how do I get rid of goat heads without tearing up my yard?

Question

we just moved into the house and have no yard. nothing but goatheads.We tried pulling them last year but they came back worse.Do we need to burn them

Answer 1

It's best to pull them before they form the heads and then place them in the trash. The seeds from "Goat heads" or "Puncture vines" are viable up to 20 years in the soil.

There are several ways to prevent them from becoming a problem in your yard;

1) Pre-emergent herbicides containing oryzalin or trifluralin applied in spring (April 1) will kill seedlings as they germinate during summer. You can probably find these chemicals at one of your local hardware stores.

2) In some areas, people are using propane torch burners to destroy the seedlings AND the seedheads. However, this may not be the safest way to control them unless you have permission from your local fire department in advance.

3) There are currently some seed-feeding weevils (Microlarinus lareynii) and crown-feeding weevils (Microlarinus lypriformis) that can be purchased over the internet. Although they're somewhat expensive (~$75/container of 250 weevils which treats one acre) they are very effective in controlling this horrible weed.

Hope this information was of some help. GOOD LUCK!

-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a degree in Plant Science