Goat Head plants are THICK in the yard. The whole yard is covered! Each year the problem multiplies. I have tried spot spraying with Round Up. It kill that plant, but doesn't seem to kill seeds that are ready to sprout.
I have been pulling weeds for 3 days now, and the stickers that lay on the ground seem to jump at you when you try to pull up the weeds. I am on very low income, so if you can help, I would really appreciate it.
Also, once I get rid of the plants, do you have any suggestions on how to get the spurs out of the yard so that we can finally walk on it again?
I live in Southwest NM where goatheads are a real plague. I found that the easiest way to minimize their impact is burning them off with a roofing burner every few weeks . You should do this especially shortly after it rains, when the seedlings are out everywhere, but before they had a chance to start seeding (2-3 weeks after the rain) After a few times, they don't come back. Works easier than trying to pull them, and you get a lot of the seeds in the ground as well.
You could also try the goathead weevils as advertized on this website: http://www.goatheads.com/ I cannot speak from personal experience how effective that is.
I got rid of ours by hoeing them about every two weeks for the first month or so. Then later in the summer a few seedlings showed up, so I did it again. That was 20 years ago and they've just showed up again in the last two years. When I hoed them, I tried to turn them upside down so they wouldn't re-root, but I don't know if that's necessary.
The only thing I've found that works is to pull, pull, pull! When we moved into our home the backyard was filled w/them. Now, after more than 20 yrs. of pulling, we only get the random plant or two. The main thing is to get them pulled before the stickers dry out, preferably when they are still flowering and haven't yet formed seeds. As for picking up the dropped "heads", I usually use thick garden gloves and just pick them up w/my fingers. Yes, it is very time consuming but, I figure it is time well spent. We now have a yard we can easily walk barefoot in!
The feedback below was from a previously posted request. It has a good suggestion for getting the stickers out of your yard! Good luck! I don't miss Goat Heads at all now that I live in the NW! :)
(I don't know how to get rid of goat heads chemically; you need to pull them in the spring. To get rid of them in yard once they are dried, staple a piece of carpeting (not shag) to a 2X4 about 3 ft. long, attach a length of rope to both ends making a loop, then drag it behind you., you may have to replace the carpeting a couple times but it will grab the goat heads. (07/02/2007))
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Request: Getting Rid Of Goat Heads
Archived on 02/12/2008
How do I get rid of goat heads in my yard?
Hardiness Zone: 10a
Nancy from Golden Valley, AZ
Answers:
RE: Getting Rid Of Goat Heads
What are goat heads?
Editor's Note: Here's a link about them:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TRTE (07/02/2007)
By Graycrab
RE: Getting Rid Of Goat Heads
I don't know how to get rid of goat heads chemically; you need to pull them in the spring. To get rid of them in yard once they are dried, staple a piece of carpeting (not shag) to a 2X4 about 3 ft. long, attach a length of rope to both ends making a loop, then drag it behind you., you may have to replace the carpeting a couple times but it will grab the goat heads. (07/02/2007)
