Damn goatheads!

[WeiserBucks]

Since buying my home in the spring of '17 I've been at war with goatheads and I'm losing. I've sprayed em, burned em, every plant I kill it seems like 10 more pop up. I'm open to suggestions from anyone who's won the battle.

 

[BBob]

The seeds can stay viable for 10 years or more so you have a ways to go! If pulled remaining roots are supposed to be very hardy and will come back to life. I thought mine were finally gone for good but the huge rains this summer brought more back to life. My numbers at this point were manageable compared to my neighbors, theirs were out of control again this year.

 

[Cwsharer]

You must pull and pick up each one you see for eternity haha that’s the only way

 

[ODB]

Dude…I’ve started calling them Satan’s Pricks… I hate them with a passion…

 

[awasome]

Raise a couple of goats and they will eat them!

 

[Silveroddo]

How wide spread are they? My wife’s grand parents farm had them bad, mainly in the gravel areas around the farm yard, they regraveled the farm yard (not as a goat head measure) and that’s really slowed it down it seems. They burn any volunteer plants that show up with a weed burner.

 

[Customweld]

Since buying my home in the spring of '17 I've been at war with goatheads and I'm losing. I've sprayed em, burned em, every plant I kill it seems like 10 more pop up. I'm open to suggestions from anyone who's won the battle.

How big of an area are you dealing with?

 

[WeiserBucks]

How big of an area are you dealing with?

About 1.5 acres infested.

 

[Customweld]

About 1.5 acres infested.

About 1.5 acres infested.

Irrigated or dry?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Dry, but it stays fairly wet into June due to concentrated runoff.

 

[30338]

Somewhere on my 5 acres I have a few. Dogs drug them in with them from walks along dirt roads locally. Its not good. Does 2-4D do anything to them?

 

[WeiserBucks]

24D has been marginally effective for me.

 

[BBob]

Roundup definitely kills the plant but I think almost nothing will touch already disbursed seeds. You need to hit the plant ASAP after germination. You’ll get a week or two window before they seed.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Roundup definitely kills the plant but I think almost nothing will touch already disbursed seeds. You need to hit the plant ASAP after germination. You’ll get a week or two window before they seed.

This mirrors my experience, unfortunately I have a ton of seeds everywhere from years of neglect prior to me buying the place.

 

[go_deep]

It's been 10 years since I've had my farm, so I can't give you specific chemicals to try, but go to your local farm fertilizer and spray business. Ask them about weed killing pre and post emergence sprays (kills seeds and plants) that will be most effective on them.
Round up is great, but it's not taking care of the seeds, and that's your problem.

 

[Phaseolus]

Try out competing it with a grass of some kind. You say you are wet until june, how much precipitation do you get per summer month and what are your summer temperatures like? I’ll make a recommendation after hearing.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Try out competing it with a grass of some kind. You say you are wet until june, how much precipitation do you get per summer month and what are your summer temperatures like? I’ll make a recommendation after hearing.

Scattered thunderstorms randomly throughout the summer. Summer temperatures usually 90s but over 100 isn't uncommon.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

poison living bush, then cover are with road base,.then if any plants grow through road base hit them with poison, round up or other .

 

[cmahoney]

I deal with those things too, my main complaint the them coming through my 3/4 crushed drain rock. I’m working on a part of my yard now and can’t decide weather to just put a couple inches of compacted road base then the drain rock or spend the money on fabric for the bottom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Customweld]

They really thrive in hot weather and dry ground. This sounds goofy but I used this in my battle: I cut 2” blue iso foam insulation in 1’x1’ squares and bungied them to my boots. I would walk a few steps and stop and pull the rotten bastards out and throw them in a garbage can that I dragged behind me. I did this in late fall and all through the winter.I had someone come in and rotor till my ground. Then I applied crowvar. (Ground sterile) They are nearly impossible if you aren’t going to irrigate and crowd them out with a grass.