HogversityField edition · Hogweed.org
What Is to Be Done?
Print on one A4 sheet, landscape, at 100%. Fold in eight, cut the middle fold, and you have a booklet for the back pocket.
Field edition · Hogweed.org
What Is to Be Done?
A pocket guide to giant hogweed
1Know it
- Two to five metres tall, towering over everything around it.
- Stem thick, hollow, bristly, blotched with purple.
- White umbels up to 80 cm across; leaves deeply cut, up to 3 m long.
- Look-alikes stay smaller: cow parsley under 1.5 m, common hogweed under 2 m, wild angelica with a smooth stem.
Do not touch
- The sap burns only in light: contact does not hurt, and that is the danger.
- About 24 hours later: redness. 48 hours: blisters. 72 hours: the worst of it.
- Dark marks can last for months or years. Sap in the eyes is an emergency.
If it touches you
- Wash it off at once with soap and plenty of cold water.
- Cover the skin and keep it out of sunlight for at least 48 hours, even on dull days.
- Blisters: see a doctor. Eyes: rinse with water, wear sunglasses, get emergency care.
Dress for it
- Waterproof overalls, long gloves over the sleeves, rubber boots.
- A face shield or goggles.
- Work on dull days or towards evening, never alone. Wash tools and clothing before you leave.
Cut the root
- Sever the taproot with a sharp spade at least 10 cm below the surface, and lift out the crown.
- Early spring is best, when the rosettes are small; go back in midsummer for the ones you missed.
- Mowing and cutting the heads only postpone it: the root sends up more.
Then wait
- Almost all the seed lies in the top five centimetres of soil.
- Watch the site for at least five years after the last plant.
- Seed travels downstream: work the whole catchment, starting at the top.
Raise a red flag
Seen a stand? Mark it on the Hogatlas, so the next party knows where to go.
hogweed.org/atlas/
Volunteers of all catchments, unite.
Held in common (CC0): copy it, print it, hand it out.
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