Pokers

These are NOT pretty little things.

Nope, these monstrous looking things are a frequent affliction to our family. Roughly the size of a very plump pea, they reside in our yard, especially in areas that were alfalfa fields long before we lived here.
Our poor, sweet dog brings them in on her coat, and unbeknownst to us, pull them off and leaves them on the carpet - just waiting for our footsies.
This particular one I pulled out of the bottom of my foot - you know that soft spot between the ball of your foot and heel? Yeah, right there. Ouch. They stick in and you literally have to PULL them out - and hopefully not have it stick in your fingers as you're pulling. Pliers and tweezers are our friends.
We thought when we first moved here we would eventually get rid of them by mowing regularly. No such luck. Tenacious little weeds, they decided just to hunker down and grow low along the ground instead of the high leggy plants they formerly were.
I do not know their technical name, nor do I really care to know.
"Pokers" suffices for us.
My two year old has learned to wear his shoes EVERY time he goes outside, though. Pokers have been much more successful at teaching him that than I ever could!