Weeds: A concern for everyone

Weeds are simply undesirable plants. Anyone who manages land (home owners, gardeners, ranchers, farmers) deals with weeds. A weed might be a poisonous plant you do not want in your pasture because of livestock grazing, or it could be something like mint that has simply taken over the garden. Most weeds are fighters. They are resilient and do not readily succumb to the stresses that overtake other desirable plants, which is why the best weed control tool is prevention.

There are several weed invaders in the state of Wyoming that have yet to make an appearance in Carbon County. It is much easier to control a weed population when the very first plant appears. When weeds take over the landscape many challenges arise because the population is so dense and few desirable plants remain. It can quickly become expensive to pay for weed control treatments and reseeding.

Keeping weed plants from appearing on your land may mean making a conscious effort to use weed-free products. Weed-free products could be trees and shrubs for landscaping, amendments like compost and manure, hay for feeding livestock, or even the heavy equipment used to manipulate the soil.

There are several options for treating weed populations, but the most important step, no matter the treatment tactic, is proper identification of the weed species. The Carbon County Weed and Pest is a great resource to help in plant identification and developing a treatment plan. It is very important to match the right tool to the right plant, whether you are using preventative, mechanical, biological, chemical or cultural control methods.

Mechanical treatments imply mowing, hand-pulling or laying weed fabrics. Chemical treatments refers to herbicides for controlling the weed population. Herbicides vary greatly and are created with different goals in mind. It is important to read the label and follow the recommendations. Over-application does NOT mean you gain better control of the weed population; it is not cost effective. Biological control is a measure of weed control using a living agent to help eliminate the weed such as insects, plant pathogens, disease, or targeted grazing. Cultural control methods refer to crop rotation, avoiding over grazing, and using well adapted forage.

When developing a management plan it is important to have realistic expectations. Severe stands require repeat treatments, which means being persistent. Persistence can also mean using multiple control methods simultaneously such as biological and chemical control.

Repetition is different than increased application rates. High application rates, may just kill the top growth. In order to really affect the plant, the plant needs to be able to suck the herbicide down in to its reserves. Understanding the plant physiology can be important for this reason and an example of why proper plant identification is important.

For more information on weed identification, creating a management plan or selecting the proper treatment method contact your local weed and pest office in Rawlins, Saratoga, or Baggs.

Please note: the Carbon County Weed and Pest also has cost share opportunities for treating noxious weeds.