How to Identify and Get Rid of Belladonna?

Belladonna (Atropa bella-donna) is an awfully toxic herb to human and pets. It should not be tolerated at any cost in your lawn.

This article will serve your purpose well by helping you identify and eradicate belladonna in a very simple and easy way. But first you should know what vice you are dealing with in your lawn.

How to identify Belladonna?

Belladonna is also known as Deadly Nightshade. This poisonous plant has been consumed as medicine since primeval times. It is called so as it was used by an Italian beautiful lass who used it to make her eyes more glamorous. This sinister herb has berries known as sorcerer's, devil's and murderer's berries due to their poisonous nature. So if you find it dwelling in your garden uproot or dig it out without any delay to avoid its wild consequences.

Another repercussion of having it in the lawn is that the honeybee sucking its nectar will produce the toxic honey. So getting rid of this vicious herb has become quite necessary.

Appearance of Belladonna:

It is a perennial weed so you will find it popping the lawn every spring. It is bushy and stands tall among the grasses. It reaches the height of three to four feet high. Its leaves are oval in shape and their size varies. They can be paired and three to ten inches in length. Its life span is June to September. Its faded purple or lavender flowers have a dim fragrance. They can be easily pointed out as they are bell shaped. It gets into fruit which matures in August. The fruit is a berry and is black in color. They resemble blueberries or black berries.

Belladonna Place of its growth in the lawn

Normally belladonna grows in the wilderness. The areas having disturbed soil are ideal home to belladonna and it replenishes over there. It is looking for pits, excavations, dumps and quarries to grow. It will take its position anywhere in the lawn but the unattended areas are its favorite and feasible sites to grow. So belladonna is always looking for a suitable site and a bit of a chance to grow anywhere in your yard. Keep a close eye as once it peeps out of the lawn its control will become a real headache.

Spreading of belladonna

Belladonna spreads like fire. Its rapid spreading is that of a weed. It has copious and bushy roots. These roots are succulent and give rise to a new plant the next season. The plant gets wilted in the winter and dies. Its regrowth depends upon the presence of roots in the soil. Its seed is dispersed far and wide due to animals. They eat the berries and they excrete out in some other part of the area. Their feces contain the seed and give rise to a new influx wherever they poo. Similarly birds eat the berries and fly away far. Wherever their droppings drop the seed gets there.

How to completely eradicate Belladonna from Your lawn:

The eradication of belladonna from your yard depends upon its positive recognition and diagnosis. Following are the main steps that can be taken to ensure it will not cause any harm to humans, animals or anything in its vicinity.

Precautionary measures:

Your first priority should be not to let belladonna grow into your lawn. For this purpose you need to know what can be done. There are two possible answers to this query.

1. To know the factors that support its growth and end them
2. Weed it out organically or inorganically

Eradicating the supporting factors

As we have already discussed, it grows in the wasteland or ignored areas of the lawn, so this should make it possible that no such area exists in the lawn. Clean and take care of every inch of the soil. Remove any pits, excavations, dumps or quarries from your lawn to discourage its growth. Similarly any disturbed soil is needed to be removed from the lawn. This will also help to dampen its germination.

The second option is to apply a weed controller. You can also pull it out, dig it or hoe it to end its vicious growth. In this regard we have two options.

While going organic you have the option to adopt the natural methods. You can pull the belladonna out. But you must be wearing proper garden kit as the belladonna is toxic to humans. It can cause any damage to the skin on touching, so you must be wearing thick garden gloves.

You can dig it out using garden hoe. Remember to dig out in such a way that the roots are also dug out unharmed as it is perennial and will regrow from the roots the next season. Dispose of the plant with its roots properly into a trash bin. Take precautionary measures and sterilize the tools like hoe or shovel or cutter with chlorine solution. It is very important as the plant is highly toxic. You are required to dispose of the chlorine solution after sterilization.

Other ways are to put vinegar solution in its roots but it is not always effective.

Wear the respirator and garden goggles if it is of the same height as you. There can be the risk of getting intact with eyes or face that can cause severe problems for you.

There are also other methods to end belladonna but they are inorganic and are sometimes not feasible for the environment or the species around including humans. You can end it using chemical solutions. Consult a veteran horticulturist or a garden community to help you in this regard and recommend a good herbicide to kill this nightshade. Generally any non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate is used to eliminate it.

What to Do if You Accidentally Ingest Belladonna?

If you or a family member has ingested some of the poisonous berries, then go to the nearest emergency room immediately. The poison causes hallucinations and dilated eyes which leads people to believe they are seeing things that aren't actually there. Other symptoms include stomach aches, drowsiness, vomiting, and sweating profusely.

Conclusion:

Belladonna belongs to the family of solanaceae. It is both a beneficial and hazardous herb. It is toxic for humans and pets and causes damage to the brain. On the other side it has medicinal value as well. It had been long used as an active ingredient in many medicines in Venetian glory era.

It is needed to be eradicated from the lawn in order to avoid its repercussions.

• You can pull it out along with roots.
• You can dig it out.
• You can use chemicals to eliminate it.