Common stinging nettles and small stinging nettles are similar in appearance, but their size and growth habits differ: 

Common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a herbaceous

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

Ripe seeds are hard, usually yellow, brown or black, and contained in a seedpod that can be buff coloured, white or brown and dry. Ripe seeds usually eject the seedpod easily and naturally.

Ripe seeds

Stinging nettles are fantastic plants for wildlife, with the Biological Records Centre listing over 100 species of invertebrates that use the common stinging nettle as a food plant. These include small tortoiseshell, red admiral, comma, painted lady and peacock butterflies, and garden tiger, flame and buff ermine moths. Both species of stinging nettles also support numerous garden birds, with reed buntings, bullfinches, serins and siskins known to eat their seed.
 

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A peacock butterfly

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A small tortoiseshell butterfly

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A red admiral butterfly

So, while you may want to control or remove stinging nettles in some areas of your garden, such as in ornamental borders where they could outcompete other plants, many gardeners are now welcoming these ‘weeds’ and adding them to wildlife patches and less cultivated areas.

How

Invasive plants are those that grow vigorously, spread rapidly and can out-compete other plants. Native, non-native and cultivated plants can all be invasive.

invasive are stinging nettles?  

Common stinging nettles spread by seed,

Rhizomes are creeping swollen root-like structures that are actually adapted stems. Roots, stems with leaves and flowers are produced along its length. See plants such as Anemone nemorosa, bamboo, canna, border iris.

A seedling is a young plant grown from seed.

seedlings

Do I need to get rid of stinging nettles?  

No – allowing stinging nettles to grow in a wildlife corner, under established hedges or in less-cultivated areas is a great way to boost the

The variety of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) in a particular environment. Boosting the biodiversity of your garden has many benefits, including supporting wildlife, improving soil health and reducing the likelihood of pest and disease problems.

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Young nettle leaves ready for cooking

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Tasty and nutritious nettle tea

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Nettle liquid fertiliser

However, as stinging nettles are capable of outcompeting and smothering smaller or less vigorous plants, it’s a good idea to manage their spread and stop them getting out of bounds.

What is the easiest way to kill stinging nettles?   

If you have stinging nettles growing where they are not wanted, there are a few easy ways to remove them:   

• Deadhead – snip off the spent flowers of common stinging nettles to prevent them setting seed. This can be quite fiddly with small stinging nettles, so it is easier to trim these back to a point below the flowering growth.  
• Hoe off seedlings – hoe on a warm, dry, or windy day, so exposed roots of common or small stinging nettle seedlings dry out quickly.   
• Pull or fork out young plants – if you have loose soil, pull out young plants of common or small stinging nettles, otherwise use a hand fork to remove the roots.   
• Fork out established plants – use a border fork to lift and remove as much of the root system of common stinging nettles as possible. This method can also be used around the edge of a clump to curtail its spread. Roots are usually shallow, so this method is effective, even if time consuming, for large patches. 
• Cut regularly – use a strimmer, brushcutter or mower to control large areas of common stinging nettles. Cutting back new growth regularly will weaken and eventually kill plants. This is likely to take more than one
  The period of time when an individual plant is in active growth. This will depend on the local climate and light levels, and can vary between different plants, although it is broadly from spring to autumn.

  growing season but is better for soil health as it limits disturbance.   
• Smother plants – cut back stems of common stinging nettles and cover with a layer of compostable material, such as cardboard, and then a layer about 20cm (8in) thick of organic matter, such as
  Bark is the outermost layer of woody plants (trees, shrubs and woody climbers). It is several cells thick and provides protection against physical damage, disease and environmental stresses. Bark comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns, and these can help gardeners when identifying plants. The fissures and crevices of bark on older plants also creates valuable habitat for many garden creatures as well as lichens and small plants.

  bark or wood chips. Alternatively, use a heavy grade
  Anything that can be decomposed by fungi, bacteria and micro-organisms, so it doesn’t persist indefinitely in the environment. Biodegradable plastics are usually made from plants, such as bamboo, rather than fossil fuels. Ideally, products that claim to be biodegradable should break down quickly and leave nothing harmful behind. However, they may need specific conditions in order to biodegrade successfully or may produce greenhouse gases such as methane in the process.

  biodegradable
  Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

  mulch matting. This will block light and prevent growth, causing the root system to die. Keep soil covered for a few years, topping up the mulch layer if necessary, to ensure this method is effective.  
• Avoid disturbing the soil – common stinging nettles can regenerate from rhizome fragments, so avoid digging or rotavating soil in areas containing established plants, as this will chop up and spread the rhizomes.  

Should I use weedkiller?   

As stinging nettles can be controlled by non-chemical methods, there’s no need to use a weedkiller.    

For more information, see our page on Weeds: non-chemical controls.