Sycamore Seeds - the next thing to worry about.

[HobleytheTB]

Having recently learnt of sycamore poisoning, I noticed a few a little distance from the field my horses are in, a long with a few of the non toxic maples. There's been a few dead sycamore leaves in the field after the recent strong winds, so I went to have a closer inspection this morning. Ended up finding helicopters loosely scattered on approx 1 acre of the field ?


What a nightmare! There's been horses on these fields for 15 years or so all year round without issue, but it's still a worry. I picked up as many as I could by hand in the time i had, but theres still more to go.


Has anyone sent seeds off to the RVC for testing? Was it useful?


Are those garden vacuum type things any use for collecting the leaves and seeds? The ground is dry at the moment so they should suck up fairly easily I hope!

 

[Marigold4]

I use a garden leaf blower/vacuum to hoover them up. I watch the wind forecasts closely to see where they are likely to land.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I don't know about testing, but I do know that the V shaped seeds are toxic sycamore and the seeds that are open wide in a straight line are just field maple.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

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[HobleytheTB]

I use a garden leaf blower/vacuum to hoover them up. I watch the wind forecasts closely to see where they are likely to land.

I think that's going to be the best option. I've never noticed them in the field before but they must have been around as they are large trees - I guess I was just never looking for them!

 

[Marigold4]

I strip graze and start as far as poss from the tree then scour the new bit each day and do an extra check of the rest if it's been windy.