Farmers Weekly Review

Ah, nature … beauty, calm, young wildlife, but even a few things that can kill you.

When the Farmer’s Weekly Review’s premiere columnist John Kiefner posted about carpenter bees and bumblebees, I thought I would just be sharing the identifiable, anatomical differences between our native bumble and native carpenter bees.

But then the phrase that stopped that line of thinking: John said he had a significant allergy to them. That changes everything.

Personal safety is paramount to, well anything. Sometimes personal safety can just be a change of behavior. If you are allergic to stinging pests, don’t go near them, if that is an option.

If you have a bald-faced hornet nest 20 feet up in your tree in the rear of your yard, just don’t go there. They aren’t really interested in you unless you get into their space. Don’t wear lots of floral fragrance; don’t wear flower-pattered clothes.

But sometimes, you don’t know. Did you know that last week a young billionaire playing polo in England died after swallowing a bee that was in his soft drink? Yes, in 2025. Is it a one-in-a-million accident? Maybe. But do you want to take that chance?

An easy solution to the bee in the beverage or wasp in the whiskey is found in the kitchen cabinet — the simple paper cupcake liner. Put one on top of your drink and voila! Instant insect protection.

And remember, with stinging and biting pests, each one of us might not be allergic to bites and stings for a lifetime, but we also can become allergic at any time.

Say you have been stung, by a bee, wasp, or hornet and you used to just have a local reaction. But then you find the next time, that redness and itching spreads further and is more swollen. You may be becoming more sensitive.

Heed your body’s warning. I can give you information on how to get rid of bees and wasps when needed. And if you or a family member are allergic, it is important to be proactive.

I get calls on white clover in the lawn — good or bad? Great for pollinators, great for lawn (clover fixes nitrogen in the soil), but I always ask if anyone in the family is allergic to stings. If the answer is yes, I recommend eradicating the clover. Safety first.

And speaking of weeds, did you know that we have a weed in Illinois that just breathing in the pollen, could kill you? A recent story from an Ohio man talks about trying to rid his property of invasive honeysuckle, almost cost him his life. He inhaled the pollen of poison hemlock and ended up in a 109-day induced coma and is left with permanent health issues.

And if eaten by livestock, all parts of the plant can be fatally toxic to cattle, horses, swine, sheep and goats. Yes, poison hemlock is that weed. It isn’t poisonous like we usually think. No skin rash on contact. But if ingested, its alkaloid toxins are a respiratory paralytic. For both people and livestock.

“If there is adequate pasture growth, poison hemlock isn’t as big a deal, because animals typically won’t eat it unless it’s all they have, but livestock producers still need to be on the lookout for it and think about how to control it,” said a Purdue Extension beef specialist. “They also need to be especially cautious when making hay.” (Purdue University)

Just five days ago, University of Missouri addressed poison hemlock in pastures. https://www.morningagclips.com/mow-or-spot-spray-poison-hemlock-now/

Fortunately, poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) poisoning is rare; Mother Nature helps us with that because poison hemlock has an off putting musty, rank smell and bitter taste. It is also listed as a legally noxious weed in Illinois, meaning it is regulated and can’t be sold or distributed.

It is important to know what it looks like, and what and what not to do. Poison hemlock is a member of the carrot family. I doubt you have ever left a carrot in the ground so long to have it go to seed and flower. But I know you have seen a close relative’s flower many times —Daucus carota or as you know it, Queen Anne’s Lace.

This common mid-summer roadside weed is easily recognizable by it’s flat, slightly curved top of white flowers. Notice how it looks slightly like an umbrella? That is how this family of plants got its original name, Umbelliferae (updated name Apiaceae).

This family includes many desirable plants that are safe and edible — besides carrots, celery, parsnips and celeriac. And herbs like dill, fennel, cumin, coriander and chervil.

On the flip side, it also contains members that are severely poisonous — not only poison hemlock, but also giant hogweed and water hemlock.

They all have that umbrella-shaped, white or yellow flowers that flower in the summer. But poison hemlock is the one with smooth (hairless), purple-blotched stems. Poison hemlock is a biennial plant, which means it creates a low rosette (think glob of low leaves) the first year and a flowering stalk the second.

One final note, I know many of us live in areas where weed burning is allowed. I warn people who burn to be very careful those piles never include poison ivy, because that urishol, the oil in poison ivy, can volatilize (a liquid becoming a gas), and you could inhale poison ivy and have an allergic reaction in your lungs.

The same, or worse, is true with poison hemlock. That is why it is so important to identify it and safely learn to eradicate any found.

There are several great websites that show poison hemlock and its look-alikes. Here is the University of Illinois Extension webpage: https://go.illinois.edu/poisonhemlock This handout stresses that mowing this weed is not a practical way to eradicate it and also may expose you to its sap.

For the homeowner, digging it out and putting it sealed in a trash bag, after first donning protective long sleeves and pants, gloves and safety glasses.

And always, the University of Illinois Extension wants our information to be accessible to everyone. If you don’t have internet access, just call our office at 815 727 9296 and we can mail you the information.