Invasives Management

                        An invasive species is a non-native species whose introduction is likely to cause harm.

Invasive alien species are plants, animals, or other organisms that are introduced to a given area outside their original range and cause harm in their new home. Because they have no natural enemies to limit their reproduction, they usually spread rampantly. Invasive alien species are recognized as one of the leading threats to biodiversity and impose enormous costs to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and other human enterprises, as well as to human health.

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A simple Invasives Plan as outlined by SMP follows:

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1. Assess your site for habitat type(s) and invasive plant species. About how many individuals of each invasive plant are there on your site? Where are they located? Consider drawing a simple map of your site showing where invasive species are.

2. Confirm identifications of the invasive species at your site using your favorite botanical key or plant ID guide, or crowdsource the identification by uploading pictures of the plant(s) to iNaturalist.

3. Familiarize yourself with effective management strategies for the invasive plants on your site. The United States Department of Agriculture has lots of information on integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for invasive plant species control mechanisms.

4. Now armed with awareness of the most effective strategies for controlling the invasive plants on your site, write out a simple plan for when you will treat each species and which method(s) you will use. Some invasive plants respond better to chemical treatment in the summer just before flowering, while others will respond better in the fall before leaf drop, so be aware of effective timing as you schedule treatment(s).

5. Implement your management plan and track its success.

6. Revisit periodically as needed. Some invasive species may require more than one treatment or may require a combination of methods for effective elimination. After invasive plants are removed from your site, plan to survey periodically to spot any new invasive plants spreading from adjacent properties or germinating from the seed bank. Revise your management plan as necessary

 

We also use the Federal EPA’s IPM program as a reference: Introduction to Integrated Pest Management | US EPA   

This program is designed based on the pest prevention goals and eradication needs of the situation. This IPM program uses the four-tiered implementation approach:

• Identify pests and monitor progress

• Set action thresholds

• Prevent

• Control

 

Invasive Plants 

The top ten invasive plant species in Ohio are:

Bush Honeysuckles; Autumn olive; Buckthorns; Common Reed Grass; Garlic Mustard; Japanese Honeysuckle;

Japanese Knotweed; Multiflora Rose; Purple Loosestrife; Reed Canary Grass

 

• Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

• Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate)

• Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris)

• Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus)

• Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

• Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe ssp. Micranthos)

• Common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

• Cutleaf teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus)

• Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa)

• Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)

• Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

• Hairy willow herb (Epilobium hirsutum)

• Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

• Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

• Dame's rocket (Hesperis matronlis)

• Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)

• European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)

• Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

• Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)

• Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)

• Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)

• Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

• Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)

• Parrotfeather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)

• Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum)

• Yellow floating heart (Nymphoides peltata)

• Common reed (Phragmites australis)

• Curly-leaved pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)

• Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobate)

• Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria, fig buttercup)

• European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

• Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

• Water chestnut (Trapa natans)

• Narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia)

• Hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca)

• Black dog-strangling vine, Black swallowwort (Vincetoxicum nigrum)

• European wand loosestrife (Lythrum virgatum) (effective January 7, 2019)

• Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) (effective January 7, 2023)

Invasive Insects

• Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys)

• Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)

• Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis)

• Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

• Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae)

• Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar)

• Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) 

Invasive Animals (Land)

• Feral swine (Sus scrofa)

• Asian jumping worm (Amynthas spp)