Prevention is the first step in a weed management plan



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May 1, 2025

May Weed of the Month: Making a Weed Management Plan

Prevention is the first step in a weed management plan

*By Emilie Justen, Minnesota Department of Agriculture* - Whether you have a small city lot or a large farm, managing unwanted plants and weeds requires commitment. Weeds move into new areas through many pathways: on animals, people, and equipment; or in contaminated soil, mulch, water, or even animal feed. Creating a weed management plan that works for a specific site and prevents spread can help you make the best use of your time, resources, and tools.

*Prevent*

Prevention is the first step in a weed management plan. Keeping weeds from establishing is the easiest and most cost-effective way to protect your land. Cleaning equipment after use or before moving it to a new location, cleaning wheel wells, boots, and clothing, buying seed from reputable vendors, and not purchasing and planting problematic plants reduce the risk of spreading weeds.

*Identify*

Identifying the weed species on your property is also extremely important and determines what management options are available. Photos can be emailed to [email protected], and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) staff can help with plant or insect identification. Apps such as Seek by iNaturalist can help you narrow down the plant species, though plant ID apps are not always 100% accurate. You can double-check the species by following up with an MDA staff person or searching the scientific name on an Internet search engine for more pictures and descriptions.

Once you have the plant identified, learning about its life cycle is the next step. The life cycle of the plant can be annual, biennial, or perennial. The life cycle helps determine what strategies might be most effective, as well as determine the timing for management.

If the plant has already flowered and produced seed and is an annual or biennial, herbicide options may not be effective until later in the fall or the following spring when the seeds germinate. If a plant is seeding, mowing may not be the best option because mowing can spread the seed.

*Manage*

There are many tools available for weed management.


* *Herbicides* are available for homeowners to use; always make sure to follow the directions on the label of the herbicide container.
* *Hand pulling and digging* are commonly done with small infestations or single plants.
* *Mowing* can be used for larger areas, if the plants are not in seed, and you clean your mower blade and deck afterwards.

The size of the area you plan to manage factors into your weed management plan. Break large areas down to smaller, more manageable areas and determine how much you can do in a week, a month, or a season.  

*Biocontrol* insects may be available for appropriate sites with infestations, such as larger areas covered by species including spotted knapweed, leafy spurge, and purple loosestrife. These insects only feed on the target weed species. Biocontrol is effective at keeping targeted plant species at low populations over a long period of time and greatly reduces the amount of herbicide or other management needed.

Insects in a white cup over a dense patch of leafy spurge [ [link removed] ]

Leafy spurge beetles are released from a container into a patch of leafy spurge plants.

*Download picture here [ [link removed] ]*

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A few other non-herbicide management strategies are growing in popularity:


* *Smothering* can be effective on small areas like backyards.
* *Controlled burns* are used on a regular schedule by land managers to restore or maintain healthy native vegetation that will help keep weeds under control.
* *Grazing* with goats is growing in popularity for a variety of weeds such as buckthorn and garlic mustard, with several goat grazing rental companies established.

Finally, restoring an area can help focus efforts on assisting the desired replacement plants. Consider these factors before starting restoration:


* A variety of native seed mixes are available from reputable native seed vendors in Minnesota. Purchase native seeds that were grown near the region where the restoration will occur. Seed mixes can cover large areas for a relatively low cost, but require soil preparation and several years of maintenance to establish. Once native seed mixes are established, they are adaptable to changing climate conditions such as drought.
* Potted plants from garden centers offer shortened plant establishment timeframes but are much more costly than seed mixes. Transplanting potted plants requires weekly watering, and continuous weeding to keep weeds from outcompeting the transplants. Potted plants typically establish within a year or two with consistent watering.

A weed management plan can be as simple or complex as you want. Knowing the basics of what plant species you have, what management strategies you can use, breaking large areas into smaller manageable areas, and following up with restoration or replacement plants can all help achieve a healthier landscape. Lastly, don’t forget to take pictures! Before and after photos can help track your progress and show the impact you’ve made.

While making and enacting a weed management plan is a continuous and sometimes daunting endeavor, it is helpful to remember that there are many resources available for folks. A few are listed below:


* U of M Extension Yard and Garden [ [link removed] ] can connect you to Master Gardeners and answer questions about weed management
* Native Plant Garden Designs [ [link removed] ] by Wild Ones
* Landscape Alternatives [ [link removed] ] by the Woody Invasives of the Great Lakes Collaborative (WIGL)
* Management and Control of Woody Invasive Species [ [link removed] ] methods (WIGL)
* Along with the many MDA resources, such as noxious weed life cycle and treatment graphics

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For more information on noxious weeds and invasive insects, listen and subscribe to Smarty Plants [ [link removed] ], a Minnesota Department of Agriculture podcast. 

*MEDIA: *Contact Brittany Raveill, MDA Communications, at [email protected] or 651-201-6131 for more information on Weed of the Month






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