Fire Weed Management

[Mousehog]

I got good advice to remove our infestation of fire weed, but in South East Qld some of the the weeds have already seeded. We are pulling them out anyway. We found lots of fireweed in one paddock which was not grazed and not slashed so the grass is high and we just didn't think.
Member @Alien gave great advice. I will keep you posted of our progress.
Anyone else battling these toxic weeds?

 

[oosik]

Hmm - there are two recognized species of Fireweed. Here in the PNW it is acknowledged for its striking beautiful floral display. Folks plant this herb for its showy display.

I guess - an over abundance could become a nuisance. The web site I checked did not indicate it was toxic.

 

[Snobdds]

I got good advice to remove our infestation of fire weed, but in South East Qld some of the the weeds have already seeded. We are pulling them out anyway. We found lots of fireweed in one paddock which was not grazed and not slashed so the grass is high and we just didn't think.
Member @Alien gave great advice. I will keep you posted of our progress.
Anyone else battling these toxic weeds?

They are not toxic and if you think it's a weed, approach it like any other weed.

Either keep them mowed or spray chemicals on it.

Simple stuff...

 

[ning]

There's fire weed in US (Chamaenerion angustifolium) which is pretty and there's fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis) in Australia - Queensland & NSW in particular (though native to Madagascar) - which is invasive & toxic to livestock.

Different things.

 

[scootr]

We use 2 or 3 approaches to invasive weed abatement for fire control here. 2 happen when the weeds first emerge, spray or scrape them off the dirt. When scraped off they usually reemerge so scrape some more and end up with bare soil aka firebreak or mow before they go to seed. Spaying with a reemergent works best but it costs more. So you spray more often or at a higher cost.
Mowing can work since the grasses usually take it better than the weeds but timing is everything. It usually takes years of vigilance to rid an area of weeds.

 

[Mousehog]

We were working today in the middle 20 acre section and I pulled up more fireweed plants that we had missed on the first pass. Here in South East Qld we have the yellow flowered toxic mongrel weeds.

 

[Oz_Kioti]

Also located in SE Qld (Australia) on a beautiful 40 acre block, so we keep a plastic garbage bag in each quad bike, and whenever we're prowling around, the brilliant yellow 14 leafed little bastards are immediately obvious, since the pasture has yet to show growth after winter. We pull them out and immediately place them in the plastic bag, as they do drop petals/seeds so easily. I sometimes wonder if it's a futile effort as I see some roadside verges and paddocks in the vicinity awash with Fireweed, and wonder if we're pushing the proverbial uphill with a pointed stick trying to contain it. But even before they flower, the deep green colouring and distinctive growth pattern makes them reasonably easy to spot too. They seem to appear in late winter, like now. But, so far, so good!

 

[ponytug]

We do something similar with a local toxic invasive (star thistle). For a decade or so, it worked ok, but when the neighboring land became basically solid weed, hand pulling wasn't enough. Still working on a solution. Like fireweed, one plant can generate thousands of seeds.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[jyoutz]

We do something similar with a local toxic invasive (star thistle). For a decade or so, it worked ok, but when the neighboring land became basically solid weed, hand pulling wasn't enough. Still working on a solution. Like fireweed, one plant can generate thousands of seeds.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

That stuff is satanic. I’m glad we don’t have it in the southwest.

 

[ponytug]

That stuff is satanic. I’m glad we don’t have it in the southwest.

Wearing thick leather double gloves, I still get spiked by the thorns, which have enough toxin on them to get a reaction on my skin. If I do too much at one go, I can feel the effects of inhaling the vapors. As you wrote, satanic.

All the best,

Peter