Question
My lawn is about 20 years old and sticker-free until this year.  Where do they come from?  Is there any way to get rid of them?

Answer
This weed seed germinates in the fall and remains small through the winter and early spring. You may identify it by the small, fine, almost parsley-like looking leaves. Many people say it looks like a tiny ragweed seedling. The leaves are opposite, hairy and have many lobes.

As temperatures rise in the spring, this weed really takes of. The painful sticker we feel when we walk on them is formed at the junction of the leaf to the stem of the plant, the leaf axil. This happens after flowering, which usually occurs early in April. As the weed grows, it may reach a height of 3 to 4 inches and a diameter of 6 inches.

The best time to control lawn burweed is during the winter; however, we can control it in March. The key to control is to stop it before the plant flowers and the burs or stickers are formed. Even if we control it after the sticker is formed, the sticker will still be in the lawn, just waiting for a bare foot.

Herbicide options include: 2,4-D, Banvel and 2-way and 3-way mixtures of 2,4-D such as Tri-Mec, and Weed-B-Gon can be used. (check lables for active ingredients).

As the weeds will probably have flowered already in your area, they are best controlled next year (seeds will be in the ground already). Early treatment is key.

The seeds can move in from outside.