Hahahahaha help!
Seriously, before I sit down to pick these off one by one, does anyone have advice on removing these tick trefoil seeds? Thank you-
15 Likes
Tape?
WOW. I’m just so impressed. 
Your best bet might be to hang them in the sun for a day or two, then rub them off. They do seem to lose their clinginess after a fairly short while, which maybe makes sense? They don’t want to live on raccoons, deer, or your pants, they want to get a moderate distance away from home before disembarking.
Socks & shoes I’m not so sure about, you might be stuck picking those off one by one by one…
6 Likes
Get a side hustle doing seed collection for restoration companies, you still have to pick the seeds off but at least you’re getting paid for them.
No really though, I’ve never figured out any alternative to just buckling down and picking them all off.
3 Likes
Nice joke
1 Like
This is a record. Are you in the tropics?
2 Likes
You could try a lint roller.
1 Like
Is this Hylodesmum or Desmodium or something else?
I had the same experience a couple of days ago. I tried using a stiff brush but that didn’t work. I picked off the last one this morning.
1 Like
I don’t have any tricks for removing the sticky seeds, but I have found that far less will attach to pants made of synthetic materials like nylon compared to pants that contain any amount of cotton or other natural fabrics.
i think you need some sort of relatively stiff scraper to remove these – like a fine-toothed plastic or metal comb. you could also try using something plastic with a stiff edge, like a plastic cap of some sort.
1 Like
I’ll have to show this to my mom. She often comes back covered in Desmodium seeds but never close to as many as you have there.
Omg! New record! Our older child worked in a prairie all summer, and we (the family launderer) picked them off clothing all summer. Even the wash did not always dislodge them, though it often weakened them. Numb fingertips await!
1 Like
Yeah. Been there. I couldn’t find an easy solution and ended up picking them off. I will say, however, that I found if I scraped them with my fingernail in a downward sweeping motion, I could get more than one off at a time, which helped a lot. My fingernails are short (non-existent) but even so, scraping at them really helped when I was covered with them the way you are. Once I got off as many as I could that way, the rest were just the time consuming one-at-a-time.
Not much help and I’m sorry (almost as sorry as I was when I came back from a walk almost as covered as you are with them…but not quite that sorry!)
1 Like
Could you use an old credit card to scrape them off?
4 Likes
In this vein, I’d try scraping with a credit card (or even plastic ice scraper) at a steep angle. Good luck!
4 Likes
Flea combs made for dogs are effective, that or a deshedding tool cats/dogs, but be careful with either if the fabric on your clothing is thin.
Please note, I am not receiving any kickbacks from the products shown, I just wanted to illustrate exactly what I was talking about.
a plastic comb with fine teeth also may work if the above are unavailable.
We track in immense amounts of orchid seeds in some places we hike, as does our dog, these look they attach in a similar manner, more or less.
1 Like
Thanks everyone- I think I’m going to turn this into a science experiment. Tomorrow I’ll try a bunch of the methods suggested and report back!
6 Likes
Nope- Maryland. But working my way through a powerline meadow w no trails.
1 Like
Haha, thanks for the laugh! Been there, done that - I picked them all off by hand.
1 Like
If they are Desmodium seeds and you have to pick them off, you can peel them out of the fuzzy pod and eat them. Unsurprisingly, they taste vaguely pea-like. I’m not going to claim that they’re gourmet food or anything, but I always found that made having to pick them off a little more enjoyable. Good luck!
4 Likes