News Release

For Release: Sept. 1, 2006
Contact: Jeff Fontana (530) 252-5332
CA-N-06-87

BLM, Land Trust Experts Seek Help Battling Puncturevine

It's just a tiny seed, but its thorny points can flatten a bike tire in minutes, ending an enjoyable outing on the trails in and around Susanville.

Most outdoor enthusiasts are familiar with puncturevine (and the seeds often called "goatheads), a plant that seems to be everywhere, and seems to be impossible to eliminate. Experts at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Lassen Land and Trails Trust (LLTT) are hopeful, however, that a concerted effort by walkers and bike riders can greatly reduce the problem.

"The key is for people to learn to identify the plants and know how to properly kill them and dispose of the seeds," says David Sowers of the LLTT. He encouraged people be equipped with leather gloves, a small digging tool (even a flat-blade screwdriver) and a garbage bag when they hit the trail.

Puncturevine begins to sprout in June and July and continues through summer and fall. It is a flat, horizontal-growing, mat-like plant. Its leaves grow in rows opposite each other. There are tiny yellow flowers and multi-pointed, sharp seeds. To kill the plants and prevent their return experts advise this method:

• Use your digging tool to outline an area around the plant (it will help you find seeds later), dig around the tap root at the center of the plant and pull it out of the ground. It's fine to break the root; it will not re-sprout. For large plants, fold the branches toward the center of the plant before pulling it. Put the entire plant and all loose seeds into the garbage bag, and dispose of the bag in the trash.
  
  
• Scrape the soil around the plant site to pick up all remaining seeds. Just one can sprout into a new plant; the seeds are viable for up to five years.
  
  
• You can spray the plants with herbicide. Lassen County Farm Advisor Rob Wilson, 251-8132, can provide advice on which product to use. It is still imperative to pick up all seeds.
  
  
• If you find one plant, chances are there are more to be dug up, so look around and dig up what you find.

"Any time you are in a puncturevine area, check your shoes and bike tires for seeds. Dispose of them in the trash," Sowers advised. "Don't throw them on the ground! They will sprout and create a new infestation."

Information, including brochures to help identify puncturevine plants, is available by contacting the Bureau of Land Management, 257-0456; the Lassen National Forest, 257-4188; the Lassen County Trails Coordinator's Office, 251-8428; or the Susanville Parks Department, 257-1030.