A while back, our lawn was plagued with them. I pulled off all the flowering heads [yellow ones] and to keep what's left of the grass, sliced the leaves off just below the surface. Now we have none. So it would seem you don't have to dig up the entire plant and have the lawn looking like a lunar landscape. They'll obviously come back, but the few that have are easily disposed of as above. A lot less work. Anyone else tried this short cut?
If you leave only the tiniest bit of the `tap root` they will grow again, so do what I do (if poss) put a pinch of salt on the centre of the plant, but not prior to rainfall, and in a day or two it will shrivel and die completely.