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Eradication of Monk's Hood #816987

Asked November 28, 2022, 1:53 PM EST

Due to its toxicity, I would think it inadvisable to grow Monk's Hood in the garden. If that's the case, I suppose I should remove it. How would you recommend getting rid of it without poisoning anyone? Thanks for your suggestions.

Baltimore City County Maryland

Expert Response

Although Monkshood might have higher toxicity than some species, there are a surprising number of common garden plants with some level of toxicity if ingested. Fortunately, many of them require unrealistic (in part, due to their bad taste) amounts of ingestion to be a danger, though a handful of species have above-average risk if children or pets are prone to consuming anything in reach, like ripe berries. Having said that, unless you have concerns of an unsupervised child or rambunctious pet ingesting the Monkshood, its removal is probably not necessary. If you do want to remove it, you can either dig it up to see if any area gardeners want to pick it up as a free giveaway, or just dispose of it in yard waste collection curbside. Plants that are toxic when ingested aren't usually also toxic by way of skin absorption, so handling it should be fine with just garden gloves. (Nurseries growing this and other toxic-when-ingested species don't have any special precautions when handling plants for propagation, maintenance, or shipping.)

Miri

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