How to pick stinging nettles safely with your bare hands
- alicekeverne
- Jun 23, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 25, 2025
Foraging with kids is a fantastic way of connecting them to nature and teaching them valuable life skills. As well as enhancing their curiosity to safely identify plants, berries, and mushrooms, it encourages them to love and appreciate the world around them, increasing their want to care and protect it.
Our family especially love foraging for stinging nettles and wanted to share how easy it is to pick them safely with your bare hands!
We all know stinging nettles can sting, and it is essential that children are taught to be cautious when foraging for them. Wearing thick hardy gloves can protect them from stings, however there is a technique that once you know how, can avoid stings, eliminate fear and install confidence in handling stinging nettles. My children will now happily pinch the end of a stinging nettle, roll it up into a ball (this neutralises the sting) and pop it in their mouths without a second thought.
If you are looking to instal more confidence in your kids (and yourselves!) amongst nature then this is a great place to start.
How do stinging nettles sting?
Stinging Nettles have hollow, needle like hairs covering the plant's stems and leaves. These hairs contain chemicals which causes sensations of stinging and irritation.
The hairs are a defence mechanism to deter animals (and humans!) from eating them. The hairs generally grow upward, angled down the stem and leaf; by running your fingers from the bottom to the top you are much less likely to get stung.
So the trick is...
As you slowly pinch the stem move your fingers in an upwards direction, brushing the tips of the hairs up and away from piercing your skin.
Check out the simple demonstrative video below, along with these important points to remember:
Pick stinging nettles from the top 4 inches of the plant.
The best time to harvest stinging nettles is spring or early summer.
The hairs grow in an upwards direction.
The leaves, stems and roots are all edible.
As you pick them, be mindful of the surrounding environment, avoid areas that may have been treated with pesticides or chemicals or heavily polluted areas like by the side of a road.
Once picked, the stinging nettles can be blanched, steamed or ground which will remove their sting.
