By K.D. Norris

WKTV Contributor

The list of invasive species disrupting West Michigan’s land and water is eerily long, and seemingly a battle ordinary people can only stand by and watch. Whether it’s the garlic mustard weed choking out forest floors and backyards or the spotted lanternfly attacking grape vines and apple crops, the feeling could be: “What can I do?”

Turns out there is a lot that people can do, starting with keeping an eye out for the much-in-the-news spotted lanternfly, reporting sightings to the proper authorities, and doing a bit of back-yard eradication if you find one and are not squeamish about squishing them.

WKTV went to Michigan’s own “invasive” pest experts, Michigan State University’s renown Agriculture Department, for information on the “SLF” and two other invasions impacting local residents and homeowners: the cancerous spread of the garlic mustard plant and the tree-killing appetite of the emerald ash borer.

And in all the cases, the public can play a role in the battle against the invasives.

The City of Kentwood, the Kent County Conservation District, and other local groups are harnessing community action and volunteers to battle garlic mustard though education and sweat equity.

And while MSU and other institutional “best minds” are studying ways to battle the ash borer, local land management companies now have the ability to “inoculate” ash trees to give them a fighting chance against the pest.

Aiding local agriculture by being aware, vengeful

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive first found in Pennsylvania in 2014 before spreading to New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, as detailed in an MSU article. In 2022, a small breeding population was found in Oakland County, Michigan.

The spotted lanternfly are most often seen in tree-of-heaven (an invasive, fast-growing tree found sporadically throughout Michigan), wild and cultivated grapevines, as well as silver and red maple, black walnut, butternut, birch, willow and sumac. But there is concern about long-term impact on orchard crops such as apples.

“SLF is also considered a significant nuisance pest in residential landscapes in regions where high populations exist,” authors Heather Leach and Julianna Wilson state in the above mentioned March 2023 MSU article. But the presence of the spotted lanternfly in Michigan “poses a significant threat to the Michigan grape industry and we are asking all growers to be on the lookout for this important new pest.”

Help stop the spread

But the MSU article also lays out how the general public can get involved.

The MSU article details how to spot and report SLF sightings, including reporting findings to Eyes in the Field, a website monitored by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, or through Kent County’s local MSU Extension Office.

And if a member of the public is not squeamish, there is another possible action.

“If you see only a few SLF, they are easy to kill by squishing adults or immature stages and scraping to remove egg masses,” the article by Leach and Wilson states.

Likewise, according to the Michigan Invasive Species section of Michigan.gov, in order to help stop the spread of the spotted lanternfly, you must:

• Take a picture
• Squish it
• Report it

Garlic mustard: see ‘em, pull ‘em! Eat ‘em?

The first step in battling garlic mustard is recognizing it, and recognizing when and how to attack it — and knowing where to go to for help and support.

As discussed in great detail in a Michigan State University article written by Rebecca Finneran, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) has become one of Michigan’s most notorious woodland invasive weeds.

“A native to Europe, garlic mustard was originally introduced in North America by settlers for its ‘proclaimed’ medicinal properties and use in cooking,” Rebecca Finneran, Michigan State University Extension, writes in the article. “Unfortunately, because of its invasive habit, garlic mustard is rapidly dominating the forest floor, changing woodland habitat for plants and animals alike. Given the chance, it will also invade the home landscape and even take over patches of existing groundcover.”

But the local groups such as the City of Kentwood Park Stewards Program, with its teams of volunteers, are working to battle the plant’s activities.

“It’s a continuing battle and we encourage our park stewards and residents who are confident they can identify the plant to remove it early in the spring before it has a chance to drop its seeds,” said Spencer McKellar, Kentwood Deputy Parks and Recreation Director/Project Manager. “We know it’s a problem at a few locations but this spring we spent time at both the Kentwood Community Garden property (next to Veterans Memorial Park/Kentwood Activities Center) and at Stanaback Park.”

But, he pointed out, this is not a one time fix “but an ongoing and yearly effort that will be needed to keep this particular invasive specie at bay.”

The city, and its effort partner the Kent Conservation District, has held educational workshops and hands-on work parties to help battle not only garlic mustard but the bittersweet vine as well — “This is another one of those troublesome plants that we will have to watch for and note where it’s found for further treatment,” McKellar said.

Mowing not effective

One of the problems with garlic mustard in public places is that mowing often simply cuts them, leaves the roots in place, and can even spread seeds if mowing occurs at the wrong time of the year.

People, though, can battle garlic mustard on their own land and in their own backyard as well, but there are some dos and don’ts.

“Smaller garlic mustard infestations can be controlled with a watchful eye and rigorous hand pulling during spring before other vegetation greens up, with early spring before flowering being ideal,” MSU Extension’s Finneran writes in her article. “The plants are relatively easy to pull, but they are brittle, so be sure you are lifting the entire plant out of the ground and not just breaking off the top.”

Bagging and disposing of pulled plants with municipal waste headed to a landfill or incinerator is allowed in Michigan.

And what is killing my Ash tree?

American ash, or white ash, are local versions of a tree species that have a long cultural history in Europe after likely originating in Africa and Asia Minor, and have been a staple in American woodlands, according to another article published by Michigan State University.

But the invasive emerald ash borer — native to Russia and North eastern Asia, and first discovered in the United States and Michigan in 2002, likely through the import of wood and wooden shipping pallets from those regions — has been spreading and killing local Ash trees in droves for two decades.

There is work being done on ways to help nature control the insects, as happens in its native habitats and as detailed in the MSU article. But the infestation is so new that extensive studies must come before effective remedies are deployed. 

The emerald ash borer is “considered the most destructive and costly forest insect to ever invade North America.”

The emerald ash borer (EAB) “is now in 35 states, five Canadian provinces and is considered the most destructive and costly forest insect to ever invade North America,” Deborah McCullough, MSU forest entomology professor, states in the article.

“In the case of EAB, there was very little known about this insect when it was discovered, and in many ways, we started from scratch,” McCullough said. “We needed to learn the life cycle of the insect and develop methods to survey it, control it, and to tell people confidently what they could expect about impacts.”

What is known, however, is that there is a usually effective treatment available from local arborists and landcare companies to inoculate trees with minor infections.

Pressurized trunk infusion to the rescue

“TREE-äge (Emamectin Benzoate) came to the rescue in our fight to save ash trees from the emerald ash borer,” Nick Clement, an arborist with All Season Lawn Care, said to WKTV.  “The chemical is delivered via a pressurized trunk infusion. Holes are drilled into the base of the trunk of the tree and self-sealing injection ports are installed. The injection needles are then inserted into the ports and the chemical is pushed into the cambium of the tree.”

Once the tree has been treated, the chemical provides two seasons of residual control in the tree, he added.

For more information

For general information about Michigan’s invasive species, visit michigan.gov/invasives.

For more information on local invasive species and how to get involved with the Kent Conservation District’s efforts, visit here.