Crikey! So bracken ferns are carcinogenic too!

If the spores are on the underside of the fronds and release in the fall as I suspected (and KK said), then pulling them (as advised twice by JG) in the spring and early summer should not increase their number. Just what I need, another thing to do in the yard and back forty. If I had as much time as I did when I was a kid, I'd invite Stam over to help pull 'em and we could have a fern fight. But those days are long gone. I will wear gloves while pulling the damn things.

BTW, finally got my raised beds set up and filled with garden mix soil from Great Western - many wheel barrows full, whew! So tomorrow I plant my mini garden and work on finishing the deer fence. Got a couple new cute little fawns ramblin' around the place, adding to the deer population.