Goatheads and Sandburs After the Frost: Map Them Now in Midland and Odessa
As the first freezes reach Midland and Odessa, summer weeds like goatheads (puncturevine) and sandburs turn brown and stop growing. It is easy to think the problem is gone for the year. It is not. The dead plants are still holding burs, and every bur that drops into the soil is seed waiting for next spring and summer.
Local tip: map the bur patches while you can still see them
Walk the property on a dry afternoon. Look along driveways, caliche roads, fence lines, kennels, horse pens, arenas, and the edges of the lawn. Brown, flattened goathead mats and sandbur clumps are easy to spot this time of year.
Mark the spots. Take phone photos or drop a few flags so you remember where the worst patches were. Those same spots are where the next crop will come up.
Pick up what you can. Wearing gloves, pull or bag dead plants with burs still attached so fewer seeds end up in the soil. An old piece of carpet dragged over a bare patch can pick up loose goathead burs.
Do not spread them around. Burs ride on tires, boots, mower decks, and pet fur. Clean equipment before moving from a bad patch to a clean area.
Keep an eye on what is still green. Cool-season weeds can still be growing in dormant lawns and along fences, so the brown burs are not the only thing to watch.
Why it matters now
Sandburs and goatheads are warm-season annuals. They do not come back from the same plant next year. They come back from seed, and they sprout when the soil warms up in spring and summer. That makes late fall and winter the best time to plan. Knowing exactly where the patches are lets you target a pre-emergent to the right spots before the soil warms, instead of fighting flat tires, sore paws, and stickers in the yard all next summer.
What Tejas does
Our licensed applicators handle weed control for homes, acreage, and commercial properties around Midland and Odessa. We look at your bur patches, your turf, and how the property is used, then set up a plan that can include a pre-emergent timed for late winter, follow-up treatments for anything that gets through, and bare-ground treatment for gravel, caliche, and fence lines where nothing should grow. Products are chosen for the site and applied according to the label, including any restrictions around pets, livestock, and trees.
Midland and Odessa customers are served from our Midland yard at 3112 E County Rd 139, Midland, TX 79706. We also cover Andrews and Seminole from our Andrews yard at 2184 SE 2460, along with nearby towns.
Learn more about weed control in Midland, weed control in Odessa, or see all of our weed control services.
Call or text Tejas
Call or text 432-934-5248 to get your goathead and sandbur patches on a plan before spring in Midland, Odessa, or nearby towns.
Tejas Pest and Weed Control · Midland yard: 3112 E County Rd 139, Midland, TX 79706 · 432-934-5248 · office@tejaspwc.com
