Now I seem to have giant hogweed on my ditchline. I think I took care of it today, but it'll be back because my neighbor does nothing to it. What do you think is worse: wild parsnip or giant hogweed?

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/GiantHogweed.html

It seems like the townships around here want to spread it. They wait until the seeds are mature and then go through with the rotary mower and drag the seeds down the road a little farther. I would think that an old fashioned sickle mower, before it seeds, out would be a better choice.

It seems like the townships around here want to spread it. They wait until the seeds are mature and then go through with the rotary mower and drag the seeds down the road a little farther. I would think that an old fashioned sickle mower, before it seeds, out would be a better choice.

Is there a difference between wild parsnip and common parsnip In the garden? I can't see one looking at pictures.

Spraying an area with herbicide kills everything and leaves an easy area for invasives to get a foothold. Best to target what you want to get rid of directly and minimize collateral damage.

Wild parsnip is native here and behaves well, but I've been battling the invasive giant hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi) for a few years now. There's a "runaway" population spreading here, mosty along trails and dirt roads. Unlike the wild parsnip, they live for several years, and aren't very sensitive to glyphosate, especially where there's total infestation. The same concentration kills the invasive Canadian goldenrod easily. I remove all plants where there are few of them, by cutting them below the growth point with a knife or a small spade. Where the soil is soft, it's possible to just pull out whole young plants. Where there are too many of them, I only destroy the old flowering plants in the last year of their last cycle. I chop the flower heads off with a big knife or a machete, and also chop the stalk up into several sections. If you don't chop up the stalk, it seals itself and has enough energy to produce flowers and seeds autonomously, especially in wet weather, because even green seeds germinate well. I also remove the bud at the base of the lowest leaf because it often sprouts after the stalk is removed, and manages to produce some flowers and seeds until the snow.

I also only handle the plants at dusk or on overcast days, to avoid burns, and carry some water with me to wash away the juice when it sprays. I've also learned that the best way to treat furanocumarin burns is with antibiotic powder, such as Baneocin, it works much better than most ointments and keeps the scalds dry.

Here's a pic from last night: