Eliminating Tenacious Cleavers from Your Garden for Good

Cleavers, also known as stickyweed, goosegrass, or bedstraw, are a gardener’s nightmare. These fast-growing annual vines spread rapidly and can quickly take over flowerbeds and landscaping. Their tiny hooked hairs latch onto clothing, animal fur, and pretty much anything they touch, allowing the sticky seeds to hitchhike across your yard. Left unchecked, cleavers will create a tangled, prickly mess.

Getting rid of cleavers permanently takes patience and persistence. But with the right techniques, you can gain control and banish cleavers from your garden for good. This comprehensive guide provides proven methods to eliminate cleavers and keep them from coming back.

What Are Cleavers and How Do They Spread?

Cleavers (Galium aparine) are annual plants in the Rubiaceae family. They germinate from seeds each spring and thrive in cool moist conditions.

Cleavers feature long sprawling stems up to 6 feet in length covered in tiny hooked hairs. These help the plant climb over and smother other plants and structures. Small white flowers appear from spring through fall eventually forming sticky round seed heads. After dropping hundreds of seeds, the plants die back over winter.

Cleavers spread prolifically via seeds. Here are their main dispersal methods:

• Hooked hairs catch onto clothing, animal fur, feathers, and shoes, transporting seeds everywhere.

• Sticky seed heads cling readily to tools, tires, paws, equipment, and anything they touch.

• Birds and animals ingest and excrete seeds.

• Seeds float away in water, spreading downstream.

• Tilling or disturbing soil brings buried seeds to the surface.

• Dormant seeds persist for years, awaiting the right conditions to sprout.

Understanding how cleavers spread gives us clues for controlling them. Now let’s explore organic and chemical control options.

Organic Ways to Remove Cleavers

For gardeners wishing to avoid chemicals, manually removing cleavers or smothering them organically are good options. Here are some of the most effective approaches:

• Hand Pull: Wearing gloves, uproot entire plants by grasping stems low and gently pulling. Discard pulled plants in trash or yard waste, not the compost pile.

• Hoe Carefully: Use a hoe or garden fork to sever stems just below soil level. Avoid deep cultivation that brings up more seeds.

• Apply Mulch: Smother small infestations by applying 3-4 inches of mulch like wood chips, straw, or leaves. Block light to prevent growth.

• Solarize Soil: Cover areas with clear plastic for 1-2 months to heat the ground and kill weed seeds.

• Plant Cover Crops: Sow buckwheat or rye thickly in fall to crowd out cleavers.

• Be Diligent: Frequently weed to remove plants before they go to seed. Don’t let any escape!

Using two or more methods together often provides the best organic control.

Herbicides that Kill Cleavers Effectively

For large infestations, selective herbicides containing 2,4-D or dicamba are very effective at killing cleavers. Always follow product labels exactly. Some options include:

• Spectracide Weed Stop (dicamba + 2,4-D)
• Ortho Weed B Gon (2,4-D)
• Bonide KleenUp Weed Killer (dicamba, 2,4-D)
• Trimec (dicamba, 2,4-D, mecoprop)

Apply to actively growing plants in spring or fall, often taking several applications to fully eradicate. Avoid windy days and protect desired plants from drift.

Stop Cleavers from Returning

Killing existing cleavers only provides temporary relief since seeds remain in the soil. Here are tips to prevent future infestations:

• Apply corn gluten meal in spring to deter seed germination. Reapply regularly.

• After removing plants, add a light mulch layer to block sunlight from reaching the soil and stimulating seeds.

• Install landscape fabric around ornamental beds with edges secured. Cut X’s for plantings.

• Maintain a dense, vigorous lawn and ground cover to outcompete cleavers. Overseed thin areas.

• Routinely hand pull young cleaver plants before they mature and release seeds.

• Clean shoes, tools, paws, tires, equipment etc after being in infested areas to prevent spread.

• Bag and dispose of seed heads before they open and spill seeds. Don’t compost.

With dedication to removal and prevention each season, you can successfully manage troublesome cleavers long-term.

When to Remove Cleavers for Best Results

Cleavers grow rapidly, so persistent removal is key. Here is the optimal timing:

• Spring: Pull emerging seedlings, hoe out young plants. Pre-emergent herbicides can be applied now.

• Summer: Stay vigilant, removing plants weekly before they flower and set seed. Mow regularly.

• Early Fall: Eliminate late-germinating plants before they mature. Post-emergent herbicides work well now.

• Winter: Remove dead foliage. Solarization and pre-emergent herbicide application can also be done.

Set calendar reminders to inspect and treat cleavers frequently before they get out of control.

5 Tips for Identifying Cleavers

Learning to accurately spot cleavers is crucial for control. Watch for these key traits:

• Trailing or climbing growth habit, smothering other plants.

• Slender stems covered in tiny hooked prickly hairs that cling.

• Whorled narrow pointed leaves along sprawling stems.

• Tiny white flowers blooming spring through fall where leaves meet stems.

• Small sticky round seed heads covered in hooked hairs.

Once you can recognize cleavers, you can remove plants right away before heavy infestations develop.

7 Areas to Monitor for Cleavers

Cleaver’s adaptability allows it to thrive in many sites. Be extra vigilant in these prime cleaver habitats:

• Flower and garden beds
• Near compost piles
• Along fences and foundations
• In pavement cracks
• Around trees and shrubs
• Along streams, ponds and ditches
• In fields, meadows, and open areas

Frequently scout for and eliminate young cleavers in these vulnerable spots before they get a foothold.

Should You Eat Cleavers?

While historically the young leaves and shoots were used as food and medicine, most gardeners seek to eliminate cleavers, not harvest them.

Before ingesting any wild plant, positively identify it and ensure it has not been treated with herbicides. Introduced European cleaver species have largely displaced the native North American one.

While utilizing cleavers may seem eco-friendly, their invasive nature still makes them unwelcome in cultivated gardens and yards.

Clever Tricks to Outsmart Cleavers

After battling clingy, scratchy cleaver weeds, you may feel a grudging respect for their persistence. Here are some smart techniques to gain control:

• Use a board as a shield when walking through infested areas to prevent seeds hitching a ride.

• Rub seed heads together to detach the tiny hooks before composting.

• Spray plants with water to weigh down clingy stems for easier pulling.

• Wrap duct tape upside down around your hand to create a DIY sticky seed remover.

• Have dedicated gardening clothes and shoes for cleaver zones to avoid spread.

• Time battles for dry weather; rain and dew make cleavers stickier!

With some cleverness and determination of your own, you can conquer this challenging invader. Staying vigilant is vital – consistency is key. Here’s to a future free of sticky, scratchy cleaver weeds!