As we slowly inch toward summer, my neighbors and I are preparing ourselves for a two-pronged invasion. One is from a foreign invader and the other is a bloodsucking domestic terrorist. Combined, these two will marshal an army of mercenaries to turn our serene hill into a battleground. Who are these invaders? Japanese knotweed and the ever dreaded mosquito!
Japanese knotweed is a known invasive species. It spreads through rhizomes and seeds. It forms dense colonies that overwhelm native plants. Worst of all, it's almost impossible to eradicate.
A few months back I read of a group on Vancouver Island, British Columbia that tried everything they could think of to rid their area of this knotweed. They tried digging up the plants, fire and even a cocktail of pesticides, yet the knotweed refused to die.
The hill behind our house has been overtaken by this unwelcome visitor. My strategy has been to dump yard refuse (and that of one neighbor) on our back forty where the stuff grows. We've piled up old sod, branches, limbs and rotten logs. In the areas in which we've been able to pile it up to form a thick mat, the knotweed doesn't appear to be growing, but most of the area does not have these mats and so the stuff is springing up all over the place. Arghh!!
It looks like I will spend another summer trying to cut this crap back. This task is made more difficult by our domestic invader -- the mosquito.
Beginning in June, the little boogers will start swarming up the hill from Mill Pond. In the early part of the summer, they will merely be an annoyance. However, by the dog days of August, swarms will invade our peaceful hillside and make it next too impossible to enjoy anytime outside unless a person covers themselves in DEET. While I certainly do not enjoy being selected for the next meal from these pesky swarms, I equally dislike spraying poison on my body. It's a lose-lose proposition!
Our small town's response to the annual mosquito invasion leaves a lot to be desired as well. Instead of attacking the problem at its source -- the pond where the mosquitoes breed -- city crews merely spray down the neighborhood every 3 to 4 weeks. This tact is wholly ineffective for two reasons.
First off, the poison they use is water-soluble. Since nary a week goes by when we don't receive some amount of rain, the pesticide is invariably washed out of yards into the sewers and, eventually, the river.
Secondly, all the spraying does is kill the mosquitoes present. Within a day or two, more swarms come up the hill and the poison doesn't seem to effect them one bit. So, basically all that is accomplished by spraying poison throughout the neighborhood is that it buys us 24-48 hours of relief and then we're right back where we started.
I've tried to convince the city supervisor that there are more cost-effective and non-poisonous methods for dealing with this problem, but he's from the "Round-Up" generation and no amount of data or research seems to sway him.
So, I'm going to try to enjoy the rest of the spring before the real onslaught begins.
Japanese knotweed is a known invasive species. It spreads through rhizomes and seeds. It forms dense colonies that overwhelm native plants. Worst of all, it's almost impossible to eradicate.
A few months back I read of a group on Vancouver Island, British Columbia that tried everything they could think of to rid their area of this knotweed. They tried digging up the plants, fire and even a cocktail of pesticides, yet the knotweed refused to die.
The hill behind our house has been overtaken by this unwelcome visitor. My strategy has been to dump yard refuse (and that of one neighbor) on our back forty where the stuff grows. We've piled up old sod, branches, limbs and rotten logs. In the areas in which we've been able to pile it up to form a thick mat, the knotweed doesn't appear to be growing, but most of the area does not have these mats and so the stuff is springing up all over the place. Arghh!!
It looks like I will spend another summer trying to cut this crap back. This task is made more difficult by our domestic invader -- the mosquito.
Beginning in June, the little boogers will start swarming up the hill from Mill Pond. In the early part of the summer, they will merely be an annoyance. However, by the dog days of August, swarms will invade our peaceful hillside and make it next too impossible to enjoy anytime outside unless a person covers themselves in DEET. While I certainly do not enjoy being selected for the next meal from these pesky swarms, I equally dislike spraying poison on my body. It's a lose-lose proposition!
Our small town's response to the annual mosquito invasion leaves a lot to be desired as well. Instead of attacking the problem at its source -- the pond where the mosquitoes breed -- city crews merely spray down the neighborhood every 3 to 4 weeks. This tact is wholly ineffective for two reasons.
First off, the poison they use is water-soluble. Since nary a week goes by when we don't receive some amount of rain, the pesticide is invariably washed out of yards into the sewers and, eventually, the river.
Secondly, all the spraying does is kill the mosquitoes present. Within a day or two, more swarms come up the hill and the poison doesn't seem to effect them one bit. So, basically all that is accomplished by spraying poison throughout the neighborhood is that it buys us 24-48 hours of relief and then we're right back where we started.
I've tried to convince the city supervisor that there are more cost-effective and non-poisonous methods for dealing with this problem, but he's from the "Round-Up" generation and no amount of data or research seems to sway him.
So, I'm going to try to enjoy the rest of the spring before the real onslaught begins.
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