Avoid planting viper's bugloss in your garden, especially if you live outside its native range. In areas where viper's bugloss has become invasive or has infiltrated pastureland, management methods include: Mechanical methods: mowing can be very effective in depleting root reserves and preventing seed production; hand-pulling in dense soils can be very hard and time-consuming due to its very strong taproot, so it is better to cut off all upper parts of the plant just below the ground level. Chemical methods: in case of large scale infestation, herbicides like mecoprop-p, 2,4-D and dicamba are used (usually mixed together) for viper's bugloss management; if you opt for the chemical treatment, please read and follow the instructions carefully, and spray on a windless day to avoid negative effects on non-target species.