Since ragwort is highly toxic to horses and cattle and poisoning is still untreatable, the herb should definitely be combated on pastures. There are three suitable measures to take targeted action against the herb and thus successfully prevent its further spread.
How can you effectively combat ragwort?
The control of ragwort can be done through biological measures with natural predators, mechanical measures such as digging or chemical control with herbicides. The choice of method depends on the quantity and distribution of the plants.
Biological control
Since ragwort provides food for more than 120 insects and bees, you should preferably combat the poisonous plant with biological or mechanical measures. The natural predators of ragwort include rabbits, which like to eat the roots of the herb. Unfortunately, the number of wild rabbits has declined sharply in recent years. It is certainly also due to the fact that the ragwort was able to multiply so extremely.
Biological control agents include
- Beetle
- Moth caterpillars
- Flying
The caterpillar of the ragwort bear, which specializes in ragwort, feeds exclusively on the leaves and young stems of the plant. The caterpillars can damage it so badly that it dies.
Since it is relatively difficult to target the beneficial insects, biological measures to combat them are currently not very promising.
Mechanical combat
Wherever ragwort grows in small quantities, you can successfully and environmentally friendly combat the plant with mechanical measures.
The ragwort forms a deep taproot with numerous fine lateral roots. If the root is not completely removed, a new plant can develop from the remaining root. That's why it's important to dig up the ragwort with the whole root. Even though the toxins do not penetrate the body through the skin, it is recommended to wear gloves when doing this work.
Digging up the roots is easy after a heavy rain shower. Deeply dig out the root with the digging fork and dispose of it in the household waste. Ragwort can also be disposed of in organic waste. As the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture and the “Arbeitskreis Kreuzkraut e. V.” have found, toxic alkaloids can no longer be detected after composting.
Mowing is not suitable for control
The more often you mow the ragwort, the more stubborn it is. It sprouts new stems within a very short time, flowers quickly and produces countless seeds.
Chemical control
When pastures are heavily infested, it is often unavoidable to combat ragwort with chemical agents. Before treatment with Simplex spray, the rosettes should have reached a height of around 15 centimeters.
In order to work well, the remedies must be used when the ragwort is growing strongly. Moist and not too warm weather is ideal for combating it. The plants destroyed by the herbicide must then be completely removed and destroyed.
Attention: Special instructions must be observed when using Simplex spray agents. In accordance with the Spray Agents Ordinance, the application is exclusively the responsibility of a trained group of people.
Tip
The unearthed ragwort is able to continue to form seeds. Therefore, keep the plants in tightly sealed bags until they are destroyed or composted.