stirdup
Member
- Location
- On The Blackdowns
Spectacular display on the A303 through Somerset.I think it must be a protected plant in our county.I wouldn't be surprised!
Ragwort A303
- Thread starter stirdup
- Start date
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
It's a bad year for ragwort.
We keep on top of it, but it's sprung up loads of new places this year!
We keep on top of it, but it's sprung up loads of new places this year!
Old Boar
Member
- Location
- West Wales
You cannot see a neighbours field for ragwort - solid from hedge to hedge. I have just cleared the odd one in my field next to it, and it pees me off as I know I will be doing the same for the next few years. I am really tempted to go in to the neighbours with a few gallons of spray...
Red Fred
Member
- Location
- Hants/Dorset border
Our urban neighbours used to be like this with their 5 acre paddock, which was totally infested with ragwort and smack in the middle of our grass fields. They would come over every year and say "Oh Fred, if it bothers you just feel free to hop over and pull it. You don't have to ask", which annoyed me even more. I refused to do their work for them, but couldn't really report them either as I don't think anything gets done, so I had to spray a cordon sanitaire round them each year to keep it contained.
The new neighbours are great, though, and have completely dealt with it over the last few years.
The new neighbours are great, though, and have completely dealt with it over the last few years.
FonterraFarmer
Member
- Location
- Waikato, New Zealand
Having spent more than a few hours doing "ragwort eradication", if I wasn't on the other side of the world, I 'd be tempted to give you a hand at some "twilight eradication"
. I find it pee poor that people have a blase attitude to weed control.carpenter1
Member
- Location
- devon
I pulled all of the stuff on my ground, and looked over hedge to neighbours full of the stuff. Can anything be done to in force removal?
linga
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion
I think the answer to that is yes. In theory at least
carpenter1
Member
- Location
- devon
I would like to know how
- Location
- West Suffolk
Does ragwort actually poison animals? There is a small holder near here who's paddocks of full of the stuff. The horses just seem to eat around it.
I've never seen so much in this part of the world as this year. There's a field as you come into Bury st Eds that is carpeted with it.
I reckon the townies like the look of it.
Bees and insects love it though.
I've never seen so much in this part of the world as this year. There's a field as you come into Bury st Eds that is carpeted with it.
I reckon the townies like the look of it.
Bees and insects love it though.
llamedos
New Member
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-the-spread-of-harmful-invasive-and-non-native-plants
Complain about harmful weeds
Contact the responsible landowner or occupier and ask them to prevent any weeds that are spreading on to your land and that are controlled by law.
If the landowner or occupier fails to take action, send the injurious weeds complaint form (PDF, 346KB, 4 pages) to:
Natural England
PO Box 2423
Reading
RG1 6WY
Telephone: 0300 060 1112
Email: [email protected] (marked: ‘Weeds Act’)
How Natural England will respond to your complaint
Natural England will only take action if weeds are threatening land used for one of the following:
Complain about harmful weeds
Contact the responsible landowner or occupier and ask them to prevent any weeds that are spreading on to your land and that are controlled by law.
If the landowner or occupier fails to take action, send the injurious weeds complaint form (PDF, 346KB, 4 pages) to:
Natural England
PO Box 2423
Reading
RG1 6WY
Telephone: 0300 060 1112
Email: [email protected] (marked: ‘Weeds Act’)
How Natural England will respond to your complaint
Natural England will only take action if weeds are threatening land used for one of the following:
- keeping or grazing horses and other livestock
- farmland used to produce conserved forage (eg, silage and hay)
- agriculture
- write to the landowner to ask them to remove the weeds - the landowner will be given 2 weeks to take action during the summer months
- write to you, to ask if they have been removed
- decide whether enforcement action should be taken if the weeds aren’t removed (eg arrange for the Rural Payment Agency to visit the site and, if appropriate, issue an enforcement notice)
linga
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion
Having had a quick google I fear I may be wrong..
The Ragwort control act allows for the minister to make a control order.
There does not seem to be a legal requirement for anyone to do anything about ragwort unless ordered to do so.
However if your neighbour is creating an "injury" to you maybe try asking the Local Authority.
Edit
Llamedos does it so much better !
The Ragwort control act allows for the minister to make a control order.
There does not seem to be a legal requirement for anyone to do anything about ragwort unless ordered to do so.
However if your neighbour is creating an "injury" to you maybe try asking the Local Authority.
Edit
Llamedos does it so much better !
- Location
- East Sussex
I contacted Natural England about this and the problem with them is the time all this takes.
I have now some forms ready to send off for next year as by the time the process has gone through. By the time they might have taken action the seeds will have set and blown all over you!!
The land has to be within a certain distance of your land, you have to supply maps showing where the problem is in relation to your land. The distances are quite short and are different for thistles and ragwort, or even for Spear thistles and Creeping.
I have never seen the countryside so bad as this year and I fear that some land without sheep to graze it out or extensive spraying will become unusable for hay or silage.
And yes it is very poisonous to cattle and horses when it is dry or in silage. It is a cumulative poison.
Twenty years ago there was none at all around me now it is everywhere. I pull it up along the roads that adjoin my land and have to bully the Environment Agency and National Trust to do something on their land.
I fear that much more stringent penalties will have to be applied to the likes of Highways and Councils as well as private individuals if Ragwort is not to completely take over the landscape.
kernowcluck
Member
- Location
- Cornwall
Animals very rarely eat standing ragwort as it tastes foul. The problems occur when it is dried and/or baled, then they will eat it. Horses are particularly susceptible to ragwort poisoning resulting in liver failure, blindness and other horrible symptoms. It can also affect cattle and humans. Another fact to bear in mind is that it doesn't have to be ingested in large amounts as small quantities over a period of time as the same effect on the liver and by the time symptoms are obvious it is usually too late.
llamedos
New Member
The anecdotal and oft repeated claim of all these horses that die year on year, has been proven to be exaggerated time and again, and were the BHS not made to remove and apolgise for a very misleading advert they ran several years ago.
As far as I am aware there are many other plants which contain the same alkaloids, and little or no mention is ever made of this.
How many of the animals dieing of alleged Ragwort poisoning are actually sent for PM ?
However it remains, that it looks a mess, spreads to those who then have to spend time and money ridding their pasture of it, through no fault of their own, to provide fodder which is weed free.
As far as I am aware there are many other plants which contain the same alkaloids, and little or no mention is ever made of this.
How many of the animals dieing of alleged Ragwort poisoning are actually sent for PM ?
However it remains, that it looks a mess, spreads to those who then have to spend time and money ridding their pasture of it, through no fault of their own, to provide fodder which is weed free.
unless they are short of food
I was ashamed of the 2012 Olympic mountain bike course.
Anyone remember this?
Anyone remember this?
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
The risk we have is that as there's no sheep on our moor any longer, any ragwort left out there is going to be there over winter when our cows are out and if the winter is hard they may eat it.
Other neighbour on the moor doesn't seem interested in removing it on their patch (summer grazers) so I guess we'll have to do it....... again
Other neighbour on the moor doesn't seem interested in removing it on their patch (summer grazers) so I guess we'll have to do it....... again
kernowcluck
Member
- Location
- Cornwall
My neighbour has lost two ponies who were out on loan to ragwort poisoning. Both were PM'd although the vet was 100% sure. My friend lost her horse last winter same way through eating Haylage containing ragwort. It was a horrible death that I would not wish for anyone to go through. There are some poisonous plants that animals seek out in small doses at certain times of the year but there is absolutely no value in ragwort and it is never worth the risk. Even the Cinnabar moth caterpillars are a rare find on ragwort nowadays.