How To Get Rid Of Stickers In Yard

There’s nothing more bothersome than a yard overrun with stickers! 

These pesky little weeds have a way of sticking to everything they can.

Whether it’s your kids clothes or your pets, they soon find their way into your home and your car.

Stickers are a real nuisance and this guide will help you have a sticker free yard. 

So, how do we get rid of all of these pesky stickers?

Types of Stickers in Your Lawn

The first step in removing the stickers from your lawn is to identify them.

The different types of stickers are all very similar, but each variety has its own unique properties.

Here are some of the most common types of stickers: 

• Burweed
• Grass Stickers
• Grass Burrs
• Lawn Burrs
• Pricking Monsters
• Sandburs
• Stickers Weeds

Stickers are a type of plant that produces seeds in either spring or fall.

These burs are actually the seeds of the plant!

The fact that they stick to everything is just how the plant gets its seeds to new locations. 

Removing them is difficult work and can take multiple seasons.

Let’s go over the most common ways to get these seeds out of your yard. 

Quick Tips for Stickers in Your Grass

• Stickers are most commonly spread by the family dog. You can either limit access to the yard or even consider fencing off the area of your yard that has the most stickers if this is a problem for your family.
• Stickers can’t compete with a healthy lawn. Whether you are growing a standard lawn or something more natural, if it’s healthy and full, the stickers just can’t thrive in that environment. The less barren your yard is, the fewer stickers you’ll have to deal with. 
• You can easily pick up stickers before their roots get too deep. This is the easiest and fastest way to deal with a small sticker problem. 

Now let’s get into some more in-depth solutions. 

Dealing With those Pesky Sticker Burs

There are several ways to deal with stickers.

The best time to deal with these weeds is when they are just seeds!

These solutions will help you through the spring when these plants are either young or still just seeds. 

Some of these solutions are not pet or children friendly.

We’ll flag up any solutions that use dangerous herbicides or other chemicals.

Natural methods work just fine to get rid of stickers, they just might take a little longer. 

Mow Your Lawn

It sounds simple right? 

There’s a little trick to this solution.

Just mow your lawn and the stickers will go away!

However, there is a trick to this method that you’ll have to follow to get it to work. 

Here’s how this solution works.

Lower your lawn mower a few notches to give your lawn a close shave.

You also need to make sure that your mower’s bag is attached.

This solution will not work without the bag attachment.

Mow your lawn three days in a row in the early spring. 

This not only takes out young stickers, it also catches their seeds in the mower’s bag. 

This solution might not get rid of the stickers forever, so you might need to reapply this as needed. 

Use Herbicide

This solution will work, but you might not want to do it. 

Herbicides can be harmful to children and pets.

If you use this method, make sure to apply it when you can get away from the house for a few days. 

Each brand of herbicide has its own instructions for use.

Some require you to apply it multiple times while others only need you to use it once.

Make sure to follow the directions on the packaging for the best results. 

There is a type of herbicide known as “pre-emergent” herbicide.

These take out plants that have not yet emerged from the soil, but leave the more established plants fully intact. 

Use Some Fertilizer! 

Yes! Contrary to what it might seem like, fertilizer can take out stickers. 

So, how can a product designed to help plants grow eliminate these pesky weeds? 

Well, one thing to know about stickers is that they do not stand up to competition very well.

A yard full of healthy plants that are growing strong will leave no room for stickers to take hold in your yard.

Fertilizer helps your other plants grow strong which forces the stickers out. 

In general, the more you work to keep your yard healthy, the less of a problem stickers will be. 

The Vinegar Method

Vinegar can also kill stickers. 

This method, along with the lawn mowing and fertilizer methods, are great choices for people who don’t want to use toxic herbicides. 

The process here is pretty simple, but you’re going to want to repeat it and be ready to put some work in.

Here’s how it works. 

• Fill a spray bottle with some white vinegar.
• Spray your stickers. Make sure to avoid the surrounding plants as vinegar kills a wide range of plant life and not just stickers. 
• Remove dead sticker plants. 
• Regularly rake and mow your lawn to remove stickers that have already gotten away from the main plant. 

This solution will have you 100% sticker free, but you’ll need to repeat it as needed.

It might even take a few seasons to fully remove all of the stickers in your yard.

These weeds are hardy and can take a little bit of a beating. 

No matter what solutions you pick, those stickers will be out of your yard in no time at all.

Yard Sticker FAQ

What are Stickers?

Stickers are a weed that produces annoying burs. The sticker weed is also known as Soliva pterosperma.

The burs are seeds that stick to everything. They can even be painful if they stick to skin or get stepped on. 

Are Stickers Dangerous?

No, stickers are not dangerous.

While it might hurt a little if you step on one, they are not poisonous and can not harm people or pets. 

How Do I Naturally Get Rid of Stickers? 

It’s easy.

Follow our lawn mowing or vinegar solution to remove these plants without having to use any dangerous chemicals.