Anti-Ragweed Campaign: Show Us What You've Got!

With the start of summer invariably comes a well-known pest: ragweed, which wreaks havoc for the many seasonal allergy sufferers across our borough and city. Did you know that an estimated 10% of Québec's population suffers from seasonal ragweed allergies?

What you should know: Pollen is the element of the plant that people are allergic to. When ragweed begins flowering in August, pollen is released into the air, causing such unpleasant symptoms as sneezing, congestion, watery eyes, irritated and itchy nose, eyes, and throat, as well as drowsiness and general irritability.

The most efficient and ecological way of removing ragweed is to simply pull it out of the ground by hand (contact with an non-flowering plant is completely safe). Luckily for us, the roots are shallow – making them easier to rip out. Beating back ragweed with a lawnmower also helps! It is particularly important to destroy ragweed before it flowers, since once the weed's pollen is released it can remain in the soil for an incredible 40 years!

Éco-quartier NDG would like to encourage all our residents to please rip up these nasty weeds. Send us a picture of yourself with the ragweed and you could see yourself on our website! Please send all photos by email to: Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir.