Russian Thistles

[SoonerP226]

In that one little spot, a couple dozen musk thistle plants showed up. The next year after blooming, about 40 acres were infested and the year after with the rancher not doing a danged thing to control them, it exploded to hundreds of acres all up and down the river
Neighbor finally had to go out there and spray as the plants can get 6' tall, and I threatened to turn him in as it's illegal to let them propagate.

Up the road from my mom's place there's a thick stand of the damn things just inside the fence of a ranch. I don't see how he lets that go on, as cattle won't graze where they are. There's also a boatload on them on either side of the road. I'd call the county commissioner, but all they'll do is send the guys on tractors to mow them down, which won't do jack to control them now that the flowers are open.

 

[okietool]

get some weevil and turn them in on the thistle. copied from net
Trichosirocalus horridus. This weevil attacks the crown area of musk thistle rosettes and kills or weakens the plant before it bolts. This weevil is being distributed throughout Colorado by the Department of Agriculture. It tends to be more effective than the seed head weevil.

The musk thistle seed head weevil, Rhinocyllus conicus, can be found throughout Colorado. The female deposits her eggs on the back of developing flowers and covers them with chewed leaf tissue. After eggs hatch, larvae bore into the flower and destroy developing seed. The seed head weevil reduces seed production by 50 percent on the average. If used alone, however, it is not an effective management tool. Certain herbicides or mowing can be combined with the seed head weevil if these are used during late flowering stages. This allows the weevils to complete their life cycle and ensures their presence in subsequent growing seasons.

I’ve actually read about this but I was concerned with the unintended consequences.

 

[okietool]

That looks like a nodding thistle (also called a musk thistle, IIRC). I hate those SOBs with the fire of a thousand suns--I spent years trying to eliminate them from my hay field. The state of Oklahoma hates them, too; they're legally a noxious weed, and could get you a $1,000 fine (if that law ever got enforced, which, I understand, it never is).

If you cut them off just under ground level, the plant will die, but it's usually just as easy to pull them. If you're doing it by hand, be careful and wear thick leather gloves, because those damn needles will go right through leather. I would grab them down low and pull up a little bit to bend the needles over before grabbing tight.

Fiskars makes a standup weed puller that does a really good job on the smaller plants or when they're in the rosette stage.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030MIHAU/

Everytime I’ve left any root they resprout. I generally chop and dose the hole with vegetation killer.

 

[SoonerP226]

Everytime I’ve left any root they resprout. I generally chop and dose the hole with vegetation killer.

There’s some kind of growth ring (or somesuch) that’s right below ground level, and if you cut it off below that, the root will supposedly die. That’s what I’ve been told, but I usually found it easier to just pull the whole Godforsaken plant, so I can’t swear that chopping works.

 

[Okie4570]

Just 24D them, I'm not much of a digger lol.

 

[dennishoddy]

Just 24D them, I'm not much of a digger lol.

Chemicals are the answer.

 

[okietool]

Chemicals are the answer.

Or fire.

 

[CHenry]

Several years ago I got mail from, i think, department of agriculture, saying I'd be fined $1000 per thistle plant if they came and looked. I could be wrong on that price but it was alot. Didn't matter, I sprayed my 8 acres every year so I had none.

 

[SoonerP226]

Several years ago I got mail from, i think, department of agriculture, saying I'd be fined $1000 per thistle plant if they came and looked. I could be wrong on that price but it was alot. Didn't matter, I sprayed my 8 acres every year so I had none.

I think you're right about the fine, but my dad asked the County Extension Agent about it while we were early in the fight against those weeds from hell. He said the fines were steep, but they pretty much never actually levied them.

 

[dennishoddy]

Or fire.

Fire doesn't work IMHO. 2-4-D amine stops them in a heartbeat.