General Advice

Seed disturbed areas to grasses as soon as possible.
Use straw--rather than hay--when mulching, since there is less possibility of incorporating purple loosestrife seeds from plants growing in low-lying hay fields.
Mow right-of-ways before purple loosestrife goes to seed in late July.
Before cleaning a ditch, placing a culvert, or repairing a bridge, check for invasive plants species. If found, eradicate invasive plants if possible before working in the area.
Put photos and descriptions of invasive plants in Department vehicles.
On road maps, mark where invasive plants are found (develop a key for species and date found). If uncertain whether plants are invasive, contact any of the persons listed below for verification. (Some highway departments may want to add their invasive plant sites to the statewide database. If so, ask the same contact persons to do this.)

Robin Ulmer, Boquet River Association 873-3688, rulmer@co.essex.ny.us

Kyle Williams, NYSDOT kwilliams@dot.state.ny.us,

Hilary Oles, Adk Park Invasive Plant Program 576-2082, holes@tnc.org

Steven Flint, “ “ “ “ “ , sflint@tnc.org

Dan Spada, Adirondack Park Agency 891-4050, dmspada@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Try not to remove soil from a site where invasive plants are/were growing until you are sure the plants have been eradicated. (It usually takes several years before you can be sure roots and seeds are no longer viable.)
If you remove soil, see if your DOT Residency facility has a special spoils pile and will accept your material. (If so, tarp material well before transporting.) Otherwise, get instructions for creating your own spoil pile. It requires much work and space.
Never put spoil material that contains viable stem parts, roots, or seed, onto another site other than a specially created spoils pile.
Clean off equipment used in invasive plant sites before moving them.
If using herbicides, use a 25% solution of “Roundup” on purple loosestrife and Pragmites. “Garlon” works better than “Roundup” on Japanese knotweed, but costs three times the amount. (Please note: “Garlon,” Roundup Pro,” and “Rodeo” must be purchased and applied by a licensed herbicide applicator.)
If you are going to try to control invasive plants (mow, dig, herbicide, or release a biological agent like Galerucella beetles) within 100’ of a wetland, you must get a permit from the Adirondack Park Agency. Call Dan Spada at 891-4050.
Drainage ditches are not considered wetlands.

Practices for Specific Plants

Japanese knotweed:

If growing beside water (stream or ditch that frequently holds moving water), do not mow. Plant parts move by water and will re-grow elsewhere.
Do not mow green canes in the fall; stem pieces can re-sprout and you’ll scatter seed.
Burn or chip up old canes in early spring (March and April) if you want to clean up roadsides, cut old canes obscuring site distance, or get ready for an herbicide application.
It would be great to get Japanese knotweed out of sensitive areas adjacent to streams and wetlands, but it requires much planning, time and money.
It is not cost-effective to control only part of a stand if an adjacent landowner isn’t interested in control).
It is not cost-effective to dig knotweed. Roots and rhizomes grow deep and far; you’ll probably never get them all, nor be able to screen them from the dirt excavated; and you’ll have a huge spoils pile to deal with for years.
If you wish to apply herbicide, cut old canes first in early spring. At the end of May, cut new shoots down to 3-6” and “surgically” apply herbicide to the cut stem ends with a wick-wand/swiper or spray bottle. (You don’t want to kill other vegetation.) Highway personnel can use over-the-counter “Brush-B-Gone” on their right-of-ways.

Garlic mustard:

Garlic mustard is seldom a problem for road right-of-ways since it likes to grow under trees. If it is in a right-of-way or on town-owned property, it is most easily controlled by hand-pulling before the end of May (before they go to seed). It will take several years of hand-pulling before the seed bank in the soil is exhausted.

Purple loosestrife:

Don’t mow near a constantly wet ditch since plant parts that are not picked up can re-grow.
Time the mowing of right-of-ways so loosestrife is cut before late July.
Small plants in wet loose soil can sometimes be hand-pulled.
If applying an herbicide, first cut seed heads and put them into heavy black plastic bags. Next cut stem at the base, and add plants to the plastic bags. Tie well, and let the cut material break down/liquify in the sun before disposing of bags in a landfill. If an herbicide is desired, apply 25% solution of “Roundup Pro” to cut stem ends. Monitor for the need of subsequent applications.
Releasing beetles as a biological control is only useful in large stands of loosestrife, generally over an acre. A permit is needed for beetle release from NYSDEC, and monitoring twice a year for a minimum of 5 years is required.

Phragmites:

Do not mow when plants are young. Phragmites is a grass, and will just grow thicker.
Cut at the end of July or early August, place all cuttings in heavy black plastic bags and let these sit in sun to break down before being disposed in a landfill.

WILLSBORO CONTROL SITES

Fish & Game Rd: 70 sq yd knotweed—some grows on road side of guard rail; reduced road sign visibility; nearby brook and culvert. Knotweed is not in a wetland.

Burn old knotweed canes. (Already burned by Peter Jacques.)
Cut new canes in mid-June. Bag and let liquefy, or dry canes off the ground and burn or chip. (Essex Transfer Station has a burn pile.)
Herbicide immediately with “Garlon.” (DOT Elizabethtown Residency will apply herbicide to all project sites if BRASS pays for the herbicide).
Monitor and repeat in early August, if necessary.
Monitor and repeat in mid-September, if necessary.
Use grant money to train local person as licensed herbicide applicator for Willsboro and Westport. (Find out location, time and training fee from John Bennett NYSDEC Warrensburg.)

Coonrod Rd: 200 sq yd knotweed obscuring “Yield Ahead” sign. Homeowners worried about well water if herbicide is used. May also be problem to ornamental cedars and Norway spruce.

Burn old knotweed canes. (They’ve already been burned.)
Determine if herbicide will affect well water and/or cedar and spruce trees. Tarping to cook-and-kill knotweed in the area by the driveway and trees may not be a suitable alternative if tree roots become too warm or if tarp repels water the trees will need. Maybe good location for Boy Scout troop or other volunteers to keep cut/mown for years?
Prepare landowner permit form (make sure herbicide is listed on the form) if this practice is agreed upon.
Conduct same practices as at the Fish & Game Rd. (#’s 2, 3, and 4) for eastern end away from the house.
If some kind of mat is found that allows water penetration but not light, apply the mat and monitoring every 4-5 months. When it is assured knotweed is killed (may take several years), bring in top soil to area and plant grass seed.

Willsboro Bridge: ~75-80 sq yd knotweed growing by river (with some instability in the bank) and behind the Memorial Park in the very middle of Willsboro’s business district.

Site has already been cut and raked.
Follow the same practices as at the Fish & Game Rd. (#’s 2, 3, and 4). Please see attached .jpeg photo for proximity to the river.

Noblewood Park Tent Site: ~20’ radius area of small, new knotweed emerging around a very large pine tree in the wooded, Adirondack Nature Conservancy’s conservation area set aside for tent camping. Knotweed evidently brought with fill material about 5 years ago to cover a very old, small dumpsite.

Assess herbicide for possible tree damage.

Try to hand-pull first. If okay to herbicide, follow same practices as Fish & Game Rd. (#’s 2, 3, and 4).

Noblewood Park Road to Beach for disabled, boat carry, and emergency vehicles: About 35 l.f. garlic mustard along hillside cut bank which was log cribbed and seeded for erosion control. Evidently garlic mustard seed was in the rye seeding mix or in hay used as mulch.

Hand-pull plants before May 20; continue yearly until not needed. (Hand-pulled May 11, 2004.)

WESTPORT’S CONTROL SITES

Around Westport Highway Garage: 258 sq. yd. patch of Phragmites, and 540 sq. yds. loosestrife are around the garage and in back by drive, salt shed, and sand and wollastonite piles. The facility should not act as a source for the spread of invasives.

Cut Phragmites in mid-July when beginning to tassel. (Use inmates, ANC or BRASS volunteers.) Bag, liquefy, and dispose at landfill. (No weight cost at Westport landfill; only per-bag price.)
Around first of August, cut new emerging shoots and apply “Roundup” herbicide.
Follow-up monitoring and possible new herbicide applications at end of August and in mid-September.

What is recommended for the loosestrife? Continual mowing after seed heads are clipped and bagged?

Mark’s Rd & WWTF: Total of 595 sq yd Japanese knotweed in 6 different sites, and Phragmites growing in WWTF reed bed contained by plywood boards and fabric.

Monitor yearly around WWTF in mid-to-late June for any growth outside the 200 sq yd reed bed.
Get landowner permission, south of the Town Hall, to include knotweed on their property.
Make ~300 sq yd knotweed patch behind the Town Hall a demo site. Cut new canes in mid-June. Bag and let liquefy, or dry canes off the ground and burn or chip. (Essex Transfer Station has a burn pile.)
Herbicide immediately with “Garlon.” (DOT Elizabethtown Residency will apply herbicide to all project sites if BRASS pays for the herbicide).
Monitor and repeat in early August, if necessary. Monitor and repeat in mid-September, if necessary.

Merriam’s Forge Rd: 2 knotweed patches on west side of the road to south of RR tracks.

Get landowner (David Brown) permission. (Landowner has already prepped sites; old canes that emerged after herbicide treatment were burned in the early spring, according to David Brown.)
For northern patch of 129 l.f., follow steps 3, 4, and 5 (above).
For southern 51 l.f. patch, apply tarp or fabric in mid-June after cutting new canes close to the ground. Keep the tarp loose. Secure with bio stakes (from Steven Flint).
Monitor for any new growth. (It may take several years.)
When no new shoots appear under or around the tarp for several months during the growing season, remove tarp, apply top soil, and seed to grasses.