clearing goat head thorns

Tiff · #1 11/20/11, 06:53 PM

I am having a problem with some serious thorns that I have been told are "goat head thorns". They grow on viney 3 foot long branches that spread out flat on the ground. Each branch has dozen of extremely sharp, bone hard thorns that bring tears if you step on one or pick one up.

In my 1/4 acre paddock I have just had chickens who haven't been bothered, but I just brought 2 goats home, who ARE bothered! I keep pulling thorns out of their feet, and it is a real problem.

Any suggestions to get rid of these? I can pull the branches but there are hundreds of thorns left on the ground. I have started raking with a leaf rake and scooping up bucketsfull of dirt and thorns. Anything easier come to mind?

WildernesFamily · #2 11/20/11, 08:33 PM

Sorry, no better ideas. We had a small patch of these at our last house. We would pull the weeds (and pull and pull, every year) and then walk over the area in our rubber soled shoes to pick up the thorns... which we would then sit and pick out. Rinse and repeat. This was just a small area between our house and neighbor's in suburbia.

They are nasty and I suspect they have some kind of poison as well, because the sting from stepping on one last a few days.

Perhaps a good burn sometime?

am1too · #3 11/20/11, 10:45 PM

How big an area is it you want to dethorn? I would burn it. water it till greeen burn and till it. Repeat till nothing grows. then plant whatever I wanted. You might get by the burning by frequent tilling. What this does is disturb the growth cycle. When tilled it causes the thorns to sprout and grow. Then the tilling also disturbs the the roots. It might seem like you have more at first. Works kinda like heavy traffic. Ever notice the bare dirt path?

am1too · #4 11/20/11, 10:49 PM

One could also sift the soil to shorten the process. When I lived in S Calif they would cover the area with tar paper and weight it down for a couple years I think the process takes 5 though. Ask the Co extension office what the seed life is.

Tiff · #5 11/21/11, 12:47 AM

It is desert dirt and nothing intended to grow there ... Pulling them when green is no problem, its only when they are dead and dried that the thorns drop and become a nightmare! I have a good heavy pair of flipflops that I do use to "pick up" the thorns with,but it just takes forever!

frankva · #6 11/21/11, 09:52 AM

Also called devil's heads in CO. Burn sounds good. Hoe them off and dispose of the green plant matter.
Maybe fling some water at the area to get new ones to sprout, then hoe.

They will travel distance on hooves, feet. So look to the side.

Time and diligence.

If I recall it was traced back to an imported shipment of wheat, but I am fuzzy.

Tiff · #7 11/21/11, 10:44 AM

The plants are all dead and dry so while I can remove the branches it is the thorns that I am trying to pick up. I thought about using a shop vac but that would take forever too ... Ugh I am frustrated!

frankva · #8 11/22/11, 06:41 AM

Drag an old towel rug something. Might work. Worth trying.

I have never tried grass raking them.

Good luck.

DanielY · #9 11/22/11, 07:05 AM

Here is what I know about them. once they have grown, dried out and dropped the seeds. you will have them for 3 years at least. and that is if you never let another one grow and produce new seed. Some seed will sprout as soon as it gets wet. others the next year and yet others the following year. after that the seeds pretty much rot and are no longer a problem. If you cut them off at ground level when they first sprout up you can get them stopped. the problem is you have to keep up with it. It is very likely they have been spread to an even wider area by now.
Round up might work to kill them young as well. Never tried it.
Gear up for war. that is all I can really say. Btu you can win it. Understanding your enemy is the key.

Tiff · #10 11/23/11, 12:52 AM

Thanks for all of the ideas and info ... I lived on this property from 2003-2006, and was on top of all the yardwork. I had only encountered them when they were green and easy to pull, although painful even with gloves! My tenant unfortunately let the entire yard go to seed, so after 5 years of that, it is going to be hard. If I had known the goat/chicken paddock was so infested I would have passed on these two!

One suggestion a friend had was to use a heavy lawn roller and sheets of plastic or foam for the thorns t stick in to. Or like Frank suggested, a towel? I just know I need to do something to help my poor goats!!