How do you get rid of stinging nettles

[davecos]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a way to get rid of nettles, they have spread like wildfire throught my back garden, also i have a cat and a dog so i'm looking for a pet friendly way to do this, i've tried roundup and garlon, but this just kills everything not to mention having to keep the pets in all day. anyone got any eco & pet friendly solution ?

Thanks in advance

[Tallon]

doc leaves (for yourself)
Pull them outta ground, thats what I do, they down come back for a good while

[HappyHunter]

I read this on another site:

Personally I'd let them get to about a foot and a half high next spring,
put on my gloves, go pick all the tops (about the top 6 or so inches) and steam
them, put olive oil and lemon juice on them, and chow down. They don't sting
after they've been cooked, and are one of the tastiest spring greens around.
(Then you can go out and annihilate them)

"I read that the plants' sting is being used for arthritic patients to alleviate
pain."

Here is a good site:

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=90

[davecos]

Thanks Tallon & HappyHunter, i might just try the pulling out if i dont find any other answers, there might be a 'free nettles to take away' post soon, i wish there was something (not chemical) that you could put on them to kill them off.

Thanks again

[smokeyeyes]

I read this on another site:



Here is a good site:

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=90


I wouldn't have even thought you could eat nettles HH, although I do know some people make nettle tea ! Uggh !

What's the story re them being good for arthritis ? just rub them on ? Don't want to be replacing one pain for another ! LOL

[HappyHunter]

Nettles 'ease arthritis suffering'
Stinging nettles can be an effective therapy to relieve the
pain of arthritis, researchers say.

There is anecdotal evidence from around the world of the
usefulness of nettles in treating the condition - from
soldiers in Roman times to modern day Ecuador.

But a study carried out at the University of Plymouth is
thought to be the first of its kind to apparently prove
scientifically that the therapy works.

Stinging nettle leaves were applied to the hands of 27
arthritis sufferers daily for a week.

The results were then compared to the effect of using a
placebo, the white deadnettle leaf, which does not sting,
also applied for a week.

The researchers found that stinging nettles not only
significantly reduced pain, but also that the level of that
pain stayed lower through most of the treatment.

Although pain relief "was most likely to occur if a sting with
weals was produced", 85% of patients said that this was an
acceptable side-effect, and most said they preferred the
stinging nettles to their usual pain relief.

It is not known why the nettles work, but they contain
serotonin and histamine, both of which are neuro-
transmitters, and might affect pain perception and
transmission at the nerve endings.

Other possibilities could be that the sting has an
acupuncture-like effect, or that it acts as a "counter
irritant" like capsaicin, an ingredient derived from peppers
which is used in products like Ralgex.

Conventional treatments

Some of the patients were already taking conventional
treatments - analgesics and anti-inflammatories, but none
had used nettles before.

Dr Colin Randall at the university led the research and first
became interested in the possibility of nettles as a therapy
as a GP when patients claimed it eased their pain.

He said in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:
"The stinging nettle is a freely available plant and its sting
seems a safe treatment for musculoskeletal pain."

The pain of the sting could have an effect on patients'
perception of their arthritis, he added.

The Arthritis Research Campaign is about to fund research
into complementary medicines, including dietary
supplements, herbalism and acupuncture, for the first time.

Chief executive of the charity Fergus Logan said: "New
medicines and treatments have traditionally been
developed under a convention which says in a nutshell
'Don't use it if you can't prove it'.

"But in complementary medicine, it is often believed that
the proof is provided by use and that no further
investigation is needed.

"Scientists find this concept difficult, hence the skepticism
some feel."

Professor Paul Emery, a leading rheumatologist, said: "I'm
all for testing complementary therapies. We have to work
out if they work or not - we can't simply ignore them."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/771563.stm

Yeah I guess if u had a pain in your big toe and ended up smacking your little toe off a door the pain in the big toe would be forgotten haha

I have a special patch of organic nettles where every morning I walk barefoot, it wakes me up and gets me hopping round like a bunny ready to face the day hahahah. It's a bit like walking through hot coals. I am joking here, but the research is serious. I cannot imagine agreeing to participate in a study such as the one above but it is interesting.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/stinging-nettle-000275.htm

[misetusa]

I drink a cup of nettle tea every morning and can swear by it as a great detox! and it doesnt taste bad at all!!

[smokeyeyes]

Thanks for that reply HH, but sounds like swapping one pain for another !! LOL

Think i'll stick to my usual pain killers tho'.

Misetusa, fair play to you. I think i'd find this disgusting as i don't even drink normal tea, i'm a coffee freak !

[misetusa]

Bizarly enough, I hate normal tea - only drink herbal teas! Cant even stand the smell of normal tea!

[davecos]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the responses, but i have still not found a way to get rid of the nettles, i have so many that if i started to think about tea with them i'd be able to challenge china for the saying... i wouldn't do that for 'all the tea in china' it would become i wouldn't do that for 'all the nettle tea in dave's back garden' thanks for all the effort everyone has put in but i want to KILL the nettles, any ideas please....

[smudge]

Hi,
Vinegar Weed Killer Recipe

• 120 mls (4 ounces) Lemon juice concentrate

• 1 liter (1 quart) white or cider vinegar

Simply mix the two ingredients together in a spray bottle and you have your organic weed killer formula.
Spot spray it directly on the weeds, being careful not to spray desirable plants. For the most effective result the best time to spray in during the heat of the day.


http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/organic_weed_killer_formula.html

it worked I did try it good luck

[Ben888]

use white vinigar as the a healing for the stings, sprayed on a cloth then applyed.... only advicei can give... i dont feel nettles anymore :(

[davecos]

Thank you smudge & everyone else, i will try it on monday if its not raining & let you know the results, thanks again :)

[bluecurlygirl]

I saw it on a tv program on bbc where they went out and burnt the nettles with a torch and I think they had to do it a few times to starve the root completely. A lot less effort than digging them out (or pulling them out) and those roots grow bloody deep too! You'd need to do a lot of digging to get them all. Leave one root and they'll come back.

[davecos]

Thanks bluecurlygirl, i've tried what smudge said, if it doesn't work i'll probably have to give your way a go. thanks again everyone

[John Kieran]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a way to get rid of nettles, they have spread like wildfire throught my back garden, also i have a cat and a dog so i'm looking for a pet friendly way to do this, i've tried roundup and garlon, but this just kills everything not to mention having to keep the pets in all day. anyone got any eco & pet friendly solution ?

Thanks in advance


Hi I just wanted to let you know that if you have a compost bin you shoudl cut nettles regularly and throw them into bin a s they are the brilliant for making compost...they also attract butterflies in the summer!

John Kieran

[Headwave]

You could just keep strimming them till they run out of growing energy but it might be better to strim them then mulch the site with cardboard till the roots die.

Don't like noisy strimmers and using petrol?: You could just fell them with a plank of wood with a length of rope tied to each end, forming a loop as a handle. You then just start at one end of your nettle patch and stand the board onto them. As you raise your foot pull on the rope to keep it in contact with your foot as you go for the next step forward.
This is how them lads did those crop circles years ago.
Then with all the nettles flattened cover with old cardboard, carpet or some other light stopping barrier and leave all to rot. Stake, pin or weigh whatever you use with boards and blocks.

It's winter now so they should have died back some anyway so just go for direct light block.

Rot the cut nettles in a barrel to make a liquid plant feed or go with the compost option mentioned. Don't compost the seed heads if in seed at the time.