In the areas shaded red in the map, you must destroy any pink ragwort or ragwort on your property.

In the areas shaded green in the map, you must destroy all pink ragwort or ragwort on your property within 25 metres inside your property boundary.

What is the 'Pest Management Strategy' for Taranaki?

Grubbing or mowing is not recommended as ragwort will grow from root fragments.

Hand pulling plants is useful in small infestations but must be done before the plants set seed and any flower heads must be destroyed by burning to prevent the seeds from ripening.

Sheep are useful in grazing to control ragwort, but this method does not kill the plants which will still regrow.

Use a herbicide. Using herbicides to control ragwort is very effective if the correct timing and rates of application are used. Always follow the manufacturer’s directions on the product label and avoid spraying if it will rain before the spray is rain-fast. The rain-fast times for herbicides vary widely by up to five hours so it pays to check, rather than waste spray.

Guidance on using herbicides

Most ragwort seeds germinate in autumn so begin control soon after that. In mid-late autumn, spot spray any large rosettes and multi-crown plants. Sprayed ragwort may become more palatable to stock so all stock should be removed until the plants die. Follow spot-spraying with boom or rose spraying to control widespread ragwort seedlings. Boom-spraying should only be done when clover is dormant or when the pasture is well grazed out to minimised damage to clover and other desirable plants.

In spring and early summer, spot spray any missed rosettes and multi-crowns.

A good farm management system is where weeds in each paddock are sprayed immediately after stock have grazed the pasture out. This tends to work much better than systems or lack of any system, where the ragwort is ignored until late in the season when it is often a race to get the weeds controlled before seeding and where weather can play havoc with an intended late control programme.