I've been calling this foxtails, I assume it's some sort of weed. I have these all over my yard and it's a huge problem for my pitbulls. Any advice on getting rid of these without paying a landscaper etc...?

Looks like this:

 

Maybe i have the solution for your problem!It's a usual weed here in Greece,called Hordeum murinum and you can use chemical pesticides to exempt from the problem...products likeGramoxone 20 SL, Herboxone 20 SL, Parazone 20 SL, Dipaxone 20 SL, Herbiquate 20 SL etc.)that contain the active ingredient Paraquat 20% SL or (Roundup 36 SL, Rodeo 36 SL, Clear 36 SL, Herbanil 36 SL, Leone 36 SL etc.) with the Glyphosate 36% SL will help you,but as i said it's chemical pesticide and should keep your dogs away for a few hours...!Ask the expert who has the products for the dosage and the "consequences"!Last but not least,if you don't want to use chemical products try to find "ecological solutions"...!
Hope i help!

 

If you don't want to use pesticides you can use vinegar. I don't know how well vinegar works but I've it heard from more than one person. Or just mow your lawn a lot, that's what I do - cut down the foxtails before they grow more seedlings.

 

Hmm thanks for the replies. I found a book at Home Depot and it suggests to use pesticides to kill them. But my concern is that they'll grow back again.

 

Good old (Roundup) which can be found at Home Depot, or most other hardware stores. Instructions are on the bottle. You will need a simple pump sprayer, which come in a 1 gal or lager size either hand held or back pack style. Mix up the roundup concentrate with water and spray away. Spray on a dry day, the chemicals work faster on a warmer sunny day but not required. After a couple days you will see wilting and turning brown, after a week you will see if you need to do any more spot spraying where you may have missed. Typically one application with a fallow up application is good for most the summer, but you may need to re treat next season if you have some source of this weed infecting your landscape from some other location, like the neighbors yard for example. As mentioned, keep the pets off the area until it has dried.

 

Use a coarse spray pattern with Roundup - it doesn't know the difference between the plants you want to kill vs. keep.It will kill whatever you spray it on.

 

Hmm. Why exactly is it a problem for your dogs? Also, Roundup might be a bad idea since, as already stated, it will kill everything including the grass.

 

Yeah that's one reason why i don't use round up becuase it doesn't discriminate what it kills. I don't want to kill my grass. Then i'll have a bigger headache.

Foxtails are dangerous to dogs (animals) because of the places that those things get stuck into. I had one inside in my dog's eye and it cost about $200 to remove it. My brother-in-law had one stuck in his dogs ear. Basically they're like an arrow point, easy to penetrate but pulling it out proves a little more difficult.

 

I went as far as digging up a section of grass/foxtails until it was just dirt, but the foxtails still managed to grow back. It appears as if i have some sort of uncontainable infestation!

 

I personally would roundup the hell out of it- and a good couple of feet around the area too. Especially if it could harm my dogs! After the next rain, throw down some grass seed and you should be good to go.