation to weed on an island with a meteor shower happening,” he said. “I found so many star pieces on my island the next day!” Any players who sees a meteor shower in-game and make a wish can earn star pieces that can be used to build a magic wand that allows you to save outfits and transform your look freely.
Especially if you're a frequent time traveler in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and weeds have turned your island an overgrown jungle, you know who to call.
