Soup!

or tea 

My MIL told me to soak nettles in a bucket of water and then sprinkle the fluid on my runner beans. She said it keeps the green/black fly away.

I'm sure I saw a programme on BBC 1 that did that and she also kept the nettles for a few weeks in the water and then used it as fertiliser for the crops in her veg patch - but apparently it stinks 

Dont know what the English call them, we call them dockin leaves up here, they normally grow near nettles, rub them on the sting , it soothes

They can be a nuisance but they are good for wildlife,many butterflies caterpillars feed on them.

We call them dock leaves and that's what I've always used when stung be nettles - soothes within seconds.

Thats them El Loro

I remember years ago it was a lovely day I decided to go for a walk up the hill behind me I had shorts on, there was a horse in the field who came charging towards me I was so frightened I started running away from it, I ended up being stung by loads of nettles on my legs and my feet, if that was not bad enough my sandals came off and I dropped my bag I was to scared to go back into the field and look for them,I went to a house at the other side of the field to ask the owners if it was their  horse which it was and could he please help me get my shoes and bag back which he did all messed up with bite marks he  gave me some dock leaves to rub over my stings,he said the horse was naughty and wanted my bag to see if there was food in it as the public did tend to feed  the horses, I was in agony with the stings but more embarrassed  going to the farmers door without my shoes on asking him for help looking back I can laugh but it was not funny at the time

Agree with what others have said about all the good things nettles provide. In one garden we had there was an area I left for the wildlife, butterflies and lots of insect life. Next to the nettles were Dock leaves so if I got stung the remedy was right there

Marg  I think we have all had the dreaded nettle sting at one time or another, we never forget it do we ?

Skylark no we dont

Marge I can understand you laughing looking back but must have been very ouchy at the time


Sylark, I've never forgotten wasp and bee stings either, little blighters lol

Nope and at this time of year i hate seeing a wasp, they are bad tempered blighters

Yellow Rose please dont start me on wasp stings  we ended up digging up all  our fruit trees every time I went near them I would get stung

I used to go berry picking as a child when we visited relatives in Montrose, never got stung once, but when i went to work one day one flew up my skirt and stung me on my thigh. The pain was awful

When I was a child there was a large shrub in the garden covered in flowers. Every day there would be loads of bees on the flowerheads and I'd pick them up by the wings cos I wanted them to leave the flowers alone lol, I never hurt them as they always flew away. Mum and Dad would always tell me I mustn't do that because they'd sting me, I never got stung once  As an adult I've been stung several times. may"bee" it's karma lol  

Nettle and walnut ravioli FTW.