July 20, 2011 - Wayne County - You
might spy giant hogweed in a nearby field, pass it on a trail or
notice it by the roadside, its striking crown of white flowers
towering over other plants. If you do, stay away. One touch can bring
a great deal of pain or worse. “You could actually sustain the
kinds of burns that could land you into the hospital,” says Brett
Shulman, MD, lead physician of the Rochester General Medical Group
Center for Dermatology. That danger could be close by.
A
state Department of Environmental Conservation map shows giant
hogweed infestations of 400 plants or more in parts of Wayne, Ontario
and Cayuga counties.
Giant
hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, is a native of the Caucasus
Mountain region of Eurasia that was introduced to the U.S. as an
ornamental plant. A state Department of Environmental Conservation
map shows the plant’s reach extends across New York, though most of
the sites in which it is found are in the central and western parts
of the state. Giant hogweed has also established itself in several
other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and as far away as
Oregon.
The
federal government classifies the plant as a noxious weed, and it
cannot be sold, propagated, or transported legally. The danger of
giant hogweed lies in the plant’s sap, and its affect on human
tissues. “It basically sensitizes you to light,” Shulman says.
Even dead giant hogweed plants that contain sap can still be
hazardous. Unless the sap is washed off quickly, as little as 20
minutes of any kind of sunshine even through a window can result in
everything from sunburn to second or third-degree burns, Shulman
says. Contact with the eye could lead to blindness.
In
any case, quick action is necessary, and when in doubt get medical
treatment. “If you’re not symptom-free, then you really need to
seek the care of a physician who is knowledgeable of this,” Shulman
explained. Even contact with the powder that comes from the giant
hogweed’s flowers presents burn hazards, he says. On the other
hand, plants that have completely dried out are rarely hazardous.
“The toxin itself is broken down fairly quickly when it gets
exposed to oxygen and ultraviolet light,” says Jerry Carlson, a
research scientist for the DEC’s Forrest Health Program.
To
eradicate giant hogweed, the Forrest Health Program created the Giant
Hogweed Control Program about four years ago, Carlson says. Since
then, the control program has determined the extent of the giant
hogweed problem in New York. “(We) found, we think, pretty much all
of the sites that have hogweed around the state, “Carlson
explained. It has also developed procedures for fighting the plant,
and ways of doing so.
Now,
private property owners can call the hogweed control program’s
hotline to report sightings of the plant, and learn how to eliminate
it. Carlson says private individuals can safely kill and dispose of
giant hogweed using off-the-shelf weed killer and other materials.
The control program prefers that they do so when they can, but will
take care of the problem when requested, or with property owners’
permission.
Six
part-time crews are available to tackle the plants free of charge
from April, the start of peak giant hogweed growth, to the end of
September, after their seeds have begun to fall. The hogweed control
program’s crews use mechanical means and herbicides to “treat,”
or attack giant hogweed, Carlson says, and often have to return to
sites more than once to kill off the hardy plants.
Of
the $360,000 annual cost of the Giant Hogweed Control Program,
$280,000 comes from a two-year federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act grant. Since it began, the control program has
“dramatically reduced” infestations of the giant hogweed, Carlson
says. Whereas its crews treated an estimated 10,500 plants in 2008,
they treated over 1.2 million plants in 2010. “We’re two-fifths
of the way towards what would be an attainable eradication program,”
he says. Carlson predicts Giant Hogweed Control Program crews will
have treated as many as 2.5 million giant hogweed plants by the end
of the year.
Local
agencies have taken on giant hogweed, as well. Kevin Rooney,
superintendent of the Wayne County Highway Department, says “large
growths” of the plant has been spotted in Lyons, Huron, Macedon,
Palmyra and other parts of the county. His department has reported
plants found on private property to the DEC, and sprayed those
growing along rights-of way with herbicides. “We have sprayed all
of the hogweed that we know about,” he says. Despite those efforts,
the occurrence of giant hogweed has grown “a little worse” since
he took office four years ago, Rooney says.
Though
the Giant Hogweed Control Program has made what appear to be
substantial inroads on the problem, Carlson says its ARRA grant will
run out before the 2012 growing season, and no replacement is on the
horizon. “It’s very difficult to get a commitment for any kind of
federal or state money right now,” Carlson says.
