Post by nige_LS7 on Jul 19, 2015 10:13:04 GMT
Lots of horrific stories in the press recently about this spreading menace - with photos that are horrific but which kids, well everyone really, should be shown as a warning.
there's been this same story in the media at this time of year for a few years, but of course this year it seems worse than ever.
I think that, because I only returned to angling last August, I ended up fishing a few pegs around last September time where the G.H. plants had been smashed down once they'd died off and were all dried up and no longer a threat.
So this has maybe made me a bit casual about the threat. I got away with it yesterday, when I smashed my way into a couple of those same pegs, swinging my spade to smash the plants down. I wasn't going to touch any plants but all the same I had total clothing cover, gloves and glasses on, and making sure I was not in direct sunlight.
The idea was to smash them all down now (along with the nettles, Himalalan B. and long grass), and come back in a week or two to fish, maybe pegging out a tarp over the entire peg then, and probably leaving the tarp in place for some days to keep the vegetation down.
Anyway I just wanted to say that having done some reading overnight I was bloody stupid to be going anywhere near them at this time of year and will not even be swinging my spade into any more of them for at least a month, til they are all dried up and dead and 100% sap free. I'm even worried now that by just smashing the plants down and leaving them, someone else could have come along a little while later and handled them, not knowing the threat - this was a fairly inaccessible spot, but I wasn't the first to fish it last year.
I am sure everyone reading this is well aware but make sure your kids tell all their mates how serious this plant is, to even keep dogs away, etc etc, and to keep out of sunlight if they even suspect sap on the skin, going directly to wash the affected area with running cold water and soap.
Is the Hogweed menace in public areas (because this was as far as i know public land) going to get some more proper attention - ie money -given by government to the EA & councils to give serious attention to invasive species on our riverbanks? Don't hold your breath, in this era when 'austerity' is causing all our public spaces to go to seed, but we all should be relaying these horrific pictures in the press onto our councillors and MPs. It is a political issue.
By the way, anyone know if Giant Hogweed seeds are also toxic to us or to fish? the whole internet is so full of stuff about the sap that it's hard to find out about the seeds, which are spread all around as you smash down the stems.
there's been this same story in the media at this time of year for a few years, but of course this year it seems worse than ever.
I think that, because I only returned to angling last August, I ended up fishing a few pegs around last September time where the G.H. plants had been smashed down once they'd died off and were all dried up and no longer a threat.
So this has maybe made me a bit casual about the threat. I got away with it yesterday, when I smashed my way into a couple of those same pegs, swinging my spade to smash the plants down. I wasn't going to touch any plants but all the same I had total clothing cover, gloves and glasses on, and making sure I was not in direct sunlight.
The idea was to smash them all down now (along with the nettles, Himalalan B. and long grass), and come back in a week or two to fish, maybe pegging out a tarp over the entire peg then, and probably leaving the tarp in place for some days to keep the vegetation down.
Anyway I just wanted to say that having done some reading overnight I was bloody stupid to be going anywhere near them at this time of year and will not even be swinging my spade into any more of them for at least a month, til they are all dried up and dead and 100% sap free. I'm even worried now that by just smashing the plants down and leaving them, someone else could have come along a little while later and handled them, not knowing the threat - this was a fairly inaccessible spot, but I wasn't the first to fish it last year.
I am sure everyone reading this is well aware but make sure your kids tell all their mates how serious this plant is, to even keep dogs away, etc etc, and to keep out of sunlight if they even suspect sap on the skin, going directly to wash the affected area with running cold water and soap.
Is the Hogweed menace in public areas (because this was as far as i know public land) going to get some more proper attention - ie money -given by government to the EA & councils to give serious attention to invasive species on our riverbanks? Don't hold your breath, in this era when 'austerity' is causing all our public spaces to go to seed, but we all should be relaying these horrific pictures in the press onto our councillors and MPs. It is a political issue.
By the way, anyone know if Giant Hogweed seeds are also toxic to us or to fish? the whole internet is so full of stuff about the sap that it's hard to find out about the seeds, which are spread all around as you smash down the stems.