Strimming nettles?!

[jillygem]

I have some nettles around the edge of my field and was wanting to cut them down as my new foal keeps getting stung! I usually have the sheep in earlier in the year and they eat them down but due to foal arriving that wasn't possible.
My question is - is it ok to strim the nettles or would it be a worry if they were to eat some of the cut grass around it which I have heard can cause colic?
Thanks in advance x

 

[Ibblebibble]

yep strim em ,i have huge patches of them on a real rough bit of ground at the front of my field, i get hubby to strim a patch and then fork them out into the field. because i have a lot we do a little bit at a time to make sure they can't gorge themselves and colic my lot love them and they are good for them!

 

[Fii]

As bb says just strim them and as they wilt the horse will probably eat them.
Dont worry about the grass, strimming is'nt the same as mowing, and it wont cause collic, because the grass does'nt become mashed up, it's just cut.

 

[Cuppatea]

gardening gloves, wait till after rain (so the ground is softer) grab chunks of the nettles in both hands and pull them out fom the roots. Really easy to do.

 

[unicornleather]

Word of warning if you intend to brush cut or strim nettles.
Years ago one of my stables (headley grove near Epsom) I used to tend to on a reguler basis asked me if I could brush cut part of their cross country course near to the yard as it was over grown with stinging nettles. As I had the petrol brush cutter I agreed.
I had a mask on, shirt (to stop stinging hairs flying back and stinging me!), headphones to avoid the noise of the brush cutter and rigger gloves and boots. Merrily cutting away down the bank through the trees I didn't see the wasps nest until I was in it and felt a sting on my wrist where a wasp had crawled inside my glove. I looked up and surrounded by very pee'd off wasps, I then felt my chest being stung, I was running back up the bank and cleared a 2.5 foot fence (still with 6.5 foot brush cutter attached to me on a harness!) I chucked the cutter down and ran!
I looked down my shirt to see loads of wasps crawling up my chest stinging me and boy it really does itch when your nipples get stung numerous times!
I made it back to my Jeep bare chested as I had ripped my clothes off on the way out of the nest.
Looking over to the stables for some assistance I saw the girls on their horses ready to go out on a hack all staring in my direction, it dawned on me then they couldn't see the wasps just me dancing around throwing myself over fences and ripping my clothes off. DID they come over to see what was wrong, did they hell!
They cleared off on their hack probably thinking I was having a funny 5 minutes, so beware, ALWAYS check the nettles or brush for bees and wasps nests, stand and watch the site for several minutes to see if there are any tell tale coming or going of bees or wasps.If you are allergic, make sure you have your epi pen handy too.
Oz

 

[jillygem]

Thanks for all your replies - the nettles are now gone unfortunately I only got your message unicorn after the job was done and luckily I did not come across any wasps! Loved your story tho really gave me a giggle! (and will check for them in the future so I don't scare the farmer!)

 

[Tnavas]

Strim away and they will be eaten with relish - not tomato! Then once eaten lime the area well and this should stop them wanting to grow back.

 

[Toffee44]

Just strimmed mine horses loved it. Wear a scarf I got stung down my neck and face bloody hurt.

 

[indie999]

Appreciate that the foal is getting stung but bear a thought for the wildlife? My horse loves munching these but here is a link, tortoiseshell butterflies need the nettles etc etc

Cant understand why people want to get rid of them. I encourage them in part of my field and leave alone. Unless old boy gets to them as well.......... pls leave some



http://www.nettles.org.uk/nettles/wildlife.asp

 

[hobo]

Unicorn's reply made me cry!!!

 

[Ibblebibble]

Appreciate that the foal is getting stung but bear a thought for the wildlife? My horse loves munching these but here is a link, tortoiseshell butterflies need the nettles etc etc

Cant understand why people want to get rid of them. I encourage them in part of my field and leave alone. Unless old boy gets to them as well.......... pls leave some



http://www.nettles.org.uk/nettles/wildlife.asp

think i have enough around the edges of my field and certainly across the rest of the farm to house all of englands butterfly population,


wasps nests and other nasties are the perfect reason to get your OH to strim lol, my hubs loves a good splattering of thistles and rotting unidentifiable objects

 

[OhCappaGino]

I dont have stingy nettles i have docks!!!

Can i strim these? and are they safe enough to leave in the field or should then be collected?

 

[bounce]

Best to pull up docks by the roots before they start going to seed. I always find trying to use the strimmer on them pretty useless.

 

[unicornleather]

Forgot to add, if you do get stung numerous times as I did, best thing to take the itch away is vinegar only downside is you end up smelling like a chip shop!
Oz

 

[D66]

Some gardening gloves aren't nettle proof, if you want to pull up nettles use washing up gloves - and long sleeves and wellies! If you grab them near the ground you can pull up a lot of root with each stem. Have fun.

 

[Hippona]

Best to pull up docks by the roots before they start going to seed. I always find trying to use the strimmer on them pretty useless.

Yes...pull them up or dig them up by the roots. If you do it before they get too big its much easier- you should get less and less each year too.

Bane of my life...docks

Re nettles- I cut mine down and then pull the roots out afterwards....less grow back.

(ETA....well, Isay I do this...in reality I pay my teenage son to do it)

 

[Hoofprints in the Snow]

Keep some and dry them out and give to horses as a supplement in the winter. I give to my lammi pony with other dried herbs from the hedge rows. I have heard of someone baling them in with their hay obviously not with other bad weeds such as ragwort.

 

[ISHmad]

Our horses love eating wilted nettles so we cut them down and leave them for the horses to eat. There are lots in and around the field so we do leave some in situ for wildlife too. Perfect compromise I think.

 

[Time Tells]

I dont have stingy nettles i have docks!!!

Can i strim these? and are they safe enough to leave in the field or should then be collected?

Not successfully. Pulling them can also leave the root, so they will return. If they go to seed, they will come back the following years tripple thick. Wait until you have had rain and when the ground is wet dig them up. This is hard going on older docks, just exhausting and back breaking. I just had enough of this and so removed the horses to another paddock and sprayed them with Headland Polo. Keep the horses off the paddock for 14 days. Darn good stuff.
www.progreen.co.uk
http://www.progreen.co.uk/index.php?searchStr=headland+polo&_a=viewCat&Submit=Search