thistles

I have thistles everywhere!!! And I figured out that it's because I'm feeding thistle seed to the finches. I don't want to quit feeding finches but these thistles are almost impossible to get rid of!

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Janie

I don't think your thistle invasion is due to your birdfeeding. The "thistle" seed you buy to feed the birds isn't the same plant as the large prickly noxious weed.

Jane, I have not been getting thistles from feeding thistle seed to finches.

What kind of thistles do you have?

Big tall nasty painful thistles that take over everywhere. I think they might be Canada Thistle?

Sounds as if you hit it on the head. I have to use rose gloves that go up to my elbows to be able to remove those after I nuke them and cut them down. Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) is a perennial. It reproduces both sexually and asexually. I spray those with RoundUp before they set seed and take them down after the chemical transfers to the roots. Sometimes I have to spray them a second time. This is the first year I only had about 10 to deal with so you can beat them back and slide into maintenance mode.

Oh, they are horrible. They have taken over in the back and drive us nuts in the front.
I can't spray roundup around my other perennials can I? Or is there a way?

Put some Round-up in a container, take a small foam paint brush & paint round-up on the thistles. If you are careful, you won't get it on your good plants. We used to do this in our strawberry bed. We put a long handle on the brush to save bending over.
Bernie

I sometimes use a stamp licker thingie to put my chemicals in to avoid leaks and drift. I've basically found that nothing grows in about a foot diameter around the thistles and found I could be lazy and spritz the bottom of the thistles on days with little wind. I should have added I was only spraying the bottom of the plant. The sponge paint brushes work great too. Probably better than the stamp licker thingies.

Wow. Daunting task. These guys are grown up around a baby lilac bush and daylily and some volunteer columbines that I will, I guess, have to dig up and transplant at this late date... scary prospect. There are just too many to paint it on individually. DH doesn't do this kind of stuff and I have not been physically able to keep up. :;sigh::

I have also used poster board to shield plants from possible overspray a few times.

Janiejoy, you have to be careful when you apply the RoundUp. If you do it at the wrong time, it will be ineffective and you'll just be wasting the cost of the chemicals. This time of year can be real tough. Call the 800 number on the bottle and talk to them about temperature range.

I have the large Triffid-like thistles come up in my fields & vegetable garden area as well, but mine came in hidden in some substandard local hay & straw that ended up tossed on the manure pile.

The only way I've been able to make a dent in them is with a long-handled shovel. Although I don't always get all the root, after several subsequent attempts, the resprouting plant weakens & dies. I haven't had much luck with RoundUp on these plants, perhaps because the leaves are so thick & somewhat waxy.

I have to admit that in some spots I've increased my own problem by always allowing a few to flower & go to seed. I love watching the Goldfinches & Indigo Buntings feeding on them.

My finches don't eat these... must not be the yummy thistles they love. I think I shall draft DH and put him in long gloves and sleeves with a shovel and set him to work.

Most good Goldfinch seed is Niger/Nyger.

from:
http://www.wildbirdsac.com/seed.html

Yes - that's it exactly. Otherwise, no one in their right mind would buy it - lol!!!

THANKS for the info. I'm looking for my pump sprayer for the thistles AND poison ivy

our ranch was invaded by these thistles, but I would just take a hoe and chop off their heads as soon as they appeared and they have totally disappeared in 3 yrs. I never let them get over 5" in diameter as they were too prickly for me to handle after that. When they're small , you chop, lift them into the wheelbarrow w/the hoe, then put them in a plastic trash bag. DO NOT compost them.
I haven't seen a thistle in 2 yrs.
Hilary

thanks Hilary... and all who gave such good advice.