Just bought a rental property that was vacant for quite some time. It is clear that the yard hasn't been taken care of in years and it's covered in weeds and stickers...you can't walk through the yard without having stickers stuck to the bottom of your shoes.

What are my options here? Is there any type of weed and feed that would be worth the effort or is my only option laying down new sod? This is a rental property in a so-so area so I'm not looking for anything worthy of a Scott's lawn commercial, but I don't want my tenants and their dog to be annihilated every time they walk in the backyard. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Don't wear shoes and the sand burrs won't stick to them.

Try fire if all else fails.

Seriously, as kids my dad would make us walk the back yard and pull up sand bur plants by the roots and dispose of them. Eventually, they went away.

If you just throw down sod the sand burs will still be there and likely grow through it.

I'm sure an OBer will post up a chemical burr medicine. It'll likely kill all other vegetation it comes in contact with.

Use Image herbicide and make sure it is the one with Imazaquin as the active ingredient.

Serious question, is getting rid of the already brown dried up sticker burrs done by "killing them with fire" or is there a better way?

You got to pull them.

If the sand burs or stickers have developed seed heads, they must be removed or you will have same problem next year. I have solved my sticker problem by dragging several pieces of old carpet over the yard to remove the stickers. I went to Producers Coop. and spoke with Dr. Bill Lazbe about my problem. Dr. Bill told me exactly what I needed to do. My problem is now solved. You will need to fertilize heavy to get other grasses going and push the sand burs out. You will also have to use a preemergent such as Prowl h20 in March. You problem will be solved. Talk with Dr. Bill.

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This is a rental property in a so-so area

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As an owner of rental properties, I would go with the if its green its grass plan. You will more than likely put a bunch of work and money in it only to have the tenants let it go. And good luck withholding a deposit for stickers in the yard when its ignored.

If it were a nicer area I might reconsider but not with the the normal so-so area tenant.

What happens to the stickers if you kill the plant chemically? They appear to dry up if they're still on the plant, but are they still capable of spreading the seed?

The stickers are the seeds, so if they've seeded out killing the plant doesn't work because the seeds will germinate next year. That's why the carpet idea will help, you remove the seed bank. Then next spring you hit with pre emerge to kill the seeds thst you missed

I've been burning them, followed up w a carpet drag, will use pre emergent next spring.

Getting rid of the burrs is a determined process. You need to get rid of both burrs and plants. I would suggest doing several things in a prolonged attack to reclaim the lawn. You can drag and old burlap bag through the gras to collect as many loose burrs as possible and then burn the burlap to destroy the blurs or throw it away. Next, all the grass to grow for a week and then look for the individual plants to pull up. Sticking an old screw driver into the soil near the base of the plant and wiggling it around before you try to pull the plant up will loosen roots and help you get everything with a single pull. After you have done step 1 & 2, apply a good balanced fertilizer tour lawn. The stronger your lawn, the harder it will be for the grass burrs to come back. Good luck!

if the yard is not too big, use a spade and remove the plants down to the roots. then mow with a lawnmower that really sucks up and bags to get a lot of the dead burs. won't get them all but will get most. probably have to repeat.