Stop the sneezing by doing your part

With ragweed season coming up, municipalities like Dorval are taking steps to help ease the allergy symptoms nearly one in 10 Quebecers experience at this time of year.

On Friday, Dorval’s public works employees began mowing and reaping the city’s properties and burning the weeds to prevent them from coming back. The workers are also re-sowing grass seeds in damaged areas, because a thick, healthy lawn reduces the occurrence of ragweed, as it does not grow well in places where it has to compete with other plants. This initiative will continue to Aug. 1

For the second year, Dorval’s public works will also hand out pamphlets to residents whose properties have ragweed on them, indicating exactly where the weeds have been detected. Residents are asked to get rid of the ragweed on their lawns – manually pulling them out is the most effective way – to help curb allergies this season.

The Quebec Table on Ragweed also indicates many steps people can take to reduce their symptoms. The first is to help limit ragweed occurrences by pulling out any weeds people come across on their property and by maintaining a dense, healthy lawn.

People who suffer from ragweed allergies should also avoid going outside on hot, windy days when there is much pollen in the air, and are advised not to dry their laundry on outdoor clotheslines, as airborne pollen will stick to wet fabrics, only to be brought into the home later. Allergy sufferers also have a number of antihistamines to choose from to help control their stuffy, itchy, sneezy symptoms

Ragweed can grow between five centimeters and 1.5 metres high, and usually has a reddish, hairy stem and narrow, serrated leaves. The weed’s flowers develop stalks in June and July, and then release their pollen into the air in August.

For more on ragweed, visit the Quebec Table on Ragweed’s website, www.tqhp.qc.ca (in French only).