Looks a bit like a cluster of seedpods of Goatheads (Tribulus terrestris), but you would probably already know about this horrid plant. A pic of the plant itself would definitely help someone identify it for you.

Almost forgot the how to get rid of part... If it IS goatheads, they thrive on disturbed, often compacted soil, and are strictly a warm season annual, so pulling them before they set seed is good for control. Some people torch them, if weather conditions permit. They can be really bad one year, then gone the next, dependent on the moisture regimes and seed sources. Limited bare, disturbed soil is probably the only long term no weeding solution to minimizing their growth.

You may want to ask your neighbors about their lawn care advice.

We call them sandspurs here. Nasty things! Maybe Roundup would work? The torch thingey sounds kinda fun! Good way to release stress. Take that you darn weed!

Yes, it is a cruel irony that they grow at the beach!

We used to run barefoot untill we moved to texas and stepped on those.

Agreed, I don't go outside much in AL w/o shoes on, but did as a summer rule in OH.

Don't think anybody said yet, keeping these things mowed often/low enough so they don't make those would be the best bet unless/until they are eradicated.

We call them hitchhikers down here in the south. I don't know what to spray to kill them. We don't use chemicals. Maybe you can google some organic spray to kill them, I hope!!

We have them too on our new property and I called into an organic gardening show for advice. He said they are the weakest of plants and the best way to get rid if them is to get your grass to flourish and they will be squeezed out. A good organic program for your grass is the key. A stopgap measure is to drag a burlap bag around the yard (maybe behind the mower) to pick up the burrs until your grass can choke them out. I started the organic program late last summer when we got the property and so far this year it seems much better. Hope this helps.

Foot pain surpassed only by stepping on legos. Darned sand burrs!

I do walk barefoot in my yard, and when I step on the pesky painful plants I sit down with a XL iced tea and pull them. (sometimes my limping dog is another indicator)

I stepped on sandspurs during a visit to a beach in Florida many years ago. Quite an unforgettable experience, as they are quite painful, particularly when you try to remove them!

Christopher

Yeah, they're the 'dune bouncers.' If the sign doesn't stop you from climbing the dunes, the sand spurs should. There's also a cute little plant with white flower that 'bites' if you touch it though it doesn't LOOK prickly at all. You'll wish you'd stepped on sand spurs if you find that with your foot!