The beast is dead
This weekend our friend Bennie brought a team of workers over to our house to tackle Cthulu's playground in our front yard. I don't know if you can appreciate the scope of this job from these BEFORE photos but these plants were immense. Some of the plants were more than 7' tall with roots so deep they were starting to impact the sewer system.
Also, what we didn't know before they started is how poisonous they are. My mom and Chris had both tried to attack it on separate occasions and got a small dose of the itch but these guys went after these plants with a chainsaw. The allergic reaction was pretty severe :(
Poor Bennie and his workers had awful rashes developing on their arms. I researched treatment and found that there weren't really any and that symptoms could last for weeks. o.O
Family: Agavaceae
Plant Description: Perennial with long, strap-like basal leaves, often thick and succulent; flowers and fruits terminal on a long, naked stem; flowers white, cream-colored, yellow.
Origin: USA, Mexico.
Where Found: Houseplant, hardy species in landscape as cultivated ornamental.
Mode: Dermatitis.
Poisonous Part: Plant sap from leaves.
Symptoms: Skin irritation. Immediate burning and redness with developing blisters.
Toxic Principle: Unknown.
Severity: SKIN IRRITATION SEVERE!
One website recommended a saline solution followed by cold compress for the pain so I made a saline bath for them and gave them some bio-degradable cleaner and rubbing alcohol to remove the crystalline sap. They powered through the job and finished in about 4-5 hours. Then it took about 3 trips to the dump to remove all the debris. My heroes! I'm SO grateful. There's no way we could have completed this job without professional help. They were awesome!
BEFORE
AFTER
Not sure what I'm going to do with the space now. I feel like I need to keep moving now that we have forward momentum but plants are my biggest weakness. I kill everything. We're planning on extending the brick on the right side of the driveway so that I can park the trailer there and we'll have room for 2 cars in the driveway. Other than that... totally clueless. Hopefully mefasola will have some tips for us now that the heavy lifting is done.
Also, what we didn't know before they started is how poisonous they are. My mom and Chris had both tried to attack it on separate occasions and got a small dose of the itch but these guys went after these plants with a chainsaw. The allergic reaction was pretty severe :(
Poor Bennie and his workers had awful rashes developing on their arms. I researched treatment and found that there weren't really any and that symptoms could last for weeks. o.O
Family: Agavaceae
Plant Description: Perennial with long, strap-like basal leaves, often thick and succulent; flowers and fruits terminal on a long, naked stem; flowers white, cream-colored, yellow.
Origin: USA, Mexico.
Where Found: Houseplant, hardy species in landscape as cultivated ornamental.
Mode: Dermatitis.
Poisonous Part: Plant sap from leaves.
Symptoms: Skin irritation. Immediate burning and redness with developing blisters.
Toxic Principle: Unknown.
Severity: SKIN IRRITATION SEVERE!
One website recommended a saline solution followed by cold compress for the pain so I made a saline bath for them and gave them some bio-degradable cleaner and rubbing alcohol to remove the crystalline sap. They powered through the job and finished in about 4-5 hours. Then it took about 3 trips to the dump to remove all the debris. My heroes! I'm SO grateful. There's no way we could have completed this job without professional help. They were awesome!
BEFORE
AFTER
Not sure what I'm going to do with the space now. I feel like I need to keep moving now that we have forward momentum but plants are my biggest weakness. I kill everything. We're planning on extending the brick on the right side of the driveway so that I can park the trailer there and we'll have room for 2 cars in the driveway. Other than that... totally clueless. Hopefully mefasola will have some tips for us now that the heavy lifting is done.