Goat Heads...

[WAYNO]

Aka puncturevine and caltrop.

I was east of the mountains all weekend. Irrigon, Oregon to be exact. Seems Umatilla and Irrigon is the world capital for these very nasty weeds that seem to grow overnight, producing the most awful thorns.

I have spent much of my life hunting the dry side of Oregon, and I had never experienced Goat Heads until this weekend. From the research I've done since I got home, I'm discovering this is an invasive species of weed in much of the arid parts of this country. I've also discovered that although they thrive in places with almost no water, they can also grow in more reasonable climates, including Western Oregon. The extension services of the agricultural colleges in the west are begging folks to get control of these weeds, and from what I saw in Irrigon, not enough folks are taking it seriously. They are everywhere!

WAYNO.

 

[contender]

Ouch! That might even give my bare feet a bit of a problem!

Invasive weeds & such are a problem in many places. Here in the south,,, kudzu has been a bane on us for decades.

 

[mikewriter]

Used to encounter a lot of them in Central Texas as a boy visiting my grandmother.

Mike

 

[trebor44]

Spread the word "smoking them will get you high", that should take care of the problem! They are everywhere and yes they hurt when you step on them barefooted in the house!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Those were the bane of my bicycling youth. They were everywhere. The only way to avoid them was to stay on the road and sidewalks.

A funny film unearthed from the storage locker of a now-defunct, small, Burbank production company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E95lxyZkGw

 

[CGDustDevil]

I pick these things up out here in the desert in Az as well. Nasty things. They'll make your feet leak, flatten your tires and cause no end of misery.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I grew up with those things.
Stepped on thousands of them as a kid running around barefooted.
They were probably the main reason for flat tires on bikes when I was a kid.
They are not very dog friendly either.

 

[WAYNO]

Those were the bane of my bicycling youth. They were everywhere. The only way to avoid them was to stay on the road and sidewalks.

A funny film unearthed from the storage locker of a now-defunct, small, Burbank production company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E95lxyZkGw

Thanks. This is a good little video, showing just how awful these weeds are.

And from what I've seen, roads and sidewalks are not immune. Every crack and crevice in the cement or asphalt is a garden spot for goat heads.

WAYNO.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

It's just about "goat head season" here for bicyclists, when the vines start to dry up and the little buggers get everywhere. Being on the road is no security. I try to get in a ride of 9-10 miles several evenings a week as the weather starts to change, and in a "good year" for goatheads, a puncture an evening is not unusual...

Rick C

 

[Poco Oso]

I don't know if they still do it but, Irrigon had a dollar a bag (large trash bag) bounty on them a few years ago. We have them here too. I know for a fact, they'll penetrate a flip-flop.

 

[Mtneer]

I grew up in western Idaho, about 40 miles west of Boise. Those things were horrible there, puncturing our bike tires and bare feet alongside the local drain ditches and canals where we'd swim in the summertime. They'd even puncture car tires. And occasionally, a flimsy, rubber soled shoe was no match for the exceptionally long-horned Goat Head.

However, my wife and I moved to eastern Idaho when I got out of the service in 1972. There were no Goat Heads here back then, about 30 miles south of Pocatello. I didn't see my first Goat Head around here until my wife and I were out for a walk about 15 years ago. She never even seen one before, and I explained what they are and how they spread.

Now, I have to spray for them three times every year, spring, mid-summer and early fall, or else our gravel driveway would be a solid mat of what I grew up calling "puncture-weed." Our Cocker Spaniel (Ruger) is scared to even walk out in the driveway, and we have to use that puncture sealant in our bicycle tires - which helps somewhat. I think steel-belted, radial car and pick-up tires (something we didn't have when I was a kid) must be somewhat less susceptible to "death by Goat Heads." :shock:

 

[coach]

Those things just look nasty. We have a few prickly things in Maryland, but I never ran into something like that.

 

[Colonialgirl]

WHY NOT HARVEST THEM and let the Iranians, Syrians and every where they have ISIS discover this marvelous plant; I'm sure they would appreciate it and maybe their camels and goats would eat them.
AT LEAST it would probably flatten tires on their Toyota Pickups with the machine guns.

Why, you could SEED the earth from the air.

 

[toysoldier]

When I moved into my current home, I discovered a patch of goatheads about 6"x8' in my side yard. It was September, and most of the thorns had fallen off. I took my shop vac out there and vacuumed the whole area. The next spring, as new plants sprouted, I hit the area with broadleaf weedkiller. One more spray later that summer, and they were gone forever. A few years later, I noticed that my neighbor's yard had goatheads scattered over a small area. I didn't ask permission, I just went over and sprayed weedkiller on them. Again, problem gone. I have found individual plants on the roadside as I walk the dirt roads around our rural subdivision. I pull them out before they can set seed and toss them into the road to be run over.

 

[nvbirdman]

Growing up in Los Angeles I learned to hate goatheads, and I've hated them consistently for seventy years.

 

[Sin6Sec63451022]

There's NO shortage of them in Longbeach, WA!

 

[Rumrunner]

I think I would take them over honey Locust. Their thorns can be over 8 inches long. My last two flat tires on my trucks have been from honey locust. They give a heck of an infection when you get stuck by them.

 

[737tdi]

Got them here.

 

[Cracker-American]

Had them in South Florida as I grew up. If you stepped on them, or rode your bike over them, as they grew in dirt it was uncomfortable. If you stepped on them or rode your bike over them where they grew over the road or sidewalk you got a flat and a painful puncture.

I don't think I ever heard the term "goat head" used. The terms used were profane to say the least.

 

[BearBio]

Real BIG issue in Washington, as well.

 

[737tdi]

I think I would take them over honey Locust. Their thorns can be over 8 inches long. My last two flat tires on my trucks have been from honey locust. They give a heck of an infection when you get stuck by them.

Y'all have honey locust trees as well. We have them here. Thorn tree from hell. They are actually pretty trees but can be a hassle. You can use the thorns as a lethal weapon.

Karl

 

[wolfsong]

Had them in South Florida as I grew up. If you stepped on them, or rode your bike over them, as they grew in dirt it was uncomfortable. If you stepped on them or rode your bike over them where they grew over the road or sidewalk you got a flat and a painful puncture.

I don't think I ever heard the term "goat head" used. The terms used were profane to say the least.

In the Sarasota, Fla. area we called them sand spurs.

Got goat's heads all over the ranch here in Central Cal. I particularly despise the ones that I call "snipers". You know, the one or two that you inadvertently pick up and transfer into the house, where they fall off and hide in the carpet. Then, when you least expect it - usually late at night on the way to the loo, they strike! And ya can't find them because, well, it's dark! Unless, of course, it's deeply embedded in the sole of your foot...

 

[Mtneer]

Had them in South Florida as I grew up. If you stepped on them, or rode your bike over them, as they grew in dirt it was uncomfortable. If you stepped on them or rode your bike over them where they grew over the road or sidewalk you got a flat and a painful puncture.

I don't think I ever heard the term "goat head" used. The terms used were profane to say the least.

In the Sarasota, Fla. area we called them sand spurs.

Got goat's heads all over the ranch here in Central Cal. I particularly despise the ones that I call "snipers". You know, the one or two that you inadvertently pick up and transfer into the house, where they fall off and hide in the carpet. Then, when you least expect it - usually late at night on the way to the loo, they strike! And ya can't find them because, well, it's dark! Unless, of course, it's deeply embedded in the sole of your foot...

Yep, "snipers" is real good name for the Goat Heads that hide in your carpets. Strange though, where I grew up (western Idaho) what we called "sand spurs" was an entirely different type of almost equally pesky burrs. They looked like these - http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-kill-sand-spurs/

They were especially bad in the fall. By the end of pheasant season, our poor Brittany Spaniels were danged near bald because the only way to get the sand spurs out of their hair was with a pair of scissors.

Sand spurs is the reason why I still carry a flexible pocket comb, even though I don't have much hair left. As a teen-aged pheasant hunter, I learned the way to get the sand spurs off your pants legs, without bloodying your fingertips, was to flick them off with a plastic pocket comb.

 

[eveled]

Is there any plant that thrives on neglect, that is beneficial? Why does everything have to poke sting bite cut or poison you?

 

[Mtneer]

Is there any plant that thrives on neglect, that is beneficial? Why does everything have to poke sting bite cut or poison you?

:lol: :lol: :lol: Genesis 3:18

 

[exavid]

I hate 'em. I first became aware of them when we moved to Edwards, AFB. Drove me crazy keeping my bicycle then my Cushman scooter tires from going flat. Canned milk in the tubes did a decent job of sealing the punctures but sure stunk when you let the air out of the tube. Had fits with those things in Washington state and we have 'em here too. The local poison oak is almost preferable to those.