" Jeanne Stockdale" wrote in message
...
In our previous home in North Cheshire, we never ever saw this weed.
Now
living in South Cheshire and most of our flower beds (and the
compost heap)
seem to be overrun with cleavers. Is there any way of eradicating
them
completely - they seem to have virtually no root yet despite
clearing them
each year, they still come back

Now is definitely the time to tackle them. Once they have seeded, they
have sown next years problem.
They succumb readily to weed killers but if they are running through
the borders, that is probably not the ideal way for you.
As you say they have precious little root system and can be hand
pulled quite successfully. And laborious as it may be, they can be
eradicated this way. Maybe not all in one year but, like many things,
if you can get on top of the problem early, persistence does pay off.
Of course, if they are common all around you, you will always get the
sticky burrs brought into the garden by birds and animals. I am
surrounded by rural field hedging in which cleavers is rampant. Still
I manage to keep the garden clear.

--
ned