Giant hogweed is not a new problem in central New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has a program to control the invasive plant on your property at no charge to you.

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From late April through August, the control program hires eight field crews across the state employing 12 field technicians. NYSDEC crews use the appropriate giant hogweed control method at each site. In general, herbicide control is used at larger sites with greater than 400 plants, root-cutting control is used at smaller sites with less than 400 plants, and flower/seed head removal is used at all sites to limit seed dispersal.

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How do you report a site for control?

Call the giant hogweed hotline at (845) 256-3111 or email DEC and give detailed directions to the plant infestation (GPS coordinates and street address), an estimated number of plants, and provide photos. Please make sure to not touch the plants when you take the photos. The best photos to take are:

  • One picture of the whole plant - so we can see how tall it is
    Pictures of the basal (bottom) leaves
  • Close-up of the stem where the leaf stalk connects
  • Flower head (include one from the bottom/side so the number of flower rays/stalks can be roughly counted) - if only dead seed head from last year is available, that is okay, too
  • Close-up of seeds
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Email to the address above or send photos to:

NYSDEC Division of Lands & Forests
Giant Hogweed Program
21 South Putt Corners Road
New Paltz, NY 12561

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What happens when giant hogweed is confirmed?

If giant hogweed is confirmed through the photos, the landowner will be sent a packet that contains a letter of notification, a document on control methods, and a permission form to be signed and returned to the NYSDEC. The form will give field crews consent to enter the landowner's property and control the giant hogweed plants. That site will be controlled some time between April and September and will be on a list to be revisited in following years until the plants are eradicated. When no more plants are found, the site will be monitored for three subsequent years.

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Click here or information on what to do if you come into contact with the horror plant.

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