Herkulesstaude (Riesenbärenklau) bekämpfen

If you have discovered giant hogweed, report it to the landowner or land user and the Lower Nature Conservation Authority. Combat findings on your own property yourself in compliance with the requirements - in this way you ensure a safe environment.

Herbaceous perennial, also known as giant hogweed, blooms from July to September. Due to its size and the large white umbel, it is beautiful to look at, but also poisonous.

The perennial with the white umbel flowers has been spreading for several decades. It finds good conditions on fallow land and along river banks, floodplains and more humid locations. One plant reproduces with up to 50,000 seeds, which can germinate for up to ten years. The light and buoyant seeds spread along waterways, roads and railways.

Contact with the plant under the influence of UV light (sunlight) can lead to burns on the skin. The plant therefore poses more of a health risk to humans. In order to consistently suppress the plant, it is also necessary to combat the populations on private land, as otherwise they can spread again from there. The help of you as citizens is therefore required. We are also appealing to the owners and land users of affected private properties to take on the task of removing the Hercules bushes.

The following measures must be observed when combating Hercules' bush in order to prevent damage to health:

• Protective clothing is essential (long pants, thick sweater, safety goggles, face protection and, above all, gloves).
• If possible, remove plants at dusk or when it is very cloudy.
• Face and hands should also be protected with a sun cream with a high sun protection factor.

Herbaceous perennial control is a lengthy and labor-intensive process. For this reason, control outside your own garden/field should be carried out at district and municipal/city level together with experts.

The following control options are available:

• Digging up the plants in April or May when growth is just starting. If the roots are cut at a depth of 15 cm, new growth is hardly possible. However, success must be monitored.
• During the flowering period from June onwards, the flower spikes must first be cut off before the rest of the plant is removed (beware of plant sap splashes). The seeds must be prevented from falling off, as they will continue to ripen.
• If cones are still hanging on the plant from the previous year, they must be removed with particular care if they still contain seeds. The cones should be burnt on the spot if possible.
• Mowing the plants is suitable for larger contiguous areas. This is best started shortly before flowering. This is when the plant is weakened the most. However, mowing must be repeated approx. 5-6 times at intervals of 10 days, as the Hercules perennial will produce flowers again just 14 days after mowing, sometimes at a height of less than 10 cm. Only this frequent repetition promises success.
• Individual new seedlings can be removed with a hoe.
• It is best to dispose of the plant/plant parts in the household waste - so that they are destroyed in an incineration plant.

Permanent removal of Herculean perennial grass also includes multi-year follow-up checks in May/June, as the seeds may still be in the soil and only germinate years later. Dense turf prevents the seeds lying on the ground from germinating.

All parts of the Hercules plant contain a dangerous substance, furanocoumarin, which gets onto the skin on contact with the plant sap. When exposed to sunlight, furanocoumarin forms an antigen together with the body's own protein, which leads to a severe allergic reaction.

Blisters form on the skin that resemble a severe burn and a discoloration that can last for months. Vapors can also affect health and cause nausea, for example. Even dried stems, flowers and seeds still contain the dangerous furanocoumarin. The tricky thing is that there is no visible reaction immediately after contact. The greatest danger from sunlight occurs half an hour to 2 hours after skin contact.

From July to September, the Hercules perennial, which is poisonous to humans, blooms, spreads rapidly and must be combated accordingly.

In cases without nature conservation relevance (e.g. locations near kindergartens, cycle paths, sunbathing lawns in outdoor swimming pools), you should inform the local public order office.

To help with containment, report plant locations via the Internet reporting site "ArtenFinder Service Portal Rheinland-Pfalz". In addition, you can report the location to the lower nature conservation authority in your district or, in independent cities, to the city administration.

As the landowner and land user, you are responsible.

The Struktur- und Genehmigungsdirektionen Nord und Süd (SGD Nord and SGD Süd) are responsible for certain nature conservation measures.