Stinging Nettles help

unrecordings

martinthebandit wrote: »

Buy a decent mower and run it over them once a week, jobs a good 'un

I'd avoid trying a strimmer :eek:

-taff

Dig up the roots bit by bit if you can.

They're a good nitrogen feed if you can stand the smell, put in a tub or bucket or container with water. It does smell like plant sewerage, but you'll probably get rat tailed larvae in there which will help pollinate stuff on your plot.

fatbelly

We have a few but they never get out of hand. I find they are only loosely rooted and with a heavy pair of gloves I can clear any that pop up quite quickly

Davesnave

fatbelly wrote: »

We have a few but they never get out of hand. I find they are only loosely rooted and with a heavy pair of gloves I can clear any that pop up quite quickly

Yes, the ones that are under a year or so old are easy, but in a neglected garden, where they might be very well established, it's different. The roots end up the thickness of a little finger and they get under and through the roots of other shrubs and perennials.

In that situation it's impossible to get the whole root system out, simply by pulling so they just re-generate. Multiply that by a 1/4 acre and it's a real problem, not being recognised or addressed by some here.

That's why I would go for chemical control first, acknowledging that it won't be a complete solution, because there will be bits of long-established nettle that come back even after treatment, and probably plants that the OP doesn't wish to lose that can't be sprayed.

Some digging will be inevitable too. I am still digging-up mature nettles that get going unseen under my very densely planted ornamental garden each year, even though the site was totally cleared about 6 years ago.