How to get rid of hogweed and what precautions should be observed in the fight against it

Good day. Last year we got a new neighbor. The young girl acquired a plot and began to settle down.

She kept away from everyone, and we were not interested in her life either. But it turned out that she had almost no practical skills.

How to deal with pests, what means to use - she knew nothing of this. And it is not surprising if, after a month, overgrown hogweed rose above her fence. I decided to help her. I came to visit, got acquainted with her and told how to get rid of hogweed. Now I will share this information with you.

How to deal with hogweed considering the strengths and weaknesses of the weed

Weaknesses and strengths of the hogweed Sosnowski in terms of distribution. To begin with, some features of the hogweed Sosnowski:

Plant benefits

Hogweed grows as many years as it takes to produce seeds. If you simply mow the ground part of the plant and do not take other measures to exterminate it, the plant will grow every year and try to give seeds.

The strengths of the hogweed are as follows:

• If nothing interferes with the plant, it takes 2-3 years from seed germination to the formation of a new batch of seeds.
• The amount of seeds from one plant is huge: from 20 thousand to 70 thousand seeds ripen.
• Seeds retain germination for about 5 years, and some even up to 15.
• On the surface of the seeds there are essential substances that, when ingested, inhibit other plants. This gives odds to the aggressor, since other plants do not obscure the germinating seeds of hogweed.
• Seeds can be carried up to 2 kilometers by wind.
• Seeds are also transferred thanks to birds, animals, can be attached to the wheels of cars, tractors and to the soles of shoes. Basically, hogweed seeds crumble next to the plant in a radius of 4 m.
• Another way to move seeds over long distances is through rivers. If hogweed grows near the river, then its seeds are transported over long distances thanks to water.
• After cutting the umbrellas (or the whole plant with a flowering umbrella), the seeds can ripen and sprinkle.

Weaknesses

Usually, after flowering and ripening of seeds, the cow parsnip dies. Very rarely, this same plant can remain alive and give stems next year.

If you take into account the strengths, it is not surprising the speed of capture of new territories by the cow parsnip. Even if we assume that only one plant has grown in the district and it has successfully produced seeds, then the next year after sowing seeds in a radius of 4 meters a dozen plants will grow at best.

And here obviously it is necessary to be engaged in extermination of cow-brewers. But this must be done carefully and competently, so as not to suffer.

How to deal with weed

Hogweed does not have one vulnerable position. The lack of vegetative propagation is offset by many seeds suitable for propagation.

Given the persistence of the hogweed, a complex of measures is used, consisting of the following methods:

1. chemical;
2. agrotechnical;
3. mechanical;
4. biological.

Particularly comprehensive measures are needed in heavily littered areas. If on your site there are few hogweeds or several plants growing next to the site, then dealing with them is relatively simple. If you got a large plot, completely overgrown with this weed, then the matter will drag on for longer.

General rules when working with hogweed:

How to get rid of a small area?

Digging the stalk root. It’s a difficult method, but effective, because after removing the stem, the plant will not grow. Seeds, of course, will germinate if they are here, but there will be no adult plant. Here you can’t do without a shovel, the stem root grows quite deep underground (30 cm or more).

A similar method is to cut part of the stem with sleeping buds. The plant is cut with a sharp shovel at a depth of about 15-20 cm underground. Cutting is done so that the plant has fewer sleeping buds. After a week or two, you must again walk around the site and see if there are any new plants. Repeat if necessary.

Young hogweed plants are easier to stretch by hand (rubber gloves are required), since the root has not yet deepened very deeply. On the other hand, the plant may break off due to fragility. It is best to carry out this procedure after rain. Plus you can pry the root with a small spatula.

If the plant has bloomed, then you can remove the inflorescences in the flowering phase - a maximum at the beginning of the formation of the fruits, preventing their ripening. Secateurs with elongated handles will help protect yourself from juice on skin and clothing.

Over time, lateral shoots with inflorescences may appear on the plant, so you will have to inspect the plants from time to time. Remember that seeds can ripen on a cut stalk, so there is only one way out - to burn cut umbrellas.

Agrotechnical methods of control include mulching and deep plowing, followed by sowing of fast-growing industrial crops, cereals or planting potatoes. The second method will require more time and effort.

Mulching. One of the most effective ways to deal with Sosnowski hogweed is to use a dense black film (film thickness of at least 100 microns). It is necessary to block the light of the hogweed with a dense material.

The film must be spread on the surface where the hogweed grows, and apply something heavy so that it does not lift it. It is possible to spread soil, boards, heavy construction debris on top of the film. Preliminary, it is desirable to prune the plants. This method allows you to get rid not only of hogweed, but also of other weeds.

The biological method is the use of insects that damage hogweed inflorescences. For us ordinary gardeners, the method will not work.

Well, the chemical method is well-known harmful herbicides. On a personal garden plot can not be used. Are you striving for natural and ecological farming? ..

Prevention of hogweed in the garden:

• You can not bring soil to the site from the places where the hogweed has grown, since the probability of getting its seeds is simply huge.
• Watch your sites and do not give the weed the opportunity to "register" on them.
• In no case do not grow it as an ornamental plant. The path of the plant is beautiful, but it does much more harm than good.

And it would be good if the hogweed was banned for crops on an industrial scale.

The benefits of hogweed

Interestingly, once they wanted to use hogweed as feed for cows, they began to cultivate it as a plant for making silage. But, the cows didn’t really want to eat adult plants, and if they ate, they gave tasteless milk, which was also badly fermented.

Given that he was not considered as an aggressor for a long time, they did not fight him. Only in 2012 the hogweed was removed from the State Register of selection achievements. Yes, achievements are achievements so ... Well, only he who does nothing is not mistaken, because they wanted the best.

You must have heard this story more than once. But even now, in addition to destructive measures, they are considering ways to use Sosnowski hogweed for the benefit of man. For example, research is being carried out on the possibility of making cardboard from this plant.

Of course, the process of “converting” hogweed to cardboard is long, using various chemicals, which is unlikely to affect the environment of factories adjacent to the territory (I hope that the plants use cleaning filters).

On the other hand, hogweed grows faster than trees, and the process of getting cardboard from trees and from hogwash, if I understand correctly, is similar.

Another option for using hogweed is the production of biofuels. Yes, such an option is being developed.

I won’t be surprised if this weed is again given the “green light”. If the fields with the plant will be in some isolated places, then there could be nothing to worry, but if it is near settlements, rivers?

As they say, here it is worth relying only on the consciousness and conscience of scientists and entrepreneurs. In the meantime, the situation is that hogweed must be fought, otherwise it will save us from a wide variety of plants.

But, from the point of view of a lazy eco-gardener, the best method is to mulch with a thick film.We'll have to leave the plot covered with cow parsnip under the film for the whole season, but it's worth it.

How to get rid of hogweed?

It is best in early spring to purchase a black film and cover all the hogweed plants that have appeared. It appears one of the first, as it is very strong. This film must be sprinkled with sand, crushed with bricks, which again is associated with its survivability.

Black film can only be shot next year in June. If this is a problematic method for you, then you can try to prune the roots of plants in the ground.

If the plant appears again and again - cut it as soon as possible, do not let it grow. Remember that seeds can form even at the very bottom of the plant. And when they fall into the ground there will be even more trouble.

You can also mow the hogweed and burn it, however this must be done early. When the plants are still small. Cutting plants with umbrellas is already dangerous.

When mowing a young plant, you need to wear rubber boots, tight clothes, preferably waterproof, as well as gloves. Try to protect the face, especially the eyes. For example, put on glasses and a bandage on top.

The most effective way is to lay geotextiles. From above, it is necessary to fill it with clean soil 5-6 cm (the more the better), in which there is no hogweed seed.

But you need to be prepared for the fact that this method will hit your pocket. However, it is very effective. You need to plant ordinary lawn grass in the ground and water it. As a result, the seeds of hogweed along with its plants will die under geotextile, because it is dark there, and you will have a beautiful new lawn.

What to do if cowberry juice is on the skin?

And so, as we see such a weed as a hogweed, it not only interferes with our garden and gardening business, but also poses a danger to health and even life. Therefore, it is simply necessary to withdraw it from its site.

Hogweed Sosnowski - a real natural disaster

Reports periodically appear in the press that in some places Sosnovsky’s hogweed has become a natural disaster. It covers all large territories, causing significant damage to farms in fields, meadows, vegetable gardens. It is difficult to control its growth, but it is possible.

Recently, in some places it forms whole thickets. Which is not surprising with this ability to reproduce. After all, only one plant gives up to 100 thousand seeds, which have the ability to maintain viability for several years.

What danger is

A person due to contact with the cow parsnip gets burns, and with a significant lesion, even treatment in the intensive care unit is possible. Especially often children who do not know about this danger suffer.

Furocoumarins, substances that dramatically increase the body's sensitivity to ultraviolet rays, are to blame. Severe burns threaten when the plant comes in contact with a wet body on hot sunny days.

Species and in which countries is growing

At one time, hogweed was cultivated in many regions as a forage crop, and due to its high reproducibility, it began to spread catastrophically quickly. It all started with the fact that Joseph Stalin, having learned that in America, hogweed is a valuable fodder crop, personally ordered the cultivation of it with us.

Very quickly, the propagation of this culture became uncontrollable, and the plant was called "Stalin's revenge", although young leaves of Siberian hogweed were previously added to the first dishes (hence the name).

Sugar was extracted from the roots and vodka was made. In addition, Siberian hogweed is not as aggressive as Sosnowski. And it is often used as a medicinal plant.

Methods of struggle

In the fight against cow parsnip it is very important to prevent the ripening and sowing of seeds. It is better to start the fight in the spring when the plant sprouts. An effective way to fight is chemical, with the help of herbicides. It is important to follow the recommendations indicated on the package, otherwise there will be no effect.

Processing should be carried out in the spring when forming the first rosette of leaves or at least before flowering. In the middle of the growing season, the weed is first mowed, and the remaining leaves are treated with a herbicide.

Of the mechanical control methods, regular plowing of the soil is effective while the plants are in the phase of 2-3 real leaves. For greater efficiency, it is advisable to plow the soil several times during the growing season, because the seeds can germinate in the summer.

And it will take several years to completely clean the area. Mowing will allow you to slow down the growth rate of the plant, but in this place new specimens can arise for a long time. Do not forget also that the juice from the mowed plants, if you do it manually, can get on the skin.

When dealing with cow parsnip, it is important to cut down the growth point below the root neck. If you cut it down, a few sleeping buds will remain on the roots, and the plant will sprout again.

It is also effective to burn umbrellas with seeds during their ripening, but this must be done carefully. They fight with hogweed and with the help of vinegar essence, which is watered by plants. You can also fill it into the cavity of the stem.

When working with hogweed, all exposed skin should be protected, and clothing should be waterproof. Be sure to burn the mowed plants, as there are a lot of nutrients in the shoots of hogweed, thanks to which seeds have time to ripen in umbrellas.

How to remove hogweed from the garden and suburban area?

Hogweed refers to large perennial umbrella plants. Today, there are about 42 varieties of hogweed and some of them are grown as ornamental plants.

Therefore, it is not surprising that many summer residents are increasingly asked to find information on how to remove the cow parsnip from the garden and summer cottage.

Folk methods of struggle

Hogweed differs from its "brothers" in its enormous size. Some plants reach 3-4 meters in height, so it is easier to fight with a young weed.

It should be noted right away that removing hogweed from the summer cottage is not so simple, because the plant has a powerful root system, and its seeds can be stored in the soil for several years until favorable conditions for germination occur.

To combat hogweed, you can use folk methods that are time-tested and famous for their positive results. Since the plant produces a huge amount of seeds, you do not need to wait for its flowering.

It is recommended to prune the buds immediately after their formation, but even if the moment is missed and the cowberry has blossomed, it is necessary to prevent the seeds from sowing over the site.

Another way to prevent the spread of hogweed on the site is the burning of umbrellas with flowering. For this, the tops of the weed should be watered with any combustible substance and set on fire.

After the fire subsides, the rest of the plants should be mowed. But this method is quite dangerous for humans, since in the process of burning essential oils will be released, which is fraught with burns of the respiratory tract.

The above methods will help prevent the emergence of a new weed, but it is recommended to deal with an existing hogweed by annually digging the soil to remove all rhizomes or planting reclamation plants that can clog the weed due to rapid growth. We are talking about legumes, cereals and potatoes.

Herbicides

Less safe methods for controlling hogweed on the site include the use of herbicides. Timeliness of action is also important in this matter. According to the recommendations of specialists, the treatment should be carried out before the seeds ripen, and the second half of spring is considered the most optimal period.

To eliminate the cow parsnip, a drug of mass wide spectrum of action “Tornado” is perfect, with the help of which many summer residents managed to permanently rid the site of weeds. Use the drug in compliance with all recommendations and precautions.

Most often, to obtain a sustainable result, several treatments are necessary, after which it is recommended to dig the soil and plant it with lawn grass. Such an approach to the destruction of hogweed is more dangerous due to its high toxicity, but only with its help will weed be removed forever.

Precautionary measures

As already mentioned, hogweed is a poisonous plant whose juice can be harmful. At the same time, it is possible to suffer from juice not only in the process of weed removal, but with the usual contact of the skin with its leaves and stems.

As a rule, skin lesions are not immediately visible, but only after a few hours, and they are represented by blisters or severe redness. The degree of damage depends on the amount of juice that has got on the skin.

In case of any contact with hogweed, the first thing to do is to cover the damaged area and prevent any contact of the skin with the sun.

Urgent measures to be taken in such cases are presented:

• thorough washing of the affected areas with warm water and soap;
• rubbing the skin with alcohol or other means with a degreasing effect;
• preventing contact with the sun during the next two to three days;
• taking any antiallergic drug;
• treatment of the damaged area with any anti-burn agent.

So, it is possible to get rid of the cow parsnip, but you need to act in a timely manner, preventing the strong spread of weed. Regardless of the chosen method of struggle, it is important not to forget about precautions when dealing with this dangerous plant so that its destruction does not end with the treatment of serious wounds.

How to get rid of hogweed without chemistry in 5 steps

Hogweed is the most dangerous plant in our latitudes. Even a light touch on this plant can cause skin irritation and burns due to the fact that all parts of the plants contain substances that dramatically increase the body's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation.

Hogweed causes severe skin burns on clear sunny days. But to get burned, a short exposure of the skin contaminated with the juice of the plant to the sun is enough.

The lesion sites are difficult to heal, the manifestations of other skin diseases are exacerbated. The greatest number of victims is recorded in the summer months, because it is during the heat season that the contact of the skin of a person with a poisonous plant is most likely.

Often the victims do not realize that they received a burn. The doctor is consulted only subsequently, since in the early stages a burn does not always bring serious trouble. Adults and children, not understanding and not knowing about the danger, quite often laminate various parts of a poisonous plant or just very close to it, and this is also dangerous.

Sosnowski hogweed is spectacular and very productive, its large yellowish-green or greenish-white umbrellas of inflorescences on long (up to 5 meters) thick stems can be seen from afar.

He is considered aggressive in every way. Due to its high viability, self-pollination, an incredible amount of seeds and rapid reproduction, it unconditionally captures new and new territories. He loves moisture and shade, abandoned pastures and fields.

Everyone suffers from the hogweed of Sosnovsky, starting from plants, which he unceremoniously displaces from his habitats and ending with animals and people.

How to breed a plant in your area

If you find a hogweed on your site, try the following steps.

Cut the stem. While the plant has not yet gained growth, try digging it up. Be sure to wear closed shoes, long tight pants, clothes with long sleeves, mittens. So that the juice, if it splashes from the plant, does not get on the skin.

Mulching. After cutting the stem, we cover this place with a dense black film (film thickness of at least 100 microns). So as to completely block the light of the hogweed.

The film must be spread on the surface and applied with something heavy, so that he does not lift it, if all goes well. It is possible to spread soil, boards, heavy construction debris on top of the film.

Leave this place alone for 1-2 seasons. Hogweed seeds also suffer from such cover, and if some survive and germinate, it is easier to cope with young plants than with adults. Sometimes, hogweed seeds are recommended to be burnt.

This method is good if the hogweed is young and the root system is not yet developed.

In no case do not try to use chemicals such as roundup in the fight against hogweed! You will poison the entire microflora of the site for many years. Every season, when you plant seeds and seedlings here, this microflora will nourish them with roundup. You don’t want this, really.

How to get rid of hogweed on the site

Even 30-40 years ago, breeders were engaged in the cultivation of new varieties of cow parsnip, today many scientific minds are struggling with the problem of extermination of this plant.

Varieties

Today several varieties of the plant are known, but the most dangerous for humans is considered to be the hogweed of Sosnowski. This plant is characterized by a height of four meters, huge white inflorescences in the form of umbrellas, sweeping leaves and thick hollow stems.

Everything would be fine, such a gigantic plant looks even very decorative, but, as it turned out, Sosnowski hogweed is very dangerous for human health. The thing is the juice of this plant, which causes real chemical burns.

If the juice of the hogweed of Sosnowski has got on the skin, it is necessary to close the affected area with a dense tissue, protecting it from sunlight.

In a thick shadow or in a dark room, the skin is washed with running water and soapy foam, wiped with alcohol or potassium permanganate. It’s better not to go out in the sun for several days, as the juice is active for 72 hours.

Not only the hogweed of Sosnowski has undergone global destruction. Other varieties of this plant also fell out of favor due to rapid growth and catastrophic vitality.

Weed features

The destruction of the hogweed Sosnowski is justified, because this plant is poisonous and dangerous to humans. But why do people fight on their sites and with other species of hogweed, because it is quite decorative and can decorate a summer house no worse than exotic flowers?

The fact is that initially the hogweed was even selected, tried to breed different varieties, strengthen the natural qualities of this plant. In Soviet times, it was assumed that the weed could cope with several important tasks at once.

Serve as feed for cattle, pigs and goats. The growth rate of the hogweed stalk is up to 10 cm per day, which allows you to get tons of green feed in a very short time.

A dense wall of thick stems was supposed to protect roads and large routes from cattle - cows could not pass through the thickets of old woody weed, so they did not hamper the movement of vehicles.

Hogweed Sosnowski and all other species of this plant very efficiently process exhaust gases, returning pure oxygen to the atmosphere.

Scientists of the Soviet period believed that dense plantings of cow parsnip along roadsides would be able to neutralize toxic exhaust fumes, so the planted planted along the tracks simply in huge quantities.

And at first the plant very successfully performed all these tasks. But the phenomenal survivability and just a huge amount of seeds made the cow parsnip so widespread that the rest of the plants simply could not grow - the cow parsnip clogs all the plants, both weed and cultivated.

And the cows in the country have become much smaller: now there is no one to regulate the amount of this plant.Given that one plant produces up to 70 thousand seeds per season, and also taking into account the exceptional germination of these seeds, it can be argued that it is extremely difficult to deal with cow parsnip. And a person has to do this.

Strengths and weaknesses of the plant

To learn how to get rid of hogweed on the site, you need to understand its features. So, weed grass has such strong qualities:

1. Flowers can be pollinated by insects, and they can produce seeds without pollination, since hogweed is a self-pollinated plant.
2. Frosts do not kill seeds, but make them even stronger, since this plant loves stratification. After severe winter frosts, seed germination increases dramatically.
3. Hogweed is a very strong and fast-growing plant - other crops have no chance next to tall and powerful bushes.
4. The weed will grow for as many years as it takes to plant its seeds. That is, until the plant continues the genus, it will not die. One bush can grow like this in one place for up to 15 years.
5. Bushes do not multiply from the roots - the plant is annual. But, if you cut the stem, radical buds will wake up, and the hogweed will revive.
6. Seeds remain viable after five and after fifteen years of rest.
7. Small seeds are easily transported over long distances by rivers, wind, birds and animals. The appearance of hogweed is possible even in those areas where it had never been before.
8. Hogweed umbrellas cut even in an immature state are able to ripen and produce well germinated seeds. To destroy seeds at any stage of their development is possible only by fire.

All this complicates the process of disposing of the cottage from the cow parsnip. But fortunately, the plant has several weaknesses, such as:

For an effective fight against hogweed it is necessary to use several of its “weaknesses” at once. After all, for example, you can cut the stems of the weed, but buds will bloom on its roots right away. If you destroy the rhizome, the seeds will surely remain in the ground. Integrated control measures must be taken.

How can weed weed in the country

To permanently remove this grass from the site, you will have to work hard. It is unlikely that it will be possible to do this in one season - it will have to at least a couple of years to monitor the condition of the site.

There are several methods for controlling weed:

1. chemical;
2. agrotechnical;
3. biological;
4. mechanical.

It is necessary to consider each of the methods in more detail.

Chemical control method

In forests and steppes, hogweed is usually removed using a substance such as Roundup. The composition is simply filled into a large syringe and each plant is given an “injection”. In a few days, the cow parsnip will die, but its seeds from the past seasons will remain in the ground. Therefore, a few more years you need to monitor the site and remove young shoots.

Safe replacement of herbicides is diesel fuel, on its basis a popular method of weed control has been created. In a syringe, they collect diesel fuel and also make the cow parsnip “injections”. It must be remembered that the best time for “injections” is May or early June, while the stems of the weed are young and not stiff. Later, you can try to prick the hogweed into the sepals.

Agricultural technology on a plot with weeds

One of the most effective ways to destroy hogweed in a summer cottage is to mulch the soil. It is best to mulch in early spring when the seeds have not yet sprouted.But you can use the mulch even later, only first you have to cut or mow the grass under the root.

The price of getting rid of hogweed is a simple plot. After all, one or even two seasons on the ground covered with a dense mulch will not grow anything.

The film is spread over the entire area and additionally pressed with boards, earth or construction waste. If this is not done, the stems of the weed grass will raise the coating and damage it, because they are very strong.

Active weed seeds will still remain in the soil, but it is much easier to deal with young plants - they are easily pulled out of the ground along with the root. It is good to sow a peeled area of ​​one of the lawn grasses so that they clog young shoots of weed.

Mechanical cleaning

This method is the most time-consuming, but also quite effective. Hogweed in this case is removed manually or with a shovel - do not process large areas alone.

The tool is reliable, but applicable only to young plants. The roots and stem of a perennial weed are so strong that not even an ax will break them, not like a shovel.

Young shoots can be pulled out manually, but the stems are fragile, easily broken. Therefore, it is better to harvest the weed after rain or pre-watering the site.

In no case should you fight with a cowhide with your bare hands. Be sure to use rubber gloves, a mask and protective clothing.

Young shoots must be cut with a shovel, capturing 15-20 cm of the underground part of the plant. So you can remove the sleeping buds of hogweed. But after a couple of weeks, you need to control the process - the hogweed can put out new shoots.

If the weed is already blooming, you can try to trick it. It is known that the main task of the hogweed is to give offspring. If you do not completely remove the “heads” of the inflorescences, but only cut off the tops of the umbrellas on which the seeds are located, the plant will “think” that its mission has been completed and will die safely itself. Cut seeds must be burned.

With how to bring out a hogweed, it is more or less clear - it is rather difficult to do this. It is much easier to take preventive measures: do not import soil from infected areas, do not use river water for irrigation, remove single bushes, preventing their reproduction.

If it turned out that a cowberry plantation bloomed in the bought cottage in the spring, you will have to give up all your efforts to fight this weed: simultaneously injections, dig out roots along with the ground and burn seeds.