I live in Midwest Ohio and have been fighting these weeds year over year pulling by hand and they always come back with a vengeance! What should I be applying to help fight these stupid thistles??
You need something with Triclopyr in it, Crossbow is one example
Benwillimzz
I have a similar problem in my backyard- Canadian Thistle. It comes back every year but I just blast it with this and it takes care of it for another year. Wont kill your grass either
Kill it with Triclopyr, then pull them by leather gloved hand or stand up weeder.
If you don’t get the entire root it splits and you get more. So the herbicide kills it, then a few days later you pull them so they don’t drop seeds. Then… preemergent on the fall to prevent new seeds from germinating.
anjang86
I tried hand pulling but it was too much work to try and get all the way to the roots.
This season I went out every week and sprayed them selectively with roundup on the mulch beds and with thistledown in the grass and it’s been working out great. Start ASAP
soyknee
Milestone works well for thistle
Holiday_Bar_9182
One of the nastiest perennial weeds. Like other posts have said spray it with Tri and pull every last one of those suckers. Dense lawns prevent weeds;unfortunately it’s getting a lil too late to do any overseeding. Definitely something you should look into doing around mid to late August.
treadonmedaddy420
Grandpas weeder is a godsend. Got to get it by the root. And this thing does. Not much bending down. I weeded my whole lawn in less than an hour and only have spotted two or three since.
jmarkmark
Just keep at it. Try to get them when they’re small (so at least weekly) It’ll take a few years to get rid of all of them. They can have tap roots that go down many feet, so they’ll happily come back many times, especially if you let them live long enough to recharge the root.
Invest in one of the easy to use weed removers you can use while standing.
someguyfromsk
Chemical warfare is you only option. Thistle doesn’t go away by asking nicely. You have to kill every molecule of root or it will come back.
martman006
My backyard in Texas was completely infested with this years ago. Celcius WG knocked that shit on its ass, but it’ll absolutely destroy cool season grass too…
greene2358
I had these in my yard in Western NY. I hit it with triple action and it killed it. Yellowed and died. Mowed and it’s gone now.
NickAppleese
These are perfect targets for Grandpa’s Weeder.
alexingalls09
I use undiluted roundup and paint it on with q tips because thistle roots grow like 6ft deep and spread like crazy through the root systems so if you aren’t killing the roots enough they will just pop up in new spots forever
Deepcreeks
Try Fiesta
too_late_bro
Have you tried speedzone? I overspray my whole yard with it. Amazing stuff. Have done same with Drive XLR8.
Time_Housing6903
If I have time, I spot spray weekly.
N7_Guru
Weed and feed
zip840
Spot spray with round up.
Chip89
That’s Canada thistle there isn’t much you can do. I’ve been trying to kill of it for 10+ years it’s basically impossible to get rid of.
Several-Honey-8810
Do you have a bird feeder with thistle seeds?
dtwade26
Kill with triclopyr and pull it a few weeks later with grandpa’s weeder. Leaves a smaller hole and kills the root before pulling
sevargmas
Depending on your grass type, Round Up for Lawns is fantastic. Walk around your lawn and spot spray them. Takes five minutes. Go around again about four days or so later and do it again. They will all be gone.
There’s a reason why thistle keeps coming back over and over again. Granted, this image is of Canadian Thistle which is particularly aggressive, but all thistles have deep roots which makes them very resilient to hand pulling (and extremely drought tolerant)
Pro77777
Tordon worked for me after hand pulling them consistently for 4 years didn’t work. Applied tordon last summer and nothing came back this year.
Marley3102
Google chemical control of thistle.
isarobs
Thistledown. Purchased on Amazon. Small bottle goes a long way. Got rid of mine, and I even sprayed on the lawn and grass was fine.
sweeperq
Pull the ones you can find using Grandpas Weeder or a Fiskars 4 prong. You can use Round Up Northern Formula Weed Killer (make sure it is the one that explicitly says “Won’t harm lawns.”) When we had thistles like that it was because my wife was using mixed bird seed to feed the birds. Thistle is one of the seeds and the birds spread it everywhere. Asked her switch to sunflower seeds only and the problem mostly went away.
Shamino79
Thistle seeds can remain alive for many many years if well buried. Which can happen easy enough if you pull one with a tap root and some surface soil containing seeds falls way in. Even pulling or killing them perfectly you can still have years of seedbank to work through. And then one year you can be surprised that the numbers fall way off.
reilo119
Trimec should knock thoes little bastards right out
Diligent-Context-596
Use “lontrel”. Super effective, and they don’t come back, one application and they witter away in a couple days.
Roundup drops ever so slightly on the leaves. This is possible with a sprayer at low pressure. Do this all the time. Sometimes grass gets it, but fills in next year with overseeding.
FindingFrenchFries
Just keep mowing them like you do with your grass. Grass is the weediest plant known to man. It shouldn’t be any worse than that.
greatauror28
I’ve had my lawn for almost 5 years now and before I just pull them out every time, same with dandelions and crab grass. But this Spring i’ve had enough.
I bought Ortho Killex the type you use with a garden hose and sprayed my front and back lawn.
It’s been two weeks now and all the existing broadleaf weeds are gone.
37 Comments
You need something with Triclopyr in it, Crossbow is one example
I have a similar problem in my backyard- Canadian Thistle. It comes back every year but I just blast it with this and it takes care of it for another year. Wont kill your grass either
https://preview.redd.it/l1g496784s5f1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3bcf054b1eace28a1e693933b4e2129eff58e300
Prodiamine in the spring…
Combo of everyone above.
Kill it with Triclopyr, then pull them by leather gloved hand or stand up weeder.
If you don’t get the entire root it splits and you get more. So the herbicide kills it, then a few days later you pull them so they don’t drop seeds. Then… preemergent on the fall to prevent new seeds from germinating.
I tried hand pulling but it was too much work to try and get all the way to the roots.
This season I went out every week and sprayed them selectively with roundup on the mulch beds and with thistledown in the grass and it’s been working out great. Start ASAP
Milestone works well for thistle
One of the nastiest perennial weeds. Like other posts have said spray it with Tri and pull every last one of those suckers. Dense lawns prevent weeds;unfortunately it’s getting a lil too late to do any overseeding. Definitely something you should look into doing around mid to late August.
Grandpas weeder is a godsend. Got to get it by the root. And this thing does. Not much bending down. I weeded my whole lawn in less than an hour and only have spotted two or three since.
Just keep at it. Try to get them when they’re small (so at least weekly) It’ll take a few years to get rid of all of them. They can have tap roots that go down many feet, so they’ll happily come back many times, especially if you let them live long enough to recharge the root.
Invest in one of the easy to use weed removers you can use while standing.
Chemical warfare is you only option. Thistle doesn’t go away by asking nicely. You have to kill every molecule of root or it will come back.
My backyard in Texas was completely infested with this years ago. Celcius WG knocked that shit on its ass, but it’ll absolutely destroy cool season grass too…
I had these in my yard in Western NY. I hit it with triple action and it killed it. Yellowed and died. Mowed and it’s gone now.
These are perfect targets for Grandpa’s Weeder.
I use undiluted roundup and paint it on with q tips because thistle roots grow like 6ft deep and spread like crazy through the root systems so if you aren’t killing the roots enough they will just pop up in new spots forever
Try Fiesta
Have you tried speedzone? I overspray my whole yard with it. Amazing stuff. Have done same with Drive XLR8.
If I have time, I spot spray weekly.
Weed and feed
Spot spray with round up.
That’s Canada thistle there isn’t much you can do. I’ve been trying to kill of it for 10+ years it’s basically impossible to get rid of.
Do you have a bird feeder with thistle seeds?
Kill with triclopyr and pull it a few weeks later with grandpa’s weeder. Leaves a smaller hole and kills the root before pulling
Depending on your grass type, Round Up for Lawns is fantastic. Walk around your lawn and spot spray them. Takes five minutes. Go around again about four days or so later and do it again. They will all be gone.
https://preview.redd.it/ils7unbfdt5f1.jpeg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7fd0bb724e1dc2bf76fdc7b36a383f8a5b5b3b5
There’s a reason why thistle keeps coming back over and over again. Granted, this image is of Canadian Thistle which is particularly aggressive, but all thistles have deep roots which makes them very resilient to hand pulling (and extremely drought tolerant)
Tordon worked for me after hand pulling them consistently for 4 years didn’t work. Applied tordon last summer and nothing came back this year.
Google chemical control of thistle.
Thistledown. Purchased on Amazon. Small bottle goes a long way. Got rid of mine, and I even sprayed on the lawn and grass was fine.
Pull the ones you can find using Grandpas Weeder or a Fiskars 4 prong. You can use Round Up Northern Formula Weed Killer (make sure it is the one that explicitly says “Won’t harm lawns.”) When we had thistles like that it was because my wife was using mixed bird seed to feed the birds. Thistle is one of the seeds and the birds spread it everywhere. Asked her switch to sunflower seeds only and the problem mostly went away.
Thistle seeds can remain alive for many many years if well buried. Which can happen easy enough if you pull one with a tap root and some surface soil containing seeds falls way in. Even pulling or killing them perfectly you can still have years of seedbank to work through. And then one year you can be surprised that the numbers fall way off.
Trimec should knock thoes little bastards right out
Use “lontrel”. Super effective, and they don’t come back, one application and they witter away in a couple days.
Amazon link to it below, just for reference.
https://a.co/d/33aj68R
[https://a.co/d/6FrfNmc](https://a.co/d/6FrfNmc)
This is what I use. Outstanding.
Roundup drops ever so slightly on the leaves. This is possible with a sprayer at low pressure. Do this all the time. Sometimes grass gets it, but fills in next year with overseeding.
Just keep mowing them like you do with your grass. Grass is the weediest plant known to man. It shouldn’t be any worse than that.
I’ve had my lawn for almost 5 years now and before I just pull them out every time, same with dandelions and crab grass. But this Spring i’ve had enough.
I bought Ortho Killex the type you use with a garden hose and sprayed my front and back lawn.
It’s been two weeks now and all the existing broadleaf weeds are gone.
https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-LG5482-0-5-PT-Thistledown/dp/B005G6J266?th=1
I blanket sprayed tenacity and speed zone last month. Most of these weeds are now gone.
I also picked up a grandpa’s weeder to get these out of the mulch. Work well.