Maybe now is a good time to get rid of the puncturevine in your yard

A local resident wondered about puncturevine, also known as “goathead”, an aptly named summer annual found in our area, and which was especially prolific in Oneida County this summer. Native to southern Europe, it can grow under a wide range of conditions, but its success is likely due to its ability to thrive in hot and dry conditions where other plants cannot; and perhaps that is why it was so abundant this summer in Malad. It can be a major problem in orchards, pastures, turf, and along roadsides and ditch banks. It is very common to see in Malad along the roadways where people like to bike and walk. Its main characteristic is its spiky seedpods that can injure livestock, people, and pets when stepped on and can even puncture bicycle tires. It is toxic to sheep and can harm grazing animals if the spikes get into their mouths and hooves. A summer annual broadleaf weed, puncturevine generally grows low to the ground forming dense mats 2 to 5 feet in diameter. The stems radiate out from a central point at the taproot. Yellow flowers grow on the vine, and after the flower is pollinated, a seedpod forms that is a cluster of five flat spiny burrs containing up to five seeds. As the seedpod matures, it turns gray or tan, gets very hard and breaks apart so that the individual spikes, or burrs, can stick into passing animals and tires. That is when they become very painful because they can stick into the feet of people even so far that they can puncture through flipflops, and don’t try to walk around barefoot!

Puncturevine germinates in the spring and summer from the seeds produced the previous year. Good soil moisture and warm temperatures are needed for germination, but after the plant is established it can tolerate dry soils due to its rapidly produced deep taproot. Seeds may remain viable in the soil for up to five years. Puncturevine plants cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. A typical puncturevine plant will produce 200 to 5,000 seeds during one growing season, depending on available soil moisture and other environmental factors. These seeds and those that did not germinate from previous seasons will contribute to the potential weed population the following year.

Long-term control of puncturevine can be achieved by reducing the amount of seeds in the soil. This is best accomplished by removing plants before they produce and continuing to do so over several years, and the best way found to do this is by hand or hoeing, taking care to also remove any burrs that fall off the plant. Burrs that have dropped after removing the plant may be collected and removed by sweeping or raking the ground, or even patting the ground with a piece of carpet will help collect the burrs. Avoid bringing puncturevine into uninfested areas on shoes and the wheels of mowers or carts. Monitoring the area and removing the weed throughout the late spring and into the summer will greatly reduce the impact of the weed the next year. Shallow tilling (about 1 inch deep) of seedlings or small plants can be effective in larger areas. Deeper tilling is not recommended since this may bury seeds and they may be able to germinate for several years afterwards. Hand removal, hoeing, or cultivation should be initiated prior to flowering and seed production. Mowing is not an effective method of control since the plant grows low to the ground.