It's important to be aware of dangerous weeds in your garden. After all, you don't want them to ruin the beautiful scenery of your outdoor space!
To ensure your garden stays happy and healthy, here's a list of the most dangerous weeds in UK gardens to be aware of.
1. Japanese Knotweed
With countless news features, it's easy to see why Japanese knotweed stands as our no.1 most dangerous weed to be aware of. It is an invasive plant species that crawled its way over to UK shores during the early nineteenth century.
Japanese knotweed is known for its rapid and extensive growth across UK gardens. With the ability to cause physical damage to buildings by targeting the weak points of substructures, it's important that you receive help from a licensed Japanese knotweed removal company to eradicate this dangerous weed from your garden.
2. Giant Hogweed
Giant Hogweed is an extremely poisonous weed that can be found in UK gardens. To identify giant hogweed, it's important to take great care and precaution. It is generally between 7-14 ft tall and has white flowers clustered into an umbrella formation.
It's very important to be careful when handling this dangerous weed as the chemicals in the sap of Giant Hogweed can cause severe skin irritation, burns, and blistering.
If you didn't think that was bad enough, the effects can last up to months - and in some cases - years!
3. Common Ragwort
Common Ragwort can pose great safety risks to animals. It is not harmful to humans, but it can be fatal to our four-legged friends.
To identify the Common Ragwort, look out for a 1-metre tall plant with long, thin toothed leaves with a whitish underside. If it is a Common Ragwort, you will also see clusters of yellow flowers.
Common Ragwort is one of the UK's most dangerous weeds as it contains toxic compounds which can cause poisoning if eaten.
4. Hemlock
Hemlock is acutely toxic to both people and animals - even in the tiniest amounts. It also acts incredibly fast and symptoms can appear within 20 minutes after ingestion.
Symptoms of Hemlock poisoning include muscular paralysis, respiratory failure, and even death. To identify Hemlock, look out for bright green, finely-divided leaves with toothed edges and tiny white flowers.
You will most likely find hemlock in ditches and riverbanks, so be sure to search these areas first!
5. Himalayan Balsam
Whilst Himalayan Balsam only survives for one year, it can cause havoc to surrounding nature when active. If you wish to identify Himalayan Balsam, look out for their reddish stems and brightly coloured flowers in shades of pink and purple from June to October.
They are incredibly dangerous to ecosystems near riverbanks as they compete with other plants for space, light and nutrients. This can leave riverbanks completely void of vegetation which makes them liable to erosion.
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