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If you go down to the woods this summer, the City of Ottawa wants you in full hazmat gear. With goggles. Gloves, too. And don’t touch any wild flowers. And stay in parks with groomed paths.

Ottawa is worried about wild parsnip, a weed that’s all over the region. The city is spending about $200,000 this year to mow and spray it because getting its sap on one’s skin and then exposing it to strong sunlight for an extended period causes burns and blisters in some people.

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The city’s website advises we go to extraordinary lengths to avoid contact:

• “It is recommended that the public stay on the groomed areas of parks, roadsides and pathways,” where there is less parsnip.

• Also, “…when walking through dense vegetation, wear goggles, gloves, long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Thoroughly wash boots and gloves with soap and water before taking off your protective clothing.”

• And: “Children should be reminded not to pick wild flowers.”