Stinging Nettles

[Stevie-Ray]

Anybody have them besides me? These things are a genuine pain in the rear. Can't seem to do anything outside without getting stung at least once, and since they excrete acid, the irritation lasts a while. A month or so ago I put on some leather gloves and pulled out a shopping bag full. Damn things found their way into my hands through the cloth that joins the leather. My brother is highly allergic, he got into some and they really did a number on him. I gotta find something I can spread all over the outside of the house that will kill them for good. I don't know, it might have to be Round-up. Then I'll have to start all over again.:frown:

 

[RobertBrown]

Anybody have them besides me? These things are a genuine pain in the rear. Can't seem to do anything outside without getting stung at least once, and since they excrete acid, the irritation lasts a while. A month or so ago I put on some leather gloves and pulled out a shopping bag full. Damn things found their way into my hands through the cloth that joins the leather. My brother is highly allergic, he got into some and they really did a number on him. I gotta find something I can spread all over the outside of the house that will kill them for good. I don't know, it might have to be Round-up. Then I'll have to start all over again.:frown:

I have them here, probably a different variety than yours. They refer to them as Burning Nettles locally. I find that they don't grow in the hot weather and mainly grow on the north side of the house and garage in the spring. I used leather gloves and pulled them by hand. This variety doesn't seem to get more that a few inches tall. But as you say they hurt all day long after you get stung, The thorns are some kind of calcium crystals that break off in your skin and must desolve before the paim subsides.
I'm sure roundup would be effective however in cool weather it can take a week or so to work. This variety generates seeds as soon as it comes out of the ground. So if yours are that prolific you may want to use another method. Perhaps atrazine?

 

[rmancini]

Oh yeah - we got 'em in Washington. When We first moved here, never having seen them before, I pulled some out of the ground with no gloves. It's something you only do once!
The type we have will get over 6' tall by summer's end. Then they will lean over in a slight wind and take a swat at you when you walk by!
Most of the time I pull them with leather gloves. When a clump of them grow together, I'll spray them with - Crossbowｮ herbicide . 30 mins after spraying the leaves begin to wilt. 2 - 3 hours after spraying they lean over at ground level. The next day they are lying on the ground and pretty soon -- they are dust.:thumbsup:
Rich

 

[KennyV]

Sounds unpleasant enough... I've never came across them... I'm glad they are not here... :smile:KennyV

 

[lizard]

Sounds unpleasant enough... I've never came across them... I'm glad they are not here... :smile:KennyV

We do not have them , but we have other ugly things that bite or sting.
Best idea is to find something that kills them stone dead or some other remedy .........sounds horrible.

 

[Ifixdit]

I have never heard of them but there's a large group of people at Gardenweb.com who have! Just search for stinging nettles and wala! Apparently they are good for butterflies, can be quite tasty when cooked and go figure, the Brits use them to make beer!

 

[BKBrown]

Wondering if one of the Propane torch burners would work ???
I know you don't want to use this method for poison oak or ivy !!!!!!!!

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Oh yeah - we got 'em in Washington. When We first moved here, never having seen them before, I pulled some out of the ground with no gloves. It's something you only do once!
The type we have will get over 6' tall by summer's end. Then they will lean over in a slight wind and take a swat at you when you walk by!
Most of the time I pull them with leather gloves. When a clump of them grow together, I'll spray them with - Crossbowｮ herbicide . 30 mins after spraying the leaves begin to wilt. 2 - 3 hours after spraying they lean over at ground level. The next day they are lying on the ground and pretty soon -- they are dust.:thumbsup:
Rich

Sounds like the same ones we've got. Some of the ones I pulled were definitely over 5 feet long, as I had to break them twice to fit in the bag. And walking in shorts is definitely a no-no in my front yard if the wind is blowing at all. I'm going to get me some of this Crossbow Herbicide and I'll be well-armed for next season. I've heard these things are boiled down to make tea, also. Well, I'm not much into trying new recipes, and it sounds like too much work for something that certainly aint gonna taste as good as a cold beer. Sheesh, I was a bit worried about the fauna around this new house, and here it's the flora that's trying to kill me.

Thanks, Rich!:thumbsup:

 

[monica123]

I have them, but we use them for other things, eating them early, they taste like spinach, the sting leaves them with the cooking process and drying them and boiling them into a tea is great to treat allergies. I was always taught when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!

 

[KennyV]

when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
or nettle tea... :smile:KennyV