{"id":677613,"date":"2026-06-01T09:49:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T09:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/677613\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T09:49:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T09:49:57","slug":"gardener-spots-the-weed-of-satan-in-yard-as-commenters-warn-invasive-plant-can-quickly-take-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/677613\/","title":{"rendered":"Gardener spots the ‘weed of satan’ in yard as commenters warn invasive plant can quickly take over"},"content":{"rendered":"

A frustrated gardener turned to Reddit after spotting a spiky plant in their yard, calling it the “weed of satan.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

What’s happening?<\/p>\n

In a post<\/a> to the r\/Gardening<\/a> subreddit, the original poster shared a photo of a large thorny plant and asked how to get rid of it. Many commenters identified it as a thistle, with several saying it appeared to be bull thistle, an invasive species in North America that can be especially troublesome in gardens and yards.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Reddit<\/p>\n

Commenters pointed to the plant’s long taproot, suggesting cutting it back to a manageable height, softening the soil, and digging out as much of the taproot as possible while wearing thick gloves.<\/p>\n

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“It is invasive and you would be doing the most good to remove it before the seeds form and scatter, creating a bigger problem for the local ecosystem,” advised<\/a> one user.<\/p>\n

As another commenter put it<\/a>, “pull it out now unless you want 20000 of them everywhere next year.”<\/p>\n

Some users noted<\/a> that while certain thistles can support birds and pollinators, bull thistle is different from native species and may be treated as a noxious weed depending on where you live.<\/p>\n

Why does it matter?<\/p>\n

Like other invasive plant species<\/a>, bull thistle can crowd out vegetables, flowers, and other desirable plants, making gardens and yards more difficult to maintain.<\/p>\n

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A healthy garden can provide fresher herbs and produce, better flavor than many store-bought options, and lower food costs over time.<\/p>\n

Gardening<\/a> can also offer regular movement, time outdoors, and stress relief. But thorny, invasive plants can make routine yard work uncomfortable and discourage people from spending time in cultivated spaces.<\/p>\n

The Reddit thread also highlighted why proper identification matters. Not every thistle is invasive, and some native species play an important role in local ecosystems.<\/p>\n

What can be done about bull thistle?<\/p>\n

Early removal is key. Commenters in the Reddit thread said<\/a> it should be tackled before flowering, using heavy gloves, a weeding tool, and deep digging to remove as much of the taproot as possible. If the soil is dry and compacted, watering first may make the job easier.<\/p>\n

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“Pull it! Those darn poofy spikes are a pain to pull off clothes and pets,” wrote<\/a> one user.<\/p>\n

Another said<\/a>: “Evasive weed, root system from hell. Remove it immediately, roots and all.”<\/p>\n

Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A frustrated gardener turned to Reddit after spotting a spiky plant in their yard, calling it the “weed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[295458,192,4167,194043,250,79,295459],"class_list":["post-677613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-bull-thistle","tag-environment","tag-invasive-species","tag-noxious-weed","tag-reddit","tag-science","tag-spiky-plant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}