Invasive weeds

Giant Hogweed is an ornamental plant introduced into gardens in Britain in the nineteenth century. It is a non-native invasive species.

Giant Hogweed is a successful invasive plant due to its prolific seed bank (average of 10,000 - 20,000 seeds dispersed from each plant) and its ability to disperse these seeds easily.

Giant hogweed sap contains a chemical which, in the presence of sunlight, causes a nasty and potentially dangerous skin reaction in almost everyone who comes into contact with it, resulting in burning, itching and blistering. The lesions are slow to heal and any consequent scarring may persist for at least 6 years. The reaction can occur by individuals accidentally brushing past leaves and can be especially acute in children. Blistering can take 24-48 hours to appear after exposure, and dense pigmentation is visible after 3-5 days. 

For this reason it is considered to be a serious and significant danger to public health.

If you do come into contact with Giant Hogweed, cover the affected area of skin immediately from sunlight. Then wash the skin with cold water as soon as possible. If contact is with the eyes or blisters occur, seek medical advice immediately. 

What to do if you have Giant Hogweed growing on your property

Recent changes in legislation have given local authorities the power to take legal action, where necessary, against the owners of private land where non-native invasive plants like Giant Hogweed are invading neighbouring properties.

You are not legally obligated to remove these plants, but if you allow the Giant Hogweed to grow onto other people's property, they could take a private nuisance action against you. Under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, local authorities can now issue land owners with a Community Protection Notice to formally require them to control the spread of Giant Hogweed on their land.

However, we would only consider issuing a Community Protection Notice where residents are taking no action and as a result this is causing Giant Hogweed to significantly spread onto neighbouring land.

if you believe you have Giant Knotweed growing in your garden, you should deal with it as quickly as possible. it would be advisable to notify your neighbours if you believe you have Giant Hogweed in your garden in order for them to ascertain whether it is present in their gardens. Early identification and treatment will contain the plants from further spreading.

if you need to notify your neighbours that you have Giant Hogweed in your garden a suggested format could include the following:

We have recently discovered Giant Hogweed growing in our garden. We are starting a management programme immediately to control, and eventually eradicate, this plant.

As it is very invasive it would be advisable that you check your garden to see if you also have this plant so that you can start your own management programme. There is information available on Coventry City Council's website that you may find useful on how to identify and control the spread of these plants.

Removing Giant Hogweed

You can find advice on how to control Giant Hogweed, please see the RHS website.

Please note that under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Giant Hogweed is considered to be controlled waste. The plant or any soil containing the plant would have to be disposed of by a suitably licensed waste carrier at an appropriately licensed waste site. For further advice on this please visit the DEFRA website.

Under no circumstances should Giant Hogweed waste be placed in domestic waste bins or flytipped elsewhere.

What to do if you believe your neighbours have Giant Hogweed growing on their property

If you believe that your neighbours have Giant Hogweed growing in their garden and that there is a risk of it spreading to your garden, or if it already has spread to your garden, it would be advisable to contact them asking them if they are aware that they have Giant Hogweed growing in their garden. You should ask them to confirm that they will put a management plan in place to control the spread to your garden.

in the first instance a suggested format could include the following:

We believe that you may have Giant Hogweed growing in your garden.

We thought you would want us to make you aware as it is recommended that a management programme be put in place to control the spread of this plant onto my property.

We will regularly monitor our garden to ensure that any spread is dealt with immediately and will keep you informed if any is discovered.

You should allow four weeks for your neighbour to respond. If they fail to do so, you should write a second letter restating the contents of the first letter and asking them to confirm their intended actions.

A suggested format for a second letter could include the following:

We wrote to you recently informing you that we believe you may have Giant Hogweed growing in your garden. You are not legally obliged to remove this plant but if you allow Giant Hogweed to grow onto my property you could be prosecuted for causing a private nuisance.

Recent changes in legislation have given local authorities powers to take legal action, where necessary, against the owners of private land where non-native invasive plant species are invading neighbouring properties.

If you do not reply to this letter informing us that a management programme will be put into place to control the spread of this plant onto my property, we will inform Coventry City Council who have the power to issue  a Community Protection Notice.

If, after a further four week period, you have still not had any response to either of the letters you have sent, please contact Coventry City Council.

For the Council to take up your case, it will be necessary for you to provide copies of the letters you have sent to your neighbour and also for the case to meet certain criteria.