Published: July 08, 2009 01:07 am      

ENVIRONMENT: Giant Hogweed is pretty, but dangerous

Toxic plant sightings are on the rise.

Please don’t pick the hogweed.

It could hurt you, seriously. The 6- to 12-foot-tall leafy specimen with white blossoms as big as dinner plates — imagine Queen Anne’s Lace on steroids — is in full bloom locally, prompting an admonition from public health and safety officials.

The sap of hogweed is toxic. When the flowers are picked or the plant stems are broken, the sap is unleashed — and it can cause blistering burns and permanent scarring of human skin.

Giant Hogweed, a native of the carrot/parsley family, is considered an “exotic pest” by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Every year DEC dispatches teams of specialists to kill its foliage or cut down whole plants at their roots.

The effort is under way again this year, but it’s somewhat trimmed, thanks to the state’s fiscal troubles. According to Naja Kraus, coordinator of the state’s hogweed control project, a lack of funding prevented the teams getting a springtime start on eradication, spring being the ideal time to get after immature plants.

Thanks to federal assistance, one spray crew and two root-cutting crews were hired just last week, Kraus said, but now they have less than nine weeks to hit hogweed hot spots statewide. They won’t be able to get at every patch that’s been reported to the DEC, she added. It’s not known when, exactly, a crew will be in Niagara County.

Meanwhile, the City of Lockport has hired a contractor to “shoot down” hogweed on public property such as the right-of-way along Lake Avenue between Old Niagara Road and Reid’s Drive In.

The contractor also will be directed to 81 South St., private property where hogweed is growing about 7 feet high in front of a vacant house and poses a potential risk to neighbors, Streets Superintendent Mike Hoffman said.

The bullet likely to be used, RoundUp, is available to anyone commercially, but by law, the city must hire a licensed contractor to spray on its behalf, he said.

Hogweed also has been spotted along Old Niagara and Day roads, although the plants John Farfaglia saw appear to have been sprayed already, he said, perhaps at the county’s direction.

Farfaglia, an agent of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, said there’s been an increase in the number of residential sightings called in to the extension this year.

Eradication “is a constant maintenance issue,” he said. “Research suggests established plants require five years of (annual) spraying” in order to be rid of them permanently.

Erie County has the highest reported concentrations of hogweed in New York state, according to DEC. In Niagara County, most reported sightings are clustered in the eastern-central portion.

Private property owners can undertake their own eradication efforts; there’s quite a bit of advice about specific methods on the DEC’s Web site, www.dec.ny.gov.

One set of steps recommended by Kraus: In autumn, plow areas where the plants have grown and cover the soil with black plastic.

Removing spent flower heads to prevent seeding helps control the weed as well — but anyone doing this is advised to cover every bit of skin, even the face, beforehand. One expert suggests covering each spent bloom with a plastic bag before cutting the stem, to catch any falling seeds, then burning the heads and seeds.

To report a hogweed sighting and obtain advice about controlling the plant(s), call the state Giant Hogweed Hot line at (800) 554-4501, ext. 58760.

Callers may have to try repeatedly to get through this time of year, Kraus said; having photos of the suspected hogweed in hand during the call is helpful, she added.