In the San Antonio area, when should I be putting out my weed and feed to get the sticker burs? I imagine pretty soon, right??

Hard to kill. Princept has worked for me in the past, but if in a yard the best way is to mow and catch you clippings. This catches the burrs (seed) and they can't regrow. Takes a couple of years but is easy, cheap and it works.

In a yard the best way to collect the burrs is wait intil they come out. Take a burlap sack and weight it down and drag it over the burrs. Burn the sack and repeat the process. In time you can eliminate them as long as stray dogs dont bring you more.

when i was little whenever one of us kids got in trouble we would hve to go pick stickers until we filled walmart bag.

that was over 10 years ago and we just recently started getting them bck

Weed and Feed only kills broadleaf weeds... grassburrs are a grass.

It will take a product that doesn't allow seeds to germinate, which won't work if you have a bermuda lawn.

quote:

---

It will take a product that doesn't allow seeds to germinate, which won't work if you have a bermuda lawn.

---

????????? Only if you have just seeded a bermuda lawn.

1. Put out Balan now, and reapply late spring/early summer according to the label.
2. Apply corn gluten meal now at 15-20 lbs per 1000 ft sq. This will also provide some nitrogen. Additional application may be made in late spring/early summer.

If you allow the grassburrs to sprout, you can control them with MSMA in a bermuda grass lawn.

MSMA will kill wide bladed grasses like San Augustine, Johnson Grass, and Grassburrs, but will not kill Bermuda, as long as you use it as recommended.

A county agent once told me the best way to get rid of sticker burs is to fertilize and maintain a very healthy lawn. The grass will choke out the burs.

Built a house when I lived in Corpus. Had the entire yard sodded with St. Augustine right before we moved in. Large corner lot. Discovered about two months later that the sod was full of sticker burrs. I would spend about a half hour one morning a week, usually Sunday, with a cup of coffee in one hand, pulling the weeds and burrs. About two months later I had no weeds and no sticker burrs. Lived in the house for seven years. Never had another sticker burr. No chemicals, just old fashioned elbow grease.

Other weeds were a little different story. I guess that is why they make MSMA and roundup.

[This message has been edited by ghollow (edited 2/9/2009 9:01a).]

No weed has ever built up a resistance to being pulled up by the roots. Remember, grass burs (and many other annual weeds) thrive on ground disturbance - that's why they are a problem in new lawns, or ones that have been beaten down, more than others. As another poster said, the best offense is a good defense. Fertilize, water, mow, and get the other grass healthy. Don;t let the grassburs make a living.

Image-

Should be able to get it anywhere. Works great.

Excuse me....not weed and feed. I should have said crabgrass pre-emergent. That is what I have and was planning on putting out. I always heard that would work on sticker burrs, I guess I heard wrong. Thanks for the input. I have been slowly digging them up as I find them, but it takes some time on almost an acre.

Check your label .... the crabgrass preventer probably has Balan or a similar chemical. You are on the right path, Grasshopper.

A check revealed that some had a product called "Dithiopyr" - still a preemerge seed germination killer.

[This message has been edited by B-1 83 (edited 2/9/2009 9:37a).]

Okay....so when will they start to emerge? When should I apply the pre-emergent around San Antonio? Any day now?? Thanks.

AMAZE granules will prevent grassbur emergence. Apply in March and they will work for 6 to 8 weeks.

Amaze is good stuff. I'd put it out now, Roper Joe. Be sure to water it in.

Two ways I know of getting them out without using pesticides.

1) When would go out with an adz and dig them up by there roots and the refill with sand, or some other soil.

2)Cut the grass low. Then fertilize. Then water lawn. And repeat. The other grass should eventually choke out the burs.

Edit: You said you were doing this on almost an acre. We used to do this in our hay pastures. Totaling 40 acres, though only about 20 of them had stickers in it. Nothing like having free labor.... errr I mean kids.

[This message has been edited by dannyag07 (edited 2/9/2009 1:18p).]