How to get rid of nettles in the country forever: a list of the best ways

Nettle is an erect plant with side branches. It can reach a height of two meters. The stems and leaves are green in color of varying saturation. They are covered with multiple stinging hairs.

Each hair contains active substances that penetrate the skin of a person or animal upon contact with nettle. When exposed to acetylcholine, serotonin and histamine, pain appears, and tartaric and oxalic acids provoke the formation of redness and blisters, strengthening the pain.

Content:

• How does nettles harm the land?
• What drugs will help get rid of nettle
• Fighting a stinging plant with folk methods
• Preventive actions

How does nettles harm the land?

Weeds that fill a garden plot can cause a lot of trouble:

1. After flowering, the seeds ripen on the nettle, which it generously sprinkles on the ground. They give life to young plants, rapidly capturing new territories.
2. With age, the roots of the stinging plant become strong and penetrate deeply into fertile soils. So the weed displaces and oppresses vegetable crops.
3. The weed tends to dry out the soil and make it difficult to cultivate it, so it is difficult for cultivated plants to survive next to it.
4. In the thickets of weeds, many harmful insects find shelter, which freely migrate to many garden crops.
5. Also, nettle can become a source of the spread of dangerous diseases for vegetable crops.

It is not easy to get rid of thickets of stinging weeds forever. Many summer residents have been struggling with them unsuccessfully for several years. But there are several proven ways that give a positive result.

What drugs will help get rid of nettle

You can fight a weed plant using chemicals. This is the least costly method that saves time and effort. The chemicals are especially popular for controlling widespread stinging weeds. Herbicides can be soil and ground. The former act on the plant through the leaves and stems. And the latter kill the weed through root system.

The drug Roundup is especially popular among gardeners. It is the least dangerous to humans, does not accumulate in the ground, and is quite effective against nettles. Also, the herbicide can be replaced with similar drugs: "Zero", "Fosulen", "Utal", "Gosorg", "Tornado" and "Hurricane".

Poisonous agents should be sprayed on plants in warm, dry and calm weather.

The poisons kill the weeds after a few days. And the planting of vegetable crops can be carried out immediately after processing. With all the advantages of chemicals, many gardeners prefer not to use them. Especially if there is a well with drinking water on the site. To combat nettles, they use proven and effective folk methods.

Fighting a stinging plant with folk methods

Since the inception of gardening, many ways have been invented to destroy nettles in the garden.And some methods have shown themselves especially well and gained popularity:

• Weeding. This is the most time consuming and most effective way to control weeds. Nettles need to be weeded out with a hoe or hoe, picking out the roots of the plant from the ground. To achieve maximum effect, the area freed from nettles should be dug up and the remaining roots removed. To prevent the plant from germinating again, the treated area must be covered with an opaque material. And after a while, the missed shoots and roots of the plant will rot and the stinging plant will be destroyed forever.
• Alcohol treatment. This method began to be used in the thirties. A month before sowing, the site was sprinkled with a solution of ethyl alcohol. Ethanol stimulates the germination of weeds, which must be carefully weeded. The method is valid for the whole season.
• Removal by fire. The method should be used after sowing vegetable seeds, but until they have sprouted. The soil is calcined with a blowtorch. The procedure must be carried out very quickly in order to kill only the weeds and prevent damage to the sown seeds. If the seeds of cultivated plants have not yet been sown, then fires are kindled, changing their location.
• Overriding method. Overgrown weeds are mowed and covered with dense linoleum. Mowed nettles are folded on top and sprinkled with earth. Biobacteria can be sprayed on top. Nothing will grow under the linoleum, and the earth will become loose. And the cut grass will make a good fertilizer. If it is not planned to plant vegetable crops, then the area freed from nettles should be sown with replacement crops - buckwheat, phacelia or siderates.
• Potassium salt treatment. This method is most commonly used in greenhouses where weeding is difficult and chemicals can damage crops. The treatment is carried out with a 30% solution of potassium salt. The method does not do any harm, but it does not last long.

Some gardeners have gotten used to exterminating the stinging culture with boiling water and other available methods. Gardening is developing, experience is accumulating, so there are many ways to deal with nettles, and everyone can choose the most affordable one.

Preventive actions

In order to prevent overgrowing of the site with nettles, preventive measures should be taken. The favorite spots of the burning weed are along the fences and shaded corners of the garden. These areas are covered with a film, roofing felt or boards to limit the access of light to young shoots and prevent them from developing into a full-fledged plant.

If the nettle still grows, then the plant must be mowed regularly, avoiding flowering.

For the winter period, vulnerable areas are mulched with fallen leaves or sawdust... To permanently remove the nettle from the garden, you can use any of the presented methods or come up with your own method. It all depends on the scale of the problem, the availability of finances and free time.

But we must remember that everything in nature has its place. And nettles can do a lot of good. Therefore, before exterminating a plant, you should study its beneficial properties in order to use it with maximum benefit.

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