How to Manage Russian Thistle
- 1). Destroy young plants by mowing directly over them with your lawn mower or using a weed whacker to destroy them. Make sure that when you do so, the plant has been completely destroyed, roots and all. This will prevent the plants from getting mature enough to produce seeds and cause trouble.
- 2). Remove young plants from the ground by pulling them from the soil; they are relatively easy to remove. Place the plants in a large pile and start a controlled fire so that the plants are completely destroyed. When the fire has burned down, safely put it out with water, checking to make sure that there are no remaining embers. Use additional water to put out any remaining embers.
- 3). Do not loosen the soil in areas where there are currently no plants; maintain areas where you are growing plants by keeping the soil moist and firm so that the tumbleweed does not have a chance to root itself in that area either.
- 4). Install turf grass to stop the seeds of the Russian thistle from rooting. The seeds will not be able to get through the grass and into the soil.
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