We are just over-run with Goat Heads! I only mentioned them on my blog once before as something that I was NOT grateful for.
They are a deceptively pretty plant:
But when they go to seed, they make these terrible goat head seeds that stick into your shoes, and they also hurt!
When I walk around out on the lawn where the goat heads grow, it is not unusual to have 90-100 of those sharp, vicious seeds stuck to the bottom of EACH shoe. And then I have to sit down and pull them all out.
I got the idea to vacuum up the seeds. So today, I spent an hour or more VACUUMING THE LAWN. I bet a lot of people passed by and thought, what a crazy old lady vacuuming the lawn like that!
It worked-ish. I vacuumed up THOUSANDS of those sticky icky seeds! And there are still thousands more.
Last year, I had sent our HOA representative a picture of the bottom of my shoes and said, "We have to do something!" They sprayed, and it was definitely looking better--like, the plants were dying. And then, while I was in Europe, the dead plants sprang to life and reproduced like they were worried about their imminent death, and the seeds are WORSE THAN EVER.
Hence, my decision to vacuum. I did it a bit a few weeks ago with my regular vacuum, and vacuumed up two bags full, but the goat heads would puncture the bag, so I had a mess inside my vacuum. So today, I used the shop vac. I threw away a half a brown grocery bag of these evil things. I don't know if you can do a controlled burn of a lawn in the city, but does our lawn ever need it.
I do not love goat heads.
They are a deceptively pretty plant:
But when they go to seed, they make these terrible goat head seeds that stick into your shoes, and they also hurt!
When I walk around out on the lawn where the goat heads grow, it is not unusual to have 90-100 of those sharp, vicious seeds stuck to the bottom of EACH shoe. And then I have to sit down and pull them all out.
I got the idea to vacuum up the seeds. So today, I spent an hour or more VACUUMING THE LAWN. I bet a lot of people passed by and thought, what a crazy old lady vacuuming the lawn like that!
It worked-ish. I vacuumed up THOUSANDS of those sticky icky seeds! And there are still thousands more.
Last year, I had sent our HOA representative a picture of the bottom of my shoes and said, "We have to do something!" They sprayed, and it was definitely looking better--like, the plants were dying. And then, while I was in Europe, the dead plants sprang to life and reproduced like they were worried about their imminent death, and the seeds are WORSE THAN EVER.
Hence, my decision to vacuum. I did it a bit a few weeks ago with my regular vacuum, and vacuumed up two bags full, but the goat heads would puncture the bag, so I had a mess inside my vacuum. So today, I used the shop vac. I threw away a half a brown grocery bag of these evil things. I don't know if you can do a controlled burn of a lawn in the city, but does our lawn ever need it.
I do not love goat heads.
1 comment:
Ouch! What an interesting seed...and to stick in your shoes like that! I have a cute visual of you vacuuming the lawn though. :) Sorry for your goathead misery!
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