Lawn stickers

[gumbo2176]

I spent this past Saturday at my brother-in-laws house visiting with out of town family in for a few days and they had a big crawfish boil. They live on a piece of property with about 1.5 acres in manicured lawn and therein lies the problem. The lawn is overrun with Lawn Burweed, a sticker producing plant that is quite painful to walk across barefoot or if, like a couple of the younger kids found out, if you fall down while playing.

I looked into the problem on the net and for the most part it seems like the solution for dealing with this problem is pretty intense in nature and a lot of hands-on actions necessary to eradicate, or at least try to control, the weed. Herbicides, weed and feed, on hands and knees pulling the offending plants, dragging carpet or a fuzzy blanket to catch any loose stickers, etc.

Like I said, this is 1.5 acres and I don't think being on hands and knees is an option for 2 people pushing 60+. Does anyone have a viable solution to this problem or are then doomed to lots of work to rid the lawn of this weed, or just have to learn to live with it????

[applestar]

I cannot even picture 1.5 acres of lawn. I imagine you don't really walk or even play barefoot all over the entire area.

But I would think the way to start is to designate specific areas -- rooms -- mark with posts, fence, maybe edging or solid low wall which might keep out future incursions -- I guess depends on what they want -- which will be free of this pesky weed, then do what's necessary. Here you CAN take off shoes and go barefoot. Those areas could be expanded as time and energy allows.

Then they could maybe landscape other areas into wooded and shrubby areas which mostly would create environment less hospitable to this plant that seems to love the open grassy area.

For the kids -- if they need a play area, maybe they could drag those carpets and blankets behind atv's or golf carts before they play. That seems like a lot of fun.

[gumbo2176]

They do have portions of the lawn sectioned off where their dogs can roam without access to getting out of the yard and on the roadway fronting their property and when the little ones come by to visit, there are swing sets and other kid friendly play sets for them to enjoy. But the sticker grass has invaded almost the entire lawn and even where the dogs and kids play is quite a large area.

I'm still picking stickers out of my feet from last Saturday and they are not easy to get at being so small, but oh so irritating. Add in the fact I'm not as nimble as I once was------well, you get the picture. LOL

It poured down raining so hard that the area we were cooking in started to flood and it wasn't long before 3 inches of water was being held in that area near their small pond. Off went the shoes to keep them dry while moving the equipment and we soon separated the men from the boys, so the saying goes.

I don't envy them their task in dealing with this since the yard is so large. They moved there last summer and this is their first spring and the first time dealing with a problem like this. Overwhelming is an understatement.

Thanks for your suggestions and I will pass them on to the in-laws.

[catgrass]

When I first moved to where I am now, the yard was full of these-Pee cons-we called them. I used a pre-emergence herbicide in early spring (mid-late march)-it took 2 years, but I got rid of them totally. I used Scott's weed N feed. Check with a local nursery, I think it may not be too late to treat if they do it NOW

[Lindsaylew82]

It's not a REAL trip to the beach until everyone has been stuck in the foot by those nasties...