Tackling the Tenacious Cleaver Weed: A Guide to Permanently Removing This Stubborn Garden Invader

Cleavers, also known by names like bedstraw, goosegrass, and stickyweed, are some of the most annoying weeds a gardener can face. Their tiny hooked hairs latch onto clothing and animal fur, allowing them to spread seeds far and wide. Left unchecked, these rapidly growing annual vines will take over garden beds and become a frustrating, prickly mess.

Getting rid of cleavers for good takes diligence and patience. But with the right techniques, you can gain the upper hand on this aggressive unwanted plant. In this guide, we’ll explore proven methods for permanently banishing cleavers from your landscape.

What Are Cleavers?

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

These weeds feature sprawling, viny stems up to 6 feet long that sprawl across the ground. The slim stems are covered in tiny hooked hairs that grab onto anything they touch. This allows the plant to climb over other vegetation.

Tiny white flowers appear from spring through fall, eventually producing the round, sticky seed heads that give cleavers their reputation After dropping seeds, the plants die back completely in winter

Left unchecked, cleaver’s rapid growth can quickly smother desirable garden plants and flowerbeds. Getting control early before infestations spread is key.

How Cleavers Spread

Cleavers reproduce solely by seeds, but are very good at spreading those seeds far and wide. Here are their main dispersal methods:

• Hooked hairs catch onto clothing, animal fur, and feathers, allowing seeds to hitchhike around gardens and landscapes.

• The sticky seed heads cling readily to tools, boots, tires, and any other surface they touch

• Birds and small mammals eat the seeds, then excrete viable seeds in their droppings.

• Seeds readily float away in flowing water, spreading downstream

• Tilling or cultivating moves seeds around and buries them where they can later sprout.

• Dormant seeds can persist in soil for up to 5 years before germinating when conditions are right.

Understanding how cleavers spread gives us hints on how to control them. Now let’s look at organic and chemical options for getting rid of cleaver weeds.

Organic Cleaver Removal Techniques

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

• Hand pull plants: Grasp stems low and gently pull up entire plants. Wear gloves to avoid getting scratched. Dispose of plants in trash, not compost.

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

• Apply mulch: Smother small infestations by piling on 3-4 inches of wood chips, leaves, straw or other mulch.

• Solarize soil: Cover cleared areas with clear plastic for 1-2 months to bake weed seeds in hot sun.

• Plant cover crops: Sow a dense cover crop like buckwheat or rye in fall to crowd out cleavers.

• Careful weeding: Stay vigilant and remove plants every few weeks before they go to seed.

Combining several organic methods often provides the best long-term control of cleaver weeds.

Herbicides That Kill Cleavers

For large infestations, selective herbicides containing 2,4-D or dicamba provide an effective option for killing cleavers. Always follow label directions exactly.

Some specific products that work include:

• Ortho WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer – contains 2,4-D, dicamba, and mecoprop

• Spectracide Weed Stop – contains dicamba and 2,4-D

• Bonide Weed Beater – 2,4-D and dicamba formulation

• Trimec Classic – 3-way blend with 2,4-D, mecoprop and dicamba

Spray onto actively growing cleavers in spring or fall. It may take several applications to fully eradicate an infestation. Avoid windy days and protect desirable plants from drift.

Preventing Cleavers from Returning

Killing off a cleaver infestation provides temporary relief, but the seeds remain ready to sprout again. Here are some prevention tips:

• Apply corn gluten meal in spring to deter seed germination. Reapply every 2-3 weeks.

• Spread a light mulch layer after removing plants to block light from reaching seeds.

• Install landscaping fabric around ornamental beds, securing the edges well. Cut X’s for plantings.

• Maintain a dense, vigorous lawn or ground cover to crowd out cleavers. Overseed bare spots.

• Hand pull young plants quickly before they set seed. Just a few can produce hundreds of seeds.

• Clean shoes, tools, tires, and pets after being in infested areas to avoid spreading seeds.

• Collect and dispose of seed heads in trash bags before they burst open. Don’t compost.

With some dedication each season to removal and prevention, you can successfully keep cleavers at bay for the long term.

When to Remove Cleavers

Cleavers complete their life cycle quickly, so persistence is vital. Here is the optimal timing for removing plants:

Spring: Hand pull seedlings as soon as soil warms and they begin to emerge. Hoe out young plants.

Summer: Stay vigilant and keep pulling, hoeing or mowing plants every 1-2 weeks to prevent flowering and seed set.

Early Fall: Remove late-germinating plants before they mature and set seed. Spray herbicide on larger patches.

Late Fall: Mow or weed whack dead plants to clear area for winter. Solarization also works now.

Winter: No action needed. Cleavers die back over winter in cold climates.

Set calendar reminders to check beds and treat any new growth before it gets out of hand each season.

5 Tips for Identifying Cleavers Weeds

Learning to accurately identify cleavers is the first step in controlling these weeds. Here are some key identification traits:

• Trailing, viny growth habit, sprawling along the ground in patches or climbing over other plants.

• Slender stems with tiny hooked hairs that cling to clothing, fur, and feathers. Stems often appear fuzzy.

• Whorls of narrow leaves with pointed tips emerging along the winding stems.

• Tiny white flowers blooming from spring through fall in clusters where leaves join stems.

• Distinctive round, sticky seed heads covered in hooked hairs. They cling readily to any surface.

Once you learn to recognize cleavers, you can spot young plants quickly and halt them before infestations spread.

7 Areas Where Cleavers Commonly Grow

Cleaver’s adaptability allows it to germinate and thrive in diverse sites. Be especially watchful in these prime cleaver habitats:

• Garden beds and borders
• Near compost piles
• Along fences and foundation walls
• In cracks in pavement or sidewalks
• Around the base of trees and shrubs
• Along streams, pond edges and drainage ditches
• In lawns, fields, meadows and pastures

Check these areas frequently when weeding and nip any cleavers in the bud before they take over.

Should You Eat Cleavers?

Cleavers have a long history of medicinal use, and the young leaves and stems are edible. However, most gardeners seek to eliminate cleavers, not harvest them.

Before ingesting any wild plant, ensure you have positively identified it and that it has not been treated with herbicides. Introduced cleaver species from Europe have mostly displaced the native species in North America.

While eating cleavers from your yard may seem like a good use of these weeds, their clingy nature and potential to spread quickly still makes them unwelcome in most gardens.

Clever Tricks for Outsmarting Cleavers

After battling sticky, prickly cleaver weeds, you may feel a grudging respect for their clever persistence. Here are some smart techniques for gaining the upper hand:

• Use a wooden board as a shield when walking through infested areas to avoid getting covered in clingy seeds.

• Rub sticky seed heads against each other to loosen the tiny hooks before composting.

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

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

• Wear clothes and shoes dedicated just for gardening in cleaver zones to avoid spreading seeds.

• Time your battle for dry weather – rain and dew make cleavers even stickier!

With some cleverness and determination of your own, you can beat this challenging garden invader. Just stay vigilant season after season. Here’s to a cleaver-free future!