In his article "Attack of the killer weed" National Post writer Drew Halfnight says the weed typically grows on riverbanks, ditches and roadsides. However, this week, my daughter's downtown workplace distributed an e-mail warning that the plants had been sighted in a nearby parkette. There's a chance Giant Hogweed could be growing in your backyard--or in the campgrounds, hiking trails, golf courses, or parks you and your family visit.
You can see photos of the entire plant here at the Ontario Weed site--make sure you scroll down to see the photo of a young Giant Hogweed plant. Don't let the large, serated leaves (photo above) fool you into thinking this new plant growing in your garden is some sort of harmless maple sapling--if it's Giant Hogweed, you want to remove the noxious plant before it turns into a 6 metre tall menace.
In the National Post article, which you can read here, Halfnight says the burning sap in the stem, leaves, flowers and roots of this plant can cause cancer or birth defects. Irritation may not be immediate on contact, but skin perspiration and sunlight will produce a reaction. Within 24 hours, burn-like lesions form, followed within 48 hours by large, fluid-filled blisters.
Halfnight, the National Post writer, spoke to a Renfrew County Forestry Manager and Inspector who decided to get rid of the Giant Hogweed plants in his territory. He wore a Tyvek suit, protective goggles and rubber gloves when he cut and bagged the flower-heads and then "nuked" them with Round-Up. He warned, "If a person takes a weed-whacker to this stuff, they get the sap all over."
So, be cautious. If you see this plant on public property, inform the municipality. If you think you have a Giant Hogweed plant growing on property you own, call a professional landscaper to get rid of it now. If you can't afford to hire an expert, follow this advice from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit:
So, be cautious. If you see this plant on public property, inform the municipality. If you think you have a Giant Hogweed plant growing on property you own, call a professional landscaper to get rid of it now. If you can't afford to hire an expert, follow this advice from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit:
- Wear protective clothing, including gloves, long sleeves, pants, and eye protection, rain coat and boots
- Avoid getting sap on your skin
- Immediately remove any flower heads to prevent seed growth and dispersal
- Sever the plant roots 8 – 12 cm below the soil surface
- Dispose of all plant parts in double-bagged garbage bag, seal the bag and DO NOT COMPOST or put it in your yard waste
- Return to plant site periodically to remove any new plant growth
- Wash the clothes you wore to remove the plant afterwards (avoid contact with soiled clothing or tools)
The EOHU site doesn't say how to dispose of the garbage bags of contaminated clothes or plant parts. Should you transport them to your municipality's toxic waste disposal facility? Would you want to load these bags into your car? Is it OK to leave them out on the roadside for your regular garbage pick-up? Call your local waste authority for advice.
Although it might be tempting just to torch the plants (my husband has a handy propane weed-burner he uses on the weeds that pop up in the cracks in our patio stones) don't burn the plant parts, as there's a possibility the burning sap might produce toxic smoke--would you want this poison in your lungs?
One man posted on the EOHU site that he managed to cut down the plants, but couldn't dig out the roots. So he poured gasoline on the roots, and so far, the plants haven't returned. Gasoline is toxic to the earth itself....but what would you do?
I'm wearing long sleeves, long pants, and rubber gloves, even in the hot sun--keeping my garden weeded, putting down some extra mulch, and watching out for leaves that look like Giant Hogweed.
One man posted on the EOHU site that he managed to cut down the plants, but couldn't dig out the roots. So he poured gasoline on the roots, and so far, the plants haven't returned. Gasoline is toxic to the earth itself....but what would you do?
I'm wearing long sleeves, long pants, and rubber gloves, even in the hot sun--keeping my garden weeded, putting down some extra mulch, and watching out for leaves that look like Giant Hogweed.
Fire ants...killer weeds...what's next? Sometimes it feels like we're living in an episode of Supernatural.....
