It's the burrs that cause the problems. They're often called cockleburrs, though that's not correct. The cockleburr comes from a different plant, though the burrs are about the same size and cause as much trouble. Last fall I spent hours untangling the burdock variety of burr trouble from the dogs' coats. The goats' beards turned into tangled, matted messes in one afternoon of grazing, so I took the easy way out and cut their beards off. The sheep? Well...that was just sad...they'd have been embarrassed if they'd been allowed mirrors.
2 comments:
Thanks for giving a name to a weed that I absolutely despise. You're right--it's everywhere! And oh, yes, the poor sheep who mess with it. No mirrors in our barn. : )
What can be done? My horses brought the burrs in on their manes. I have the plants growing behind the barn. Roundup wouldn't touch them. Digging with a mattock is hard especially after they start to bolt and their stems get woody. Last year, I decided to wait till they bloomed and cut off the plants and burn them. I thought this would eventually take care of the problem, as I understood they were biennial. Maybe not? However, I just went out to do the job this year, and found I was cutting sprouts on the stumps from last year in many cases. My husband says 2-4D is the answer. We have another infestation at the back of our property where cattle have probably been lying under the shade and dropping the seeds.
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