Winter is the best time to kill spurweed, a.k.a. "stickers" in your yard with a broadleaf herbicide containing 2, 4-D. The window for a post-emergent treatment is from December to February during your grass's dormant period, while the winter annual weed is green and growing but hasn't had a chance to bloom and set seed. In late spring, spurweed seeds become the stickers that are painful for you, your children and pets. Once the seeds are set, herbicides are not effective for control. Your only other option for control is to rake them up or get the grass to grow enough to buffer the stickers. If spurweed in the lawn goes untreated and seed are set each year, the weed will continue to spread and exacerbate the sticker problem.

If your yard is primarily Bermuda and it is TOTALLY dormant, a light spray of Round-up will work. Round-up is only recommended for dormant Bermuda. Don’t miss this window of opportunity to treat spurweed in your yard! For more information, call the Howard County Extension Office at 870-845-7517.