 Hi, I'm Shane Harris with the Albuquerque Extension System. Today we're going to talk about lawn birdweed. Here we have a large patch of lawn birdweed that has come up over the wintertime and is going to be a problem in this backyard because it's beginning to seed and develop those painful burrs that we don't want to have in our feet. So today we're going to talk about controlling lawn birdweed here in the spring. If you look close between the blades of your grass and your lawn, you might find a very bad weed, lawn birdweed, and it's spiny fruit. This low-growing annual weed pops up in the lawn each winter and by late spring it develops small fruit with very sharp spines. A fun spring day, playing or walking barefoot in the yard can quickly turn sour. You really don't notice this weed until you actually step on it, ouch. These are the stickers that inflict pain on those bare feet. This is when homeowners decide it's necessary to do something to get rid of it. When lawn birdweed is a very small plant, it's much easier to control it in November through February. During this time, it has not yet developed its spiny tip burrs. One can spray the lawn with a broadleaf herbicide to control it. Those containing 2,4-D and are labeled for broadleaf weed control are typically effective. The best strategy, however, to control lawn birdweed is to put out a pre-emergent herbicide in late September to early October before the winter weeds begin to germinate. Unfortunately, most people do not notice lawn birdweed until spring, but waiting to spring is too late. If you wait to control lawn birdweed in April and May, the spines have already formed by this time, and it will remain until the weed withers and dies. This is when people happen to step on the stickers. Because lawn birdweed is the winter annual, it will soon die when the air temperatures reach about 90 degrees. But the dried-up stickers will still be there. For more information on home and garden questions that you might have, including weed control, visit us online at aces.edu.