# Noxious Weeds



## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Who takes care of them? I've just noticed a lot of thistle growing anywhere and everywhere. Is it legal to go just spray them and kill them? They just seem to be getting out of hand and taking over. Also, is there anywhere you can get a spray that is safe but kills them and there seeds?


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Here is the Utah Noxious Weeds Field Guide. (PDF format)


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

The best way to take care of invasive thistles is with a shovel before they flower and go to seed. Just pop the root about two inches below the soil.
Usually thistles isolate themselves from each other by a few feet so IMO it is just as easy with the shovel instead of dragging around a sprayer. Occasionally, particularly in overgrazed areas, you may see them in large masses where spraying may work when they are less than a foot high, typical weed killers however will not affect the seeds. You can get pre-emergent sprays that will kill the seeds, but it is not specific for just thistle and would also kill some beneficial plant seeds so I would not use pre-emergents.
We used to have them bad on our pastures, but after a couple of years of popping them with the shovel they haven't been back.
Good luck.


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## ACHY (Oct 18, 2007)

I'm not sure I agree with the shovel method. Yes, it can be easier than dragging a sprayer around with you but I don't think it is as effective. (Of course, you have to have an applicator license to get the good stuff :wink: ) I have dug lots of thistles from pastures and they almost always grow back. I usually dig them in the summer just before the flowers open up and they still manage to grow back and flower before the summer is over. Perhaps they wouldn't grow back the same year if they weren't in an irrigated field, but still.

No matter what method you use, it is never a one time job. You have to go back year after year.

Perhaps the best thing you can do is contact the land owner and report the location. They actually have a legal obligation to control them. And most state and federal agencies have programs to deal with them. County weed departments are set up to do the same. Just be aware that they may be stretched thin and might not get around to it for a while, but they should be able to hit big problem areas, and they can keep doing it for several years. 

One more thought. There are biocontrol agents (beetles and other bugs, I think) for thistles that prevent them from flowering. It is possible they have some of those. But probably not.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

We've had them pretty bad for the last few years up at our cabin. We also heard that trampling or pulling, or cutting them off can make them worse. The forest service guy told us to spray for them every spring before they flower, and to spray any we see popping up after that. We've been pretty diligent for the last couple summers and it has really helped. This summer they were a lot thinner than in the past. I think the biggest thing is to stay on them with the spray. Don't let them flower and spread their seeds.


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

ACHY said:


> I'm not sure I agree with the shovel method. Yes, it can be easier than dragging a sprayer around with you but I don't think it is as effective. (Of course, you have to have an applicator license to get the good stuff :wink: ) I have dug lots of thistles from pastures and they almost always grow back. I usually dig them in the summer just before the flowers open up and they still manage to grow back and flower before the summer is over....


Ah - in the Basin you have those prehistoric dinosaur thistles left over from the Jurassic! 



ChaserOfAllBirds said:


> We've had them pretty bad for the last few years up at our cabin. We also heard that trampling or pulling, or cutting them off can make them worse.....


Yes, unless you get at least two inches of the root just trampling or cutting them triggers the plant to send up multiple shoots with multiple flower heads.


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