|
 
| |
|
Noxious Weeds Overtaking
Your Yard or Lawn?
|
|
Noxious
weeds are defined as annual, biennial, or perennial plants that the
commissioner of the State Department of Agriculture designates to be
injurious to public health, the environment, public roads, crops, livestock,
or other property. State Statue requires that noxious weeds be
destroyed.
 |
 | Buckthorn - 
In 1999, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture declared European or
common buckthorn and glossy buckthorn restricted noxious weeds. This
means that sale, transportation, or movement of this plant is prohibited
statewide by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Both species
are considered invasive because they are capable of rapidly spreading &
replacing native species throughout Minnesota. The berries on these
plants are poisonous!
|
| Milfoil -
Eurasian Watermilfoil was first discovered in Minnesota in Lake Minnetonka
in 1987. At the end of 2001, Eurasian watermilfoil had been found in
133 lakes, rivers, and streams in Minnesota waters. Eurasian
Watermilfoil is an "exotic" aquatic plant. It grows and spreads
extremely fast. This aggressive growth chokes out native aquatic plants.
When native plants can't grow, other aquatic species that rely on native
plants for food and shelter have trouble surviving. (Fact: Only a
three inch fragment of Eurasian Milfoil is needed to start a whole new
colony of Eurasian Milfoil.)
|
| Poison Ivy -
Poison ivy is a harmful vine or shrub in the cashew family. The
tissue from these plants contain a poisonous oil somewhat like carbolic
acid, that once you have come directly in contact with, you will become
infected. Many people have been poisoned merely by taking off their
shoes after walking through poison ivy. |
| Poison Oak - Is much less common than poison ivy, but does
contain the same poisonous compound. |
| Poison Sumac - Unlike poison ivy, grows as a course woody shrub
- never as a vine. It is found in swamps and other wet areas. |
|
|
Descriptions of Noxious
Weeds
|
| Buckthorn - There are three Rhamnus species, known as
buckthorn in Minnesota.
 | Dwarf Alder - It is small,
about four feet by four feet and is found in tamarack swamps and wet
meadows. It is not invasive in its natural range. |
| Glossy Buckthorn - It grows
about 20 feet, has alternate buds, red fruit that turns dark at maturity
and is irregular in shape. It aggressively invades wetlands and
moist woodlands. Columnar forms in the nursery trade are narrow
and upright, growing 12 feet high. |
| Common or European Buckthorn -
Is extremely aggressive on lowland and upland sites. It grows to
20 feet with a spreading irregular crown. The bark is rough
gray/brown. The fruit is glossy black and the leaves are finely
toothed, pointed and a glossy, dark green well into winter.
|
|
| Milfoil - Eurasian Milfoil looks
almost like Northern Milfoil, which is native to Minnesota. Eurasian
Milfoil has 12 to 21 leaflet pairs, while Northern Milfoil has only 5 to
10 leaflet pairs. The best way to tell them apart is to pick them
up. Eurasian milfoil is limp and soft, while Northern Milfoil is
stiff and bristly.
|
| Poison Ivy - First appears in
the spring as small red leaflets, which rapidly become bright green.
Each leaf consists of three leaflets, that are 2 to 4 inches long,
irregular, and notched along their margins. Small greenish flowers grow in
bunches attached to the main stem close to where each leaf joins it.
The old saying, "leaflets three, let it be," is a wise reminder to
beware of poison ivy. |
| Poison Oak - The poison oak has
three leaflets. In contrast to poison ivy, the lobes are much more
deeply cut in poison oak |
| Poison Sumac - There are many
non-poisonous sumacs that have red flowers and fruit normally in the top
of the plant. In contrast, poison sumac has green flowers and loose
clusters of white fruits.
| Still confused on what poison ivy, oak & sumac look like?
Check out this site
www.poison-ivy.org . You can also purchase a great 18" x 24"
poster from this site and a great Teaching Program.
|
|
Purchase A Weed Wrench or Use One For Free
From City Hall
|
| Reminder: Any intensive vegetation
clearing is prohibited within 75' of Lake Minnetonka. Lakeshore
property owners should contact the City before beginning any lakeshore
vegetation clearing projects.
|
| Buckthorn - Check out the
DNR website for detailed information and the seven steps to removing
buckthorn.
|
| Milfoil - There are three methods to removing milfoil.
- Biological Control - This includes natural predators or
disease organisms that eat or infect the pest to kill or slow its
growth.
- Chemical Control - Chemical herbicides can be applied to
Eurasian Milfoil every one to three years to control its growth.
The herbicides can often kill the good, native plants that we don't want
to hurt. This method is also expensive and can cost from $200 to
$2,000 per acre.
- Mechanical Control - This is where the Eurasian Milfoil is
pulled out or cut with a machine and removed from the water. This
type of control must be repeated all summer and it can cost from $300 to
$600 per acre. The best way is to have divers pull the plant by
the roots, and take care not to break off any fragments that could float
around and take root elsewhere.
If you have any questions about the Eurasian Watermilfoil Management
Program, please contact:
Chip Welling, Coordinator, Eurasian Watermilfoil Program
500 Lafayette Road, Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155-4025
(651) 297-8021
chip.welling@dnr.state.mn.us
|
| Poison Ivy / Oak / Sumac - How to get rid of these noxious
plants? Try some of the following ideas:
- Get a goat, goats eat Poison Ivy with no ill effects. The downsides,
they will also eat everything else they can reach, and may make you
unpopular with your neighbors.
- Rip it out by the roots. It will likely grow back until you
get every last bit of root. Be careful not to touch it, or get
it on your clothing!
- In a field, keep mowing it, it might give up and die. Be
Very careful, when you grind up the leaves it creates a nasty soup out
of the leaves, be sure not to touch it!
- Cut it off at the ground, keep cutting it off until it gives up and
dies. This could take a few years. Again be sure not to
touch it.
- Spray with broadleaf herbicide, but you risk killing lots of
harmless plants and who knows what else.
- Warning - Don't burn it! The smoke will get in your
lungs and make you violently ill!
|
|
| Buckthorn - Landscape your yards. Catch the seedlings
before they mature and become a problem, pull the small seedlings or treat
them with chemicals right away.
|
| Milfoil - To prevent introducing Eurasian Water Milfoil into
other lakes, streams or rivers, be sure to do the following:
- Remove all plant materials from your boat, anchor, trailer and
anything that entered the water after you take the boat out of the water
and before you leave the boat access area.
- Drain live wells and bilge water before you leave the boat access
area.
- Make sure your bait bucket doesn't have any plant material in or on
it. Be sure to empty your bait bucket on land -- never dump live
fish from a bait bucket into a body of water.
- Wash down your boat, trailer and tackle with hot water when you get
home to kill off any hitchhikers that could be transported into other
lakes.
|
| Poison Ivy / Oak / Sumac - The easiest way to prevent infection
is to stay away from any three leaf plant, if you're not sure what it is,
don't touch it. If you do come in contact with any of these plants:
| Wash with plenty of soap & water; make sure to scrub under your
nails. Small amounts can remain under your fingernails for days! |
| Scientists have developed a vaccine that can be injected or
swallowed. This is effective only if taken before exposure. |
| If poisoning develops, skin may be treated with dressings of
calamine lotion, Epsom salts, or bicarbonate of soda.
|
|
|
і Yahoo,
"Yahoo," Encyclopedia.
і Yahoo,
"Minnesota Fishing," Eurasian Milfoil.
і Yahoo,
"Poison Ivy .org," Facts About Poison Ivy.
і Yahoo,
"Thurston County," Controlling Eurasian Milfoil.
і Yahoo,
"Poison Ivy," Poison Ivy, Oak & Sumac Information Center
і Yahoo,
"Minnesota Pollution Control Agency," Creature of the Month.
і Yahoo,
"Minnesota DNR," Eurasian Watermilfoil & Pests and Weeds & The Trouble w/
Backyard Buckthorn.
|
| |
| |
|
NEW