sasha.p

Thanks for the info but my maths is rubbish not my strongest point at all im guessing thats for calculating area and working out measurements for dosage etc?

Yes your correct the flowers were up early spring I remember now those yellow ones!I would never of guessed they were from the same plant!Thank you

Thank you that's brilliant now I know what I am dealing with will get it sorted . The part its on is an area where a load of hardcore was dumped many moons ago I paid for a hiab years ago to take a load as contaminated waste cost a fortune to get it removed but we was left with an area of knotweed horse tail and this stuff I didnt bother with any of them other than treating the knotweed which took 6 years to kill completely this year is the second year of no re emergence of the knotweed. So I have now focussed on the next strange looking weed which was the horses tail so that lot got its first dose this year as I realised that was spreading along our driveway probably from the spores as we have driven past it. Then im left with this coltsfoot so thank you for the info will look at getting something in for it now I know what to look for thats what I love about arbtalk you guys are full of usefull info brilliant thanks for the help and advice:thumbup1:

I am getting asked more and more do I do weed treatment and got asked by a customer today who's son runs a business locally and want their site maintained I know my local college do the spraying tickets but wanted to ask is there anything I need to learn before I head out and do the course is there any info that will help me or will they just teach me everything there ?

I normally get targetted by these horid things but so far this year not one bite the only thing I have done different is I have been taking biotin not sure if thats a b vit or not im coming to the conclusion there must be something in them they do not like as normally I would be a prime target and I know I have definately seen them hovering about and swatted a few but not bitten yet so far this year

I know most of the weeds but have a section of ground that is covered in horse tail and whatever this weed is we have not used the area but I intend on clearing and putting into use so once I start I want to make sure I dont spread these weeds about.I have tried looking on the net and im assuming its an invasive weed as its spreading slowly,if somebody can tell me what it is and whats the best stuff to use to eradicate it.I am already treating the horse tail with kurtail would that work on this weed also?

Pro green website says that kurtail is the replacement product for the grazon not sure if its the same stuff just re named

I was unaware of this even before I got into tree work myself have always had the odd load dropped to me by local arbs for my chickens and kids park ect over the years I have shovelled tons of the stuff but have always been very carefull when I see the dust rising from chip you just know thats nasty stuff full of spores .Well done to the original poster for telling people I will certainly make sure I am carefull in the future when working around chip thats breaking down

Thats so annoying we have a thing going on local atm where they are plaiting horses mains usk vets have warned they are being marked to be stolen they take anything these days .Sorry to hear about the chooks though I would be fuming if it was my girls

I done a few blackthorn and a few willow and an ash back last year and recently re visted the sites to do other work and checked on them whilst there not one of them has shown any signs or surviving so very pleased with them

Lol Egg yeah your right about that reading on the net does no good at all really does it but when you see your own child react like how I saw my son it becomes not so easy to over react especially after all the children have reacted so bad I really feel this needs to be addressed and the cause found. Latest update there was a reaction in another class Wednesday then again yesterday a child reacted over his leg and came up in hives again.The head teacher has had the council out who apprently cleared all ragwort on Tuesday and came back on Wednesday .After yesterdays reaction which occured just outside of the forest school I went in this morning and took a look around that area and guess what I found more ragwort some of which was under a seating area around a tree near by so I pointed it out to a teacher there was still ragwort . I popped in to the head teacher and spoke again today to be honest she looked like she was going to cry as she said she has asked the council to remove they have been in and assured her its removed but also said its not in their policy to remove it unless next to livestock is this normal for the council then?I know defra cant enforce anyone to remove unless its next to live stock but then the school is only across the road from a working farm . I know its not the chip as the same chip is in the juniors play area and something would of happened there I am now trying to narrow down the plants in that area grasses weeds etc by process if elimination like removing the most well know allergens buttercups,ragwort etc and I am calming down and looking at more realistic allergens such as grasses as my son is always exposed to certain grasses but there are a few we dont have at home that are releasing pollen atm in the school grounds . I know from doing a little research and from what one of you guys said about how somthing can be more voletile in the sun and create reactions different to what it would do normally I guess it could of been a combination of elements ,timing and the fact the children are encouraged to play in the long grass. I want to narrow it down as much as possible as allergy testing for a 6 year old is not a nice thing but I want to know what they should be testing for and if I am able to narrow it down then it should make the whole thing less traumatic . I will be booking him in next week now to discuss it with the gp. I have also given the school permission now to let my son back out to forest school next week knowing that the ragwort has been removed from that area and if there is anything going to cause a reaction it would be grass or other plants and the fact they have anti histamine to be able to administer to him if something does start to happen again.And in the meanwhile the head teacher is going to arrange for me to speak to the council regarding the ragwort as I think its a sensible thing to keep it out of an area where young children under 5 years play play food etc as previously stated a child ate privet last year and ended at the doctors what would happen if a child decided to pick the ragwort and do the same?.would I be in the wrong to ask them to put it into their regular grounds maintanance routine to just pull them when they see them? Would be interesting to hear others views on the ragwort bearing in mind a child is more sensitive than an adult to reactions .

Its hard to charge £20 an hour round here as I have seen dole bums advertising on face book ad pages offering to cut lawns for £10 an hour how can you compete with that ?I charge £15 but dont travel far at all some people I work for have their own mowers strimmers and fuel so that lessons wear and tear on mine . I dont do many lawns as find it too much hassle dragging the mower back and forth but I do know others locally who do and they are charging around the £15 mark also I can see prices increasing soon though as for those who do not compost the L.A are going to start charging for green waste disposal and more and more customers I find want you to remove the cuttings so this may increase my charge to £20 :)which is fine with me as I will just compost it myself

Thanks just been looking now at mites there are a few but it appears most mites bite and the irritation is around the bite area all apart from chiggers now this I will have to look into so thank you for the suggestion of mites,you could be right about it being something normal that's just reacting due to the sun also so am looking at that too

I have to agree with you guys just pull the horrid little thing's straight out no twisting burning or anything else just watch you dont snap their headsget them at the right angle so they will come straight out and do it quickly before they realise your going to get a grip on them.Lymes disease is a nasty thing have any of you seen the channel 4 documentry called the town that caught torettes? I watched it a while back when it was first aired anyway I also watched some follow up postings from a girl who was featured in the documentry on you tube and it turned out in the end she had been diagnosed with lymes disease all the nervous ticks where caused by a tick bite and lymes disease! absolutly horrible thing to witness anyone go through and there has been a huge increase in cases more recently. We get a lot on our land as we have a lot of bracken they like to hide on I am forever removing them from the dogs even though I treat them regular with frontline and advantage on them.I have often wondered what the figures are for people in the UK who have caught lymes disease.

What sort of a reaction does dandelion milk give I never thought of that one?. And yes you are right about her lying to me and now today apprently the word was a man came into school yesterday and pulled the ragwort I am getting mixed messages and there is obviously a serious lack of communication personally i would love to go speak to who ever is in from the council or be told when they are there so I can go meet them see who they are what they do and if they know how to identify weeds etc or are they just somebody that has no idea?but the school so far wont let me as the head wants to deal with it . And you are correct she is leaving the school so another parent informed me yesterday and I seem to be the one who will upset her apple cart because I am not giving in until they sort this out that letter would of landed on the governors doorstep today so I have already gone above her because I dont want her leaving the school for it to be forgotten about and no future plans for the grounds to be checked for whatever the cause is. I wonder how many other children will of had something flare up by the time they got home today from the other classes. When I get back home later from my next job I will be trawling the net looking for possible mite causes etc I may even nip into the local vets and ask them as they would know what beasties can irritate the skin. I really appreciate everyones advise I know it could be anything but at least if I get them to eradicate the obvious ones we can narrow it down a bit the main thing is it's outside in that area my son has been in his class today although I sent him in medicated this morning he has not had anything this afternoon and is now fine he was slightly puffy this morning when he woke he has come home fine so not come into contact with it today because his teacher listened to me and kept her class in.

The latest is thank god my sons teacher has made a personal decision to keep the kids out of the area I was assured by the head teacher the children would not be let into that area until things were resolved . Yesterday a man from the council came out and pulled all the ragwort that was present Im not sure if they would of pulled any small rosettes though ?but the big stuff definatly came out . I have not heard anything from the head today as was rushing for work the class teacher told me there was a form to fill at reception but whilst I was collecting my son just now another mother from another class came storming over dragging her son and said just the person I wanted to see I thought oh god what Have I done lol. But I soon realised her poor son was being dragged because he could not see he had the start of a hives rash over his eyes and going onto his face which was starting to swell! she only knew about it as I had posted on facebook yesterday and she saw my post so now thats 5 children affected and guess what he had just been to forest school when the head told me they would be kept from there!.I am so glad I sent that letter yesterday maybe they will ensure it gets properly investigated now as the head obviously has taken no notice what so ever otheriwse she would of kept them off the area . But the big question is what could be causing it?I think I may take him anyway to the doctors its just I have work booked in atm so will make an appointment to go speak to them as as far as I was aware before this happened he had no known allergies the same as some of the others affected . I am really not gunning for the school I just want the source found and dealt with I manage the grounds for a private nursery myself and the school next door to where they are share a forest school with the nursery if this is something that's common and grows in the meadow grass etc that has been planted up then it could also happen there so I would like to know not only for the safety of the kids at my son's school but for other places too

I thought of hogweed but could not see any but may of missed it as its a rather large area and the grass was rather tall and so far the school has not allowed access to the area I actually went round the back way and through a fence to get to it to take a look myself that is how I spotted the ragwort . I thought the children skin is a lot thinner than an adults which could of led to more than a rash.What my son and the other children have experienced was a very quick allergic reaction which led to them having hives and a swollen face the one boy swelled on his feet and hands also they are only little as in the infants. When I picked Lewis up he looked like he had been poked in the eye two minute trip home got him out the truck straight in washed his face and hands and realised it was getting worse by the second ,he looked as though he had been smacked in the face with stinging nettles white bumps were emerging everywhere and his face was swelling skin turning red but there was a pattern more across from the left eye up across and onto the forehead as if he had touched somthing across his face there. I dragged him back out the door and rushed him to the pharmacist very scary to see a reaction like that on a child but the piriton stopped it thank god but if I had not got him that when I did I am certain he would of got a whole lot worse. I wondered about mites but surely something would of bitten him what sort of mites could cause an allergic reaction ?we have pet dogs ourselves so no allergies there and the area is not really that rural you may get the odd urban fox about but even then they only carry mange and your average fleas surely?. Lewis did not develop a rash he just had hives and swelling but one of the other boys did.My son must of had a good exposure to what ever the cause was as he was still puffy in the face today I kept him on piriton whilst at school to make sure until his immune system calms down a bit . But if anyone can think of anything wether its mites ,plants that I should get them to check for thats maybe not so common the area is your typical forest school set up there must be something there that's the cause its just finding it for the kids safety . The reason I thought woodchip was the link that the hubby is allergic to pine sap but then I have had my son playing in piles of conifer chip and he has never had any reaction but with what he had reacted like it was similar to how the husbands allergy flared up.I have never dealt with larger chip as always have arb arisings which I know fungus grows in pretty quick but when you see the stuff in play areas it seems to not have as much spores etc hence why I asked is it treated . Am hoping by the time I collect the tomorrow they will of had somebody in who works for them to check the area thoroughly and remove anything that could be a cause so the kids can get back out and enjoy it .But once again thanks everyone for the help and advice its much appreciated

Thanks Mike I enquired if it was somebody from the enviromental dept the head teacher said no it was their grounds people who apparently had not showed up at all according to the head teacher but yet one of the other teachers told me there had been a lady from the council out the back .. I left the school late and the head teacher came out onto the yard and said she had rung them back to complain as nobody had come out I am not going to get caught up in their mis communication thats their own problem. But I did say you had better get hold of the Enviromental services dept so they can investigate after having so many cases of it so she has now said they will do that tomorrow and let me know everything thats happening .

I tried the call center they would not put me past as I had already explained why I was ringing so they spoke to somebody and put me on hold!they said I needed to speak to the head teacher which I have done this morning then if I was not happy to write to the parent governors. I just popped in to give him a dose of piriton whilst in there my son's class teacher told me a lady from the council had already arrived and found ragwort on site but the head teacher just collared me as I was leaving and said a lady from the council is on her way and wont be there until 3pm they are trying to hide something now arent they,why has she just lied about the lady already being on site?. I asked where is the chip sourced what chemicals have been used on site(although most break down with contact on the ground dont they?) is the chip to standards etc which it probably is as sourced from the LA but what's got me more than anything is the head teachers lack of concern when I spoke to her this morning she acted as though she had better things to do with her time and as I was the only one who had approached them about the incident yesterday she was not that worried and would look into it. The kids have reacted pretty badly their own teachers is really worried she just told me she is scared to take them outside of the classroom incase something happens to one of them and is constantly checking she is a lovely lady .And I know one of the other mums has complained twice now about the first and second time its happened with her son so there has been other complaints and I am sure a few more words will be had by the end of today by others. I have posted a letter to the chair of governors earlier to complain and get them involved its not too much to ask is it to simply check and remove any obvious hazards in an infants school playground and if once those hazards are removed then the kids still react fair enough I will be wrong but its too much of a coincidence for 4 kids in the same class same day just after being in forest school to flare up like that !.I want my boys to enjoy what they are doing and take in what they are learning from it all forest school is probably the best bit of school for them lol. I will check who has been in from the council and find out if they were from the enviromental dept so far the head was talking of people who deal with poisenous weeds and she keeps banging on about deadly nightshade and nuts allergies silly woman both of which I do believe have nothing to do with why the kids have reacted .I wont involve the papers theres no point I am sure now the council are involved somthing will get done but whatever is causing it does need to be investigated too many children are reacting to whatever it is all I want to do is make it safe for them and if that means kicking up a fuss with the school to get it done then so be it. Thanks for the help and advice its much appreciated as im sure any parent would be the same if it happend to their little ones and their freinds

Thanks both for the info im digging now I spoke to the head teacher she is useless I also spotted ragwort this morning whilst over there which I did not see from the back when I went over lastnight so thats a possible cause also but the head teacher gave me the bull story she attended a course on dangerous weeds just yesterday and ragwort was not one of them! the class teacher bless her is certain it was outside that started it she was really worried and when I spoke to her she told me three others in her class had reacted the same. I am homing in on the ragwort now I spotted that and the slim chance it could be somthing to do with the chip but it's better to be armed with correct info before dealing with things like this as I just met a brick wall with the head teacher she tried telling me their contractors are trained to spot and remove well they are not removing it as its full of it where I went this morning. I just want them to eliminate anything that could cause any more children to react so at least they can get back out there and enjoy forest school im on the phone to the council who have told me I need to report it to the school of governors if the head teacher does not take action in the meanwhile another child could get a bad reaction.

I am guessing that its no treated then and just large chip im now thinking has the area been chemically treated below the chip as the boys seem to think there is no lined area below and there is no growth coming into that area surely some would of pushed through the chip at this time of year if it was not lined or treated anyway I am off to have words now and see if we can find what the allergen is

I have a query now I know our normal chip is not treated but my son came home from school today with a severe reaction to something a few of the kids infact did and it also happened to one less than two weeks ago with exactly the same symptoms my sons face was covered in hives all over his eyes and up his forehead he had forest school before the end of the day. Anyway I returned to the school to take a look around their forest school for any obvious allergens that would create all these kids to react but could not see anything that was obvious but then when my son told me they were looking for bugs in the woodchip. It triggered the thought my husband is allergic to pine ,the woodchip looked like pine but what I want to know is does play area woodchip get treated with any anti fungicidal products? it looks so clean or could it just be sap that's causing it?I figure if anyone could answer this question it would be you guy's I wanted to know as I am going in first thing to discuss it as what happend earlier to be quite honest frightened the life out of me seeing my boy like that and if there is even a small possiblity it could of been the chip then I need to know before I go and speak to them so I have the right info to be able to give them.Thanks all

He sounds like another moron as somebody else said an insecure one ignore it or report it to e-bay but make sure you have copies of communications incase somthing does come of it

I found you both

Powys pupils join project to clone elm trees | Wales - ITV News