Burdock belongs to the thistle family and is native to Europe and Northern Asia. Burdock also now grows throughout North America, where it's considered a weed. The plants have prickly heads -- burrs -- that catch onto clothing and hair as a way to disperse seeds. An inspiration for Velcro, these tenacious burrs can be difficult to remove from clothing. After a hike or a walk through a meadow, remove burdock burrs as soon as possible from your clothing to minimize the damage.
Wear leather gloves when removing burrs manually. Try to pick off as many burrs as possible with your fingers. Don't pull too hard, or they can become stuck in the fabric and tear your clothes if they're imbedded. Be careful when you pull because they can be sharp.
Place duct tape over any stubborn burrs and pull them off quickly. Some burrs will come off with the duct tape.
Use a fine-toothed flea comb to dig under the burrs and pry them off your clothes.
Buy a glove specifically designed to remove burrs from clothing if you're often in the outdoors and end up with burrs on your clothes. Sweep the glove over the burrs, and they will stick it to and become dislodged from your clothes.