Lawn Burweed Control: How to Get Rid of Lawn Burweed

This page is a general lawn burweed control guide. Using the products and methods suggested, you will get control of lawn burweed. Follow this guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of lawn burweed.

Lawn burweed, more commonly called stickerweed, spurweed, field burrweed, lawn burrweed, burr weed, common soliva, and onehunga weed, is a problematic winter annual weed of the aster family. This low-growing freely branched broadleaf weed can make itself quickly known to any homeowner walking barefoot across their lawns as its sharp, spiny burs attach themselves to their clothing and skin.

This winter annual weed grows very well in the fall and winter seasons throughout the southeast and southwest portions of the United States. It becomes a nuisance to homeowners during the spring when the flowers turn into seeds or burs because of the pointed spines. Besides being unsightly and painful, dense infestations of lawn burweeds can be extremely difficult for turfgrasses. The weed and your turf fight for sunlight, soil moisture, and plant nutrients, severely stunting the lawn's growth rate and aesthetic appearance.

Even though lawn burweed is only a small winter annual weed, it is excellent at reproduction by quickly spreading throughout your lawn in a short amount of time. Read on to learn how to control lawn burweed infestations in your home's yard by using the recommended products and tips.

Identification

Before proceeding with a treatment approach, you will need to make sure that the weed infesting your yard is lawn burweed. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment methods, costing you time and money. Here are some identifying characteristics of lawn burweed so you can easily identify it.

• Lawn burweed is a low-growing weed that can grow up to 6 inches in diameter and 4 inches in height. The stems grow prostrate or along the ground and are covered in tiny hairs.
• The leaves grow in an opposite arrangement, are covered in tiny hairs, and develop narrow, deep lobes. They typically measure 0.5 to 1.5 inches in length and 0.25 to 0.5 inches in width. Lawn burweed, with its small feathery leaves and spacing, imitates the appearance of parsley, which is commonly mistaken for it. However, lawn burweed can be differentiated from parsley by its sharp spines.
• When flowers develop in spring, they are rather inconspicuous and blend into the rest of the plant. The flowers eventually produce oval-shaped seeds (burs) that are encased in spine-tipped burrs. The seeds stick to clothing and animal fur, hence the nickname stickerweed.
• Fruits that occur after flowering appear as clusters measuring about 1/8 to 1/5 inches. These fruits have sharp, winged spines with two curved teeth flank on either side of the spine.

Use the description and image above to help you properly identify lawn burweed on your property. If unsure, contact us with an image of your weed by phone, email, or in person at one of our store locations. We will assist you with weed identification and suggest treatment options.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed lawn burweed on your property, you can proceed with the inspection. During this phase, you will locate the areas where lawn burweed grows and observe the conditions allowing the weed to thrive.

Where to Inspect

Lawn burweed appears in stressed turf and areas that see full or partial sunlight. 

Common sites include, but are not limited to, residential lawns, playgrounds, and recreational areas. Burweed seeds easily spread when the burrs stick to passing people or animals or when lawns are mowed.

What to Look For

As a winter annual weed, lawn burweed germinates in moist soil and thin turf as temperatures cool in the fall and winter months. It will remain small and inconspicuous during these seasons. However, lawn burweed will form burs in the leaf axil as temperatures rise.

Since this weed depends on cooler temperatures to survive, lawn burweed withers away when temperatures reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving only the painful seeds behind. When summer arrives, the plant turns brown, with only the stickers or burs left on it.

Lawn burweed stems branch at the bottom and sometimes have dark or purple spots, which homeowners can mistake for southern brass buttons. However, lawn burweed leaves are shorter than southern brass buttons and have a palm shape.

Treatment

With any pesticide material, you will need to wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid coming into contact with the product being used and the stickers of the weed.

Since lawn burweed spreads and reproduces by seeds, the best way to control it is to remove the weed before it has a chance to develop seeds or flowers with a pre-emergent herbicide containing either dicamba, metsulfuron, prodiamine, dithiopyr, atrazine, or isoxaben. It's recommended to use a pre-emergent from late September to October when germination occurs.

While pre-emergent control is ideal, it may not be feasible for some homeowners. For this reason, you will want to use a post-emergent herbicide containing one of these active ingredients: 2,4-D, simazine, dicamba, sulfentrazone, metsulfuron, mecoprop, fluorspar, or auxin. A post-emergent herbicide application should be done from November to February.

Step 1: Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicide

Expel Turf Herbicide is an excellent concentrate herbicide that offers pre- and post-emergent control over 50 types of weeds in turf. More specifically, this product offers pre- and post-emergent control over lawn burweed in cool and warm-seasoned turf.

Keep in mind this weed is called by its secondary name, spurweed, under the pre-emergence section of this label.

Determine how much Expel Turf Herbicide to use by measuring the treatment areas' square footage. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment site in feet, then multiply them together (length X width = square footage). For acreage, take the square footage and divide it by one acre (square footage / 43,560 sq. ft. = acreage).

For cool-seasoned grasses, apply 4 to 8 oz. of Expel Turf Herbicide per 10 gallons of water per acre.

For warm-seasoned grasses, use 8 to 12 oz. of product per 10 gallons of water per acre.

After mixing the product, spray the mixed solution over the top of your lawn on a fan spray setting to achieve uniform application but avoid overlaps and runoff.

Wait until treated areas are completely dry before allowing people and animals to enter.

Step 2: Apply Post-Emergent Herbicide

Fahrenheit Herbicide is a water-soluble product that offers selective control over various types of broadleaf and grassy weeds, such as lawn burweed, in warm-seasoned turf.  

We recommend Fahrenheit Herbicide for warm-season grasses. For spot applications, mix 0.2 ounces of the product per 1 gallon of water and apply it over 1,000 square feet.

Spray the top and bottom of the lawn burweed leaves until wet, but not to the point of runoff.

A second treatment may be needed if weeds are still occurring after the first application.

Reapplication intervals with Fahrenheit Herbicide range from 4 to 6 weeks.

Prevention

Once lawn burweed has been eliminated from your yard, you must ensure it does not return. Below are some preventative measures to take to lessen the chances of lawn burweed returning.

• Apply Expel Turf Herbicide for pre-emergent use from late September to October to control lawn burweeds possibly germinating in your lawn.
• Mow when your turf reaches a height of 3 inches to encourage thick turf growth that lawn burweeds cannot easily grow through.
• Rake your lawn when leaves, branches, and other plant debris have fallen on it to avoid moisture buildup and turf thinning.
• Continually water your lawn with an inch of irrigation at least once weekly to control moisture levels and encourage new plant growth.
• Fertilize your lawn with a slow-release granular fertilizer like Solutions 15-5-10 Weed & Feed Fertilizer with Trimec throughout the spring season. This will help replenish your turf's nutrient needs and encourage thick growth to lessen space for lawn burweed growth. Use 3.2 to 4.0 lbs of Solutions 15-5-10 Weed & Feed Fertilizer with Trimec per 1,000 sq. ft. Adjust your push or broadcast spreader to the proper calibration, then spread the granules evenly across the treatment area. Wait 1 to 2 days after application, then thoroughly water the granules to activate them. 
• Consistently retreat emerged lawn burweeds when they first appear on your lawn with a post-emergent herbicide like Fahrenheit Herbicide.

Key Takeaways

What is Lawn Burweed?

• Lawn burweed is a common winter annual that begins to show late winter to early spring. Once this weed creates its burs, it becomes a nuisance to homeowners with its sharp, painful spines and depletes the turf's essential nutrients for growth.

How to Get Rid of Lawn Burweed

• To get rid of lawn burweed, you will need to use a post-emergent herbicide like Fahrenheit Herbicide from November to February.

Preventing Lawn Burweed Reinfestation

• Apply Expel Turf Herbicide from late September to October, when weeds usually germinate in turf, to prevent lawn burweed establishment.