HAWLEY, PA — Avoiding bad guys in your garden, identifying those you already have and how to get rid of them or at least control them, was explained by Cathy Long, a Penn State Wayne County master gardener, to the members of the Country Gardeners Club this summer.

Noxious weeds, invasive plants and alien species break the natural balance of our area, she said. They are harming the environment, damaging crops, livestock and the economy, presenting health concerns for people and animals and monopolizing water, light, nutrients and space. 

We have all seen them, in our gardens and on trails and rivers—but we might not realize how much they are affecting our native species. 

Many of them were imported centuries ago, without understanding the consequences. 

Japan and other Asian countries have been the more significant “involuntary donators.”

Multiflora rose, Japanese barberry, garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass, common reed, Japanese knotweed and tree of heaven are some of those plants we need to identify, control manually or chemically, and replace with native species.

Many of these invasive plants can take over wetland communities, reducing water flow, causing water quality to decline and increasing the cost of drainage of the waterways. 

Others, such as tree of heaven, added to the problem because they are the favorite food source for the damaging spotted lanternfly.

Long emphasized prevention, checking not only our gardens but the soil from the plants that we bring into our gardens, because that might bring unwanted guests, such as the Japanese jumping worm that is decimating the forest.

Long encouraged everybody to become informed. For help in PA, call 570/253-5970 ext. 4110 (Penn State Wayne County) or 570/253-5970 ext. 1614 (the Master Gardeners program). You can also email waynemg@psu.edu. 

Bad bugs

The spotted lanternfly

NEW YORK STATE — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is surveying for three invasive plant pests in New York this year: the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) and the European cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi L.). 

APHIS asks residents and business owners to help limit the spread of invasive plant pests by following local quarantines. 

It also asks that agricultural survey teams be allowed onto your property for survey work and to hang insect traps. 

The insect traps help agricultural officials track invasive insect movement, and are crucial to mounting an effective response against these damaging pests.

Help is needed to be successful. USDA and state surveyors working in the field will have official credentials identifying them as USDA or state employees. 

The surveys are underway and will continue through the fall.

For more information about the box tree moth, spotted lanternfly and European cherry fruit fly, visit www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/home/.