# How to get rid of sticker burrs ?



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

This never happened to me. Ever. For the last few days, both dogs have been coming in the house covered with stickers every time they go outside. I moved here last summer but strangely there were none last year.

Exactly the ones you see on this old English sheepdog.
https://vetconm.com/getting-stickers-pets-fur/

So 3-4 times a day, I have to remove them from the dogs. Hours of fun !

They’re in my backyard, so if I knew what to look for and how to destroy it, I would do it and solve this problem forever.

Anyone knows ?


----------



## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Reason #538 I could never have a show dog


----------



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

If you are asking what helps get the burrs off your dog...my daughter has resorted to using Cowboy Magic directly on the offending burr. It helps slide it off. If you are asking how to rid your yard of them... I don't know because we used to use Round Up and we all know how bad that is now. Can the dogs be fenced away from the burrs?


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

We had the round kind of burs but sometimes parts of them break off leaving bits and pieces. 

I basically do what is in the article you linked to. I find it’s important to get at the burs as soon as possible because if you leave them, they get more tightly trapped in the hair and can hurt your dog. I keep a comb in my car so I’m prepared if she gets them at the park. 

I would call a professional to identify and get rid of them from your yard.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Charmed said:


> If you are asking what helps get the burrs off your dog...my daughter has resorted to using Cowboy Magic directly on the offending burr. It helps slide it off. If you are asking how to rid your yard of them... I don't know because we used to use Round Up and we all know how bad that is now. Can the dogs be fenced away from the burrs?


They’re not so hard to remove from the dog, it just takes time. I’m looking at identifying the plant or bush responsible for them so I can remove it from my yard. I can’t really add another fence.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Skylar said:


> We had the round kind of burs but sometimes parts of them break off leaving bits and pieces.
> 
> I basically do what is in the article you linked to. I find it’s important to get at the burs as soon as possible because if you leave them, they get more tightly trapped in the hair and can hurt your dog. I keep a comb in my car so I’m prepared if she gets them at the park.
> 
> I would call a professional to identify and get rid of them from your yard.


I guess I’ll have to resort to that if I don’t find answers but but not his year. Fall is here and soon enough there will be snow on the ground.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

In the UK the culprit is burdock, famed as the trigger for the invention of velcro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctium. I would simply examine your yard to see which plant has the horrible burrs, make a note of the leaf shape, and then chop them before the seed heads can form - much safer than spreading weedkiller everywhere. If it is burdock it is a biennial, so preventing it from seeding for a few years should reduce the problem considerably. 

We also have cleavers, AKA sticky buds, which are everywhere but less irritating to the dog and easy to brush out.


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

We had them bad this spring. I actually pulled out a stool and plucked out the plants and two billion of them. A weeks later there was more. You can either pick the spurs off or you can take an old blanket and pull it across the lawn, really anything they could stick too that you are willing to throw away. They will catch on it. They contain seeds and if you don't get rid of them you can likely look forward to there arrival next year. I am going to need to poison my backyard, bring in soil, treat it then put new sod down. Mine is extremely bad. For now they are gone but I've battled these little buggers for the past 3 years.

This is the one that has taken over my yard https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals...eatures/agriculture/stop-sticker-problems-now


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Mufar42 said:


> We had them bad this spring. I actually pulled out a stool and plucked out the plants and two billion of them. A weeks later there was more. You can either pick the spurs off or you can take an old blanket and pull it across the lawn, really anything they could stick too that you are willing to throw away. They will catch on it. They contain seeds and if you don't get rid of them you can likely look forward to there arrival next year. I am going to need to poison my backyard, bring in soil, treat it then put new sod down. Mine is extremely bad. For now they are gone but I've battled these little buggers for the past 3 years.
> 
> This is the one that has taken over my yard https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals...eatures/agriculture/stop-sticker-problems-now


Oh no, this is discouraging... I will have to do some research to fully understand the problem


----------



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Terrible here too. We live at the edge of a woods so it’s a constant. What’s funny is Lily and Gracie will pick at them with their teeth to remove them. They are both in Miami clips so the burrs are often in the bracelets where they can get at them. It’s like it bothers them so they take matters into their own hands! Works for me. 

On another note- As Gracie puppy matures, I’m finding so many parallels in their personalities and mannerisms. I really wish I knew Lily’s origins. The wisdom panel I did 8 years ago made no sense but I’m thinking of repeating it. It’s hard to see much beyond poodle in her!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

OMG!!! Those are TERRIBLE! I would not hesitate to use Round-up. I do not believe it's as bad as those lawyers on TV commercials want you to think so they can make some money suing people. 

I think the only solution is to do like Murfar is going to do. 

Here's why I'm okay with using Roundup. First, I use it exceedingly judicially. And I'm careful and follow the directions. But I do use it sometimes or I just couldn't keep up. This morning I went out and pulled weeds. I did not use Roundup. But there have been times when things started getting away from me so I did or if I needed to kill a very invasive thing that's taking over. 

We all see those lawyers on TV commercials wanting people to hire them to sue people so they can make lots of money. Someone gets cancer and they all jump to the conclusion that it's one particular culprit. I've used it periodically through a lot of years and I'm pretty old and still healthy. So have a lot of people. 

In looking into this, wanting to do the right thing, I came across this article and it makes a lot of sense to me. If you're interested in why I am not freaking out over the dangers of Roundup, here's why:

https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/07/roundup-safe-use/


----------



## SamieNorman (Aug 9, 2019)

Dechi, Norman gets these green burrs ALL OVER his legs!! Before I shaved his face he would literally have almost a hundred in his face... after 1 walk!!! I learned my lesson quick about allowing him to walk into certain ditches...

I use a simple teasing comb on him. This made it a lot easier to get them out in bulk sizes. I will say though it does pull if you get a good clump of the together, so Norman did get annoyed after a while, but it was worth it! I didn't use conditioner or anything (which would have probably helped). But those black little teasing combs worked MAGIC!! Took a lot less time then picking them out by hand.

This is a daily thing for me to use for Norman and so I can understand your frustration.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to get these sticks out of his leg hair and ear fluff that appeared this weekend!! They are half an inch long, thin, brown, and sharp!!!! Literally covered his paws. I have no clue where these came from! HUGE pain to get out. I had to CUT out these things so his legs are now half bald lol! I discovered them when I found a HUGE matt on Norman's paw, filled with these sticks, after seeing Norman biting his foot. So annoying!


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

'Round about this time of year, I keep a close eye on what Tonka's sticking his nose into. If he does pick up some little green burrs, a Mat Rake or Slicker Brush and some time takes them out.

With your little furballs??? Good luck!


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Carolinek said:


> Terrible here too. We live at the edge of a woods so it’s a constant. What’s funny is Lily and Gracie will pick at them with their teeth to remove them. They are both in Miami clips so the burrs are often in the bracelets where they can get at them. It’s like it bothers them so they take matters into their own hands! Works for me.
> 
> On another note- As Gracie puppy matures, I’m finding so many parallels in their personalities and mannerisms. I really wish I knew Lily’s origins. The wisdom panel I did 8 years ago made no sense but I’m thinking of repeating it. It’s hard to see much beyond poodle in her!


Carolinek, aren’t you afraid the dogs may swallow them? I’d be concerned about them getting stuck internally.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Yesterday a kind soul mowed my lawn (it was about 8-10 inches long) and it seems to make a difference. The burr problem coincides with my lawn getting very long so it might be the cause.

Today no burrs, but it was raining so they didn’t go outside for very long.

To be continued...


----------



## dogsavvy (Mar 6, 2015)

Skylar said:


> Carolinek, aren’t you afraid the dogs may swallow them? I’d be concerned about them getting stuck internally.


Our family Doberman used to pick them out of my Mom's two toy Poodles for hours. I've never known of a dog having any health issues from them. My Giant got her leg furnishings coated with them. She'd gotten about 1/4 of them off one leg before I stopped her. Also no issues. I saw a few in the poo a couple of days later. Keep the grass short & it can keep them from going to seed. 

I've just been picking some of those & sheep burs out of my Standard. Ugh. He's brushing up against the fence & getting some


----------



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Skylar said:


> Carolinek, aren’t you afraid the dogs may swallow them? I’d be concerned about them getting stuck internally.


I did think of that Skylar, but if you run the burrs over your skin, or even mucous membranes, they don’t adhere. They don’t get stuck in their mouths when the dogs are picking them out either, so I don’t think they’d adhere to gastric mucosa. It’s the hair they seem to stick to. 

Granted, it’s not a pretty picture thinking about it, but these dogs do put their mouths in places that aren’t really very nice sometimes, lol! Gracie picked up a dead mole on a walk the other day, and I was quite pleased (and relieved) that the “drop it” command worked. But she was very proud of her new found treasure.

Dogsavvy, funny about the Dobie helping the toy poodles! That’s very sweet.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Update : cutting the grass didn’t help much. I can’t use round up either because they are not accessible. They are in between my cedar hedge and metal fence. I would have to crawl underneath the cedar hedge to get to it, and there isn’t enough room to stand. Only the dogs can get there...

I would need a long nozzle to reach. Such a pain...


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

You need one of these https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-2-Gal-Pump-Sprayer-1502HDXA/307766539

Then get some "weed free zone" from your local feed store. Once the temperatures are about 65 degrees but not freezing mix the solution into the sprayer according to directions. This should help and you will probably need to repeat several times until it is under control.


----------



## dogsavvy (Mar 6, 2015)

Carolinek said:


> I did think of that Skylar, but if you run the burrs over your skin, or even mucous membranes, they don’t adhere. They don’t get stuck in their mouths when the dogs are picking them out either, so I don’t think they’d adhere to gastric mucosa. It’s the hair they seem to stick to.
> 
> Granted, it’s not a pretty picture thinking about it, but these dogs do put their mouths in places that aren’t really very nice sometimes, lol! Gracie picked up a dead mole on a walk the other day, and I was quite pleased (and relieved) that the “drop it” command worked. But she was very proud of her new found treasure.
> 
> Dogsavvy, funny about the Dobie helping the toy poodles! That’s very sweet.


If I ever find the picture, I'll share it. It was so cute. I never once heard the Poodles yelp or fuss but you'd hear this grunting sound & they would even lean against the pull. She did not allow stuff in her Poodles' coats at all. I was using a Barbie doll brush one day trying to help the dogs get them out of their coats & there we were, Fancy was between the Doberman's front paws while she worked & pulled. I had Petty between my legs while I used the Barbie brush to work each bur out. The dogs & I had a big bucket full of burs when we were done. 

By the way, Barbie doll brushes DO work for those burs because the teeth are narrow so the hair slides through but the bur doesn't, even the tiny sheep burs.  On the down side, it's a doll brush & it takes some serious time.


----------



## Mel (Apr 4, 2012)

Same thing as Sand Spurs? We have a big problem here and I see Sandy yank them out also. Sometimes she eats them. I guess it has a nutty flavor? My property was left alone for 5 yrs before we bought it and so have been fighting these things ever since. Cutting often helps but sometimes they grow really low and the lawn mower can’t get it.

Every once in awhile I run around with a blanket and pick up and sticky ones laying around. It helps some.. I’ve read they don’t like well maintained yards or fertilizer so that’s what I will be doing come spring..


----------



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

dogsavvy said:


> If I ever find the picture, I'll share it. It was so cute. I never once heard the Poodles yelp or fuss but you'd hear this grunting sound & they would even lean against the pull. She did not allow stuff in her Poodles' coats at all. I was using a Barbie doll brush one day trying to help the dogs get them out of their coats & there we were, Fancy was between the Doberman's front paws while she worked & pulled. I had Petty between my legs while I used the Barbie brush to work each bur out. The dogs & I had a big bucket full of burs when we were done.
> 
> By the way, Barbie doll brushes DO work for those burs because the teeth are narrow so the hair slides through but the bur doesn't, even the tiny sheep burs.  On the down side, it's a doll brush & it takes some serious time.


That’s quite an image with the Barbie brush- who knew!? Maybe I didn’t need my expensive Greyhound comb, lol! 
The more I hear about Dobies, the mor I realize what interesting personalities they have. They seem very sensitive.


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

I too carry a fine tooth comb in my car. If I don't get them out right away they just get more and more stuck. I made a huge mistake last week and threw his ball into the bushes in the woods because he loves to hunt in there for it. I had been doing it all summer with no problem. 

Yikes, disaster!

I guess this is the season for them to ripen and get ready to drop off the plants to plant more babies for next year!

Don't wait thinking the snow is coming. Get them now before they start falling to the ground for sure!


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Oh, I forgot to say, I do not ever let my dog walk in areas where weed killer or even artificial fertilizer is used. I totally avoid any 'perfect looking' lawn.


----------



## Mel (Apr 4, 2012)

Yeah me either. I have all natural fertilizer from my horses and chickens . Come Black Friday I’m hoping to get a manure spreader and do everything by sections so I won’t have poo covered dogs lol.


----------



## dogsavvy (Mar 6, 2015)

Carolinek said:


> That’s quite an image with the Barbie brush- who knew!? Maybe I didn’t need my expensive Greyhound comb, lol!
> The more I hear about Dobies, the mor I realize what interesting personalities they have. They seem very sensitive.



You know, when you're a kid, you don't think about it not being practical... just that's what you have & it worked. LOL

I grew up with Dobermans. I learned to walk holding on to them. The properly bred ones are loveable goofballs with their family, aloof with strangers, dangerous to anyone who dares threaten their family/home. I've not had too many breeds of dogs (generally speaking) who key into their handlers the way Dobies do. My would get up on his stoneware bowl & walk the edge with all 4 feet INSIDE his crate. He was at war with the garden hose because he didn't like it that we hosed my old GSD female down daily. She loved water & would beg to be hosed but the Dobe did not like it. My male was a goofball & positively fearless with the exception of firearms (he purely hated them). He also didn't like water & I wasn't allowed to swim or he'd come get me by the pony tail & try to drag me out  If he didn't like it, I couldn't either...LOL


On the stickers. I discovered something last night. I had Mr. Layne on the groom table & I took the new brush I bought that is a 'wet detangler' brush I got from PetSmart. As I was brushing over his coat those little triangle burs were coming out with no effort & landing on my t-shirt. WHOO-HOO! So I went over the whole dog with it & got out 80% of them it also made it easier to go through with the comb & untangle & pull out those that the first round missed. I have several layers of brush, comb, brush, comb with Show Sheen. I thought I'd share, that 'wet' detangler brush worked!


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Update : it was pretty much last call to prepare for winter before the first snow. I mowed the little bit of lawn I have and saw the burrs, who were by now dead and dried.

So I proceeded to manually pull them out and it was very easy. They didn’t hurt anymore and the roots were easily pulled from the ground. I removed all that were outside my property, but adjacent to it, and also the few that were on my property. I have a very big pile waiting to be put in my compost bin tomorrow.

While I was working, I let the dogs outside, thinking they would benefit from a little fresh air. They wanted to be with me so stayed by the fence where I was working and where the burrs were. Big mistake, they were covered in burrs by the time I was done.

While working, I didn’t realize it but I too was covered in burrs. Literally thousands of them everywhere on my clothes and even some in my hair... I wish I could have just thrown away all my clothes, but I didn’t have that luxury ! I started by hand, then figured I would try a butter knife and a fork. The butter knife proved to be very helpful, but still, it took a long time to remove them all ! And as a bonus, I got a skin reaction on my hands from touching the plants...

Poor dogs were cold and wanted to go inside, so in the house we went. I dried them, removed some of the most obvious burrs on them and we all went for a well deserved break on the sofa, cuddling to get warm.

Phew ! I hope I don’t have to do this once a year...


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Wow, that was one of those lessons we don't want to learn the hard way!

I am wondering about composting them, will they just sprout from the compost pile next year? (You can tell I am not a gardener.)


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

kontiki said:


> Wow, that was one of those lessons we don't want to learn the hard way!
> 
> I am wondering about composting them, will they just sprout from the compost pile next year? (You can tell I am not a gardener.)


Lesson learned indeed ! I don’t actually do the composting. The city collects the content in the bins and takes care of it. I just make sure I do my part by disposing of my compostables the right way.


----------



## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

My Mom was a great composter....you NEVER want to put weeds in the compost pile....they do sprout. Weeds go in the trash. All other grass clippings and leaf trimmings and even dry fallen leaves go in the compost. In the summer, if you have a dry spell without rain you apply water to the compost pile to wet it down so that the plant material decomposes faster. In the fall my Dad would rake leaves into long low piles then run the mower over them to grind them up. Then he would dump the ground leaves into the compost pile. Ground up leaves decompose faster than whole ones. You also can add vegetable trimmings and fruit trimmings from the kitchen. Never add any meat or any animal waste to the piles. Managed properly a compost pile never smells bad or smells at all. We had a beautiful big pile of compost with which to amend the garden and flower beds.

As far as stickers go, someone years ago told me to crush them carefully with pliers, taking care not to pinch the dog. After crushing, a fine comb or slicker brush removes them easily. It really works well. If they are still persistent work some dry cornstarch into the coat and then comb them out. Shake or blow out any excess cornstarch. I have a tiny cat slicker for removing stickers and other plant material from the coat ...it has millions of tiny wire bristles and the small size works well on faces and in small places on the body, like armpits and behind ears.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Viking Queen said:


> My Mom was a great composter....you NEVER want to put weeds in the compost pile....they do sprout. Weeds go in the trash. All other grass clippings and leaf trimmings and even dry fallen leaves go in the compost. In the summer, if you have a dry spell without rain you apply water to the compost pile to wet it down so that the plant material decomposes faster. In the fall my Dad would rake leaves into long low piles then run the mower over them to grind them up. Then he would dump the ground leaves into the compost pile. Ground up leaves decompose faster than whole ones. You also can add vegetable trimmings and fruit trimmings from the kitchen. Never add any meat or any animal waste to the piles. Managed properly a compost pile never smells bad or smells at all. We had a beautiful big pile of compost with which to amend the garden and flower beds.
> 
> As far as stickers go, someone years ago told me to crush them carefully with pliers, taking care not to pinch the dog. After crushing, a fine comb or slicker brush removes them easily. It really works well. If they are still persistent work some dry cornstarch into the coat and then comb them out. Shake or blow out any excess cornstarch. I have a tiny cat slicker for removing stickers and other plant material from the coat ...it has millions of tiny wire bristles and the small size works well on faces and in small places on the body, like armpits and behind ears.


Thanks for the info ! There are no seeds on those dead plants. Just the burrs, which aren’t really burrs, but I don’t know what to call them. They’re flat, very small, and have two little spikes at the end. I tried to find what they were yesterday, looked at hundreds of pictures, but couldn’t. I’ll post a pic of my pile later today, in case someone knows.

I double checked on the city’s composting flyer and they do accept roots and plants.


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

I just did a search. Unless I am totally wrong in my understanding, the burrs are the seeds. Horrors. Some links said you had to burn them to destroy them. I hope I am wrong.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

kontiki said:


> I just did a search. Unless I am totally wrong in my understanding, the burrs are the seeds. Horrors. Some links said you had to burn them to destroy them. I hope I am wrong.


Hum. I really don’t know. As I said, I’m not sure they are burrs. I forgot to take a picture today. It was raining, so I didn’t take care of it.

I wish I knew what plant they are, it would really help. :-(


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

I do know with the type of burs we have here they are the seed pod. Left they will germinate over the winter and so the next season you have 2x as many. I have read to take an old towel or blanket and pull it across the area, after you pull and bag for trash as many as you can). The left over burrs willa teach to the towel and then you bag and throw away. Its the best way to eliminate them. I pulled all mine during the season butane I used the old blanket so I will see come spring but over the winter I plan to pull more areas of weeds, reseal and then buy pieces of sod here or there to cover. Hopefully it will work. But even though my yard is small its a big job to do. The local sod place wants $4000. to do it. I can't honestly put that into the yard for the dogs to tear up so I will patch it up as I go. The burs I have in my yard are the ones with pointy sticker and hurt, there are also those green hitch hikers that attach themselves to you and are also a pain to get rid of but at least those don't hurt. I truly feel your pain with burs.


----------

