How To Get Rid of Hitchhiker Weeds: Complete Guide

Hitchhiker weeds stick on clothes, shoes, farm machinery, cars, and other surfaces, making it easy for them to spread and infest new areas. 

Some common examples of hitchhikers include Beggartricks (Bidens frondosa), Beggar lice (Desmodium), Bur-grass (Cenchrus echinatus), False barley (Hordeum murinum), and Jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida). 

Hitchhiker weeds are a double threat; they are an eyesore on your landscape and can spread easily to the rest of your property and other areas. Therefore, removing them as soon as you identify them is very important. 

Ways to get rid of hitchhiker weeds

Below is a look at different ways of dealing with hitchhiker weeds on your property. 

1. Hand-pulling the Weeds

Hand-pulling is one of the top solutions for dealing with small patches of hitchhiker weeds. It is also a great technique if you are averse to using chemicals on your property

However, hand-pulling is most effective when dealing with young plants without complex roots, making them easy to uproot. You should also try to remove the weeds before they flower and seed to prevent them from spreading further.

In addition, hand-pulling works best when the soil is moist – after rain, or you can water the ground before you pull the weeds. 

2. Dig Them Out With Gardening Tools

Digging can help eradicate hitchhiker weeds with deep roots
Digging can help eradicate hitchhiker weeds with deep roots. Image: Canva/zhannadanilova

Hand-weeding can be pretty tiring, especially when dealing with a large infestation of hitchhiker weeds. In addition, some plants might have deep roots, thus making it necessary to dig them out of the soil. 

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In such cases, consider using gardening tools to eliminate the hitchhiker weeds. Some excellent tools include hand plows, knives, hoes, garden pick axes, trowels, and diggers. 

3. Suffocate the Weeds With a Plastic Tarp 

A plastic tarp is another excellent chemical-free method to eliminate hitchhiker weeds. For this to work, you must cover the weeds with a heavy black plastic tarp. 

The tarp blocks the weeds’ access to the sun and traps air and moisture, completely suffocating them to death. However, this is not a fast process, as you will need to cover the weeds for several weeks or even months to completely kill them. 

In addition to suffocation, you can also kill weeds by solarization, which involves covering them with a clear plastic tarp during the sunny season. 

The plastic tarp traps the sun’s heat, heating the soil to very high temperatures. It also blocks access to water, which, combined with the high soil temperatures, kills the weeds.  

4. Use Natural Weed Removal Remedies 

You can kill hitchhiker weeds using natural remedies like boiling water, acetic acid, vinegar and soap dish solution, rubbing alcohol, and corn gluten meal. However, some weeds might be stubborn so you might need several applications of your desired natural remedy. 

Also, when using natural weed killers, you should note that most are non-selective and will kill any plants they encounter. In addition, some natural remedies, like salt, can damage the soil and poison other plants and water. 

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5. Let Animals and Livestock Graze on Them

Allow animals to graze on the weeds
Allow animals to graze in the weeds. Image: Canva/sbalan

Animals can consume several hitchhiker weeds. Therefore, letting animals graze on these invasive plants is another excellent idea to control them. 

The best part is that you can feed hitchhiker weeds to several animals, including chickens, cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. 

However, as a safety precaution, you should ensure that the plant your animals are grazing on is not toxic. For example, some types of burs are highly toxic to livestock. 

6. Use Chemical Herbicides 

Chemical herbicides are the most effective solution, especially when dealing with weeds that spread aggressively, like hitchhikers.

Depending on the specific weed species, you can use different types of herbicide. 

Some top examples of herbicides include: 

  • Post-emergent herbicides – applied after the weeds have germinated, for example, 2,4-D, triclopyr, and dicamba. 
  • Pre-emergent herbicides – applied in the soil to prevent germination of new weeds from the seeds. Examples include alachlor, acetochlor, and dimethenamid. 
  • Systemic herbicides – these are absorbed by the weeds and transported through all the parts of the plant, including the leaves, stems, and roots. Examples include dicamba, 2,4-D, sethoxydim, and imazaquin. 
  • Selective herbicides – they kill only the target weeds without harming other desirable plants. Examples include trifluralin, oxadiazon, and prodiamine. 
  • Non-selective herbicides: They kill all plants they come into contact with, including desirable ones. Examples include glyphosate, Bentazon, and glufosinate. 

Note: If you are dealing with stubborn hitchhiker weeds, you might need several applications of herbicide treatments to completely eradicate them. 

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How to Protect Your Lawn, Yard, Garden, or Landscapes From Hitchhiker Weeds 

The above methods can help you eliminate hitchhiker weeds from your property. However, you can also protect yourself from these weeds (or a re-infestation) using the following techniques: 

1. Use Mulch

Mulching covers the ground, preventing sunlight from penetrating the soil. Consequently, this blocks the germination of new weeds from the seeds already in the soil. 

2. Keep Your Lawn, Garden, or Yard Healthy 

Maintain a clean lawn, garden, or yard to keep away hitchhiker weeds
Maintain a clean lawn, garden, or yard to keep away hitchhiker weeds. Image: Flickr/moiggi

Many hitchhiker weeds will attack and invade unhealthy lawns, gardens, yards, and landscapes. To protect yourself from these pesky weeds, you ensure you keep your property healthy through techniques such as: 

  • Fertilization, especially lawns.
  • Maintaining proper watering frequency to keep your plants healthy. 
  • Proper soil PH management 
  • Regular mowing and tillage

3. Plant Competitive Cover Plants 

Competitive cover crops can control hitchhiker weeds on your property by overcrowding and suffocating them.

You can also plant vigorous beneficial plants in bare areas, making them less susceptible to hitchhikers. 

4. Don’t Spread Hitchhiker Weeds on Your Property 

Remove hitchhiker weeds from clothes, shoes, and farm machinery to avoid spreading them
Remove hitchhiker weeds from clothes, shoes, and farm machinery to avoid spreading them. Image: Flickr/ozarktrailassociation

You can protect yourself from hitchhikers by taking necessary measures to prevent their spread. For example: 

  • Properly clean your farm machinery after using them in areas with hitchhikers. 
  • You should remove any hitchhiker weed seeds from your clothes, shoes, or car to prevent them from spreading. 
  • Properly disposed of hitchhiker weeds, for example, by burning or sealing them in plastic bags. 
  • You should wear hitchhiker-resistant clothes when working in or passing through an area with these weeds.