Cheat Grass Awn

Its long awns can easily stick to socks.

Cheat grass awn.

Cheatgrass also called downy brome is an annual or winter annual invasive grass originally from the mediterranean region. Inspect your pet. Cheatgrass is one of the most highly invasive weeds found in the colder parts of the country. One of the most common minor emergencies we see during the summer in the mid southare grass awn foreign bodies.

These seeds or grass awns can become lodged in pet ears between toes and under the skin. Cheatgrass is a prolific seed producer. It has often been reported to infest newly seeded areas and is found in cheap quality seed mixes. What is a grass awn.

The awns stick to the clothing of humans and the hair and fur of animals which is one way cheatgrass disperses its seeds. Whether you call them awns mean seeds timothy foxtails cheat grass june grass downy brome or any other number of colloquial names to dogs they generally mean one thing and that s trouble. For those with larger lots and acreages you need to at a minimum mow to. Keep pets out of dry grassy fields and roadsides.

Once matured their sharp tipped seeds and barbed awns work their way into the eyes nostrils mouths and intestines of animals. Roots are fibrous relatively shallow and grow many hairs which enable the. Once the seeds germinate the roots develop very quickly and are fully developed as early as spring. Seeds typically do not remain viable for more than two or three years.

How to protect your dog from foxtails and cheatgrass. Because it is a grass trying to manage it growing among other grasses and forbs is hard. The seed with the awn can get lodged in an animal s mouth or eyes causing sores and ulcerations or in fleece lowering its value. The awns from cheat grass have a sharp little point and many barbs that are angled out in the opposite direction.

The annual grass cheatgrass bromus tectorum l or downy brome is one of the most significant invasive weeds in the western united states because it reduces forage quantity and quality alters wildfire regimes impacts species diversity and reduces wildlife habitat. The awn s spikes and sharp edges serve a purpose to stick and hold fast to surfaces so that they can spread their seeds to surrounding areas. For the urban dweller hand pulling is feasible. A lot of the brown weeds you see growing along the roadside are cheat grass.

Remove weeds from your pet s yard and enclosure. Growing anywhere from 4 to 30 inches high it has dense hairs on its leaf sheathes. Livestock find cheatgrass to provide good quality forage early in the season before plants mature. This will help reduce grass seed accumulation and facilitate daily inspections.

Keep your pet s coat clean and well groomed. The most common presentation is a draining tract between the toes.