Michigan’s A Guide to the Control and Management of Invasive Phragmites has recently been updated. This 3rd edition has expanded content on how to distinguish between the native and European strain of Phragmites and new recommendations on treatment strategies.
Composting invasive plants has to be done carefully to fully kill seeds and other potential propagules. Researchers in Texas built a composting facility to handle wetland invasive plants and report on their experience in an article in Invasive Plant Science and Management. Wouldn’t it be great to turn those invasive plants into compost to raise native seedlings?
The magazine “Wood Wise” from Great Britain has an issue on managing invasive species (mostly plants) in woodlands. They cover several species also considered invasive in North America, giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam, and several species native to North America that are invasive there such as western skunk cabbage and rhododendron. http://www.scribd.com/doc/129905693/Wood-Wise-Invasive-Species-Spring-2013
For those of you faced with small patches of garlic mustard, or if you have access to a lot of volunteer labor, a new study illuminates the best times to pull or cut plants. Plants pulled before any seeds begin to set were not able to subsequently produce viable seed. It didn’t matter whether those plants were bagged, hung roots up, or left in a pile. However, plants pulled after seeds began to set did produce viable seeds.
Cut or pull before seeds begin to set
Also of interest to weed warriors is that plants that were cut at bud stage, flowering, early seed set or late seed set were not able to produce shoots that flowered. If you are concerned about soil disturbance caused when the plants are pulled (disturbed soil is the ideal spot for many invasive plant seeds to germinate), then you could cut plants instead of uprooting them.
Read more in,
Chapman, J. I, P. D. Cantino and B. C. McCarthy. 2012. Seed production in garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) prevented by some methods of manual removal.
Goats seem to be the hottest new weed control method. They have been used for weed control probably since they were first domesticated, but companies offering rental goats specialized in weed control are, growing like weeds. Goats offer an alternative to herbicides, but they can be costly to use because of the care and maintenance required. Of course spray equipment requires a lot of care and maintenance too, so maybe the investment evens out. The public seems to enjoy watching goats work much more than they like to see spray equipment being used!
Below is just a sampling of companies now offering goat rental services for weed control. The only rental we are personally familiar with is EcoGoats, so please check references before choosing a company. Add your favorite goat rental to this list!
EcoGoats, MD, http://www.eco-goats.com
Green Goat Rentals, ID and WA, http://www.greengoatrentals.com/
Rent-a-Ruminant, WA, http://www.rentaruminant.com/
The Goat Lady, WA, http://www.thegoatlady.org/
Goats R Us, CA, http://www.goatsrus.com
The Goat Girls, MA, http://www.thegoatgirls.com/
Benthic barriers use geotextile fabric, plastic or other materials placed over the ground under water to stop the growth of unwanted rooted aquatic plants (for more information on benthic barriers see http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/management/aqua023.html). A recent study looked at how long barriers needed to remain in place to kill Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). After 8 weeks 100% of the milfoil was dead. Control was also improved by removing sediments that fell onto the barrier.
Karen Laitala, Karen L Laitala, Timothy S Prather, Donn Thill, Brian Kennedy, and Chris Caudill. 2012. EFFICACY OF BENTHIC BARRIERS AS A CONTROL MEASURE FOR EURASIAN WATERMILFOIL. Invasive Plant Science and Management In-Press.
The Montana based non-profit, Working Dogs for Conservation, http://www.workingdogsforconservation.org/, trains dogs to sniff out invasive plants. The dogs can sniff out at least 5 species, including Dyer’s Woad (Isatis tinctoria). Their noses are especially useful in detecting small populations of plants in rough country. Other work for the dogs includes tracking elusive wildife for scientific studies, and finding invasive animals like introduced snails in Hawaii.
