Badger Deer Camp - Badger Sportsman Magazine

What can you do if you have
phragmites on your property but
aren’t “lucky” enough to live in
the area covered by the DNR
grant? There are several methods
of control, especially if the
stand is small.
•Try frequent mowing so the
plants don’t get a chance to photosynthesize
and send nutrition
down to the roots. Eventually
they will die.
•Cover the plants with thick
black plastic weighted down
with rocks. The plastic has to
MARSH MENACE
be heavy enough so the phragmites
shoots can’t lift up or poke
through the plastic. The plastic
will need to be in place for at
least a year to kill the plants.
•Roots can be excavated to a
depth of at least one foot. This is
very labor intensive and excavated
roots must be buried at
least four feet deep or sent to
the landfill.
•Burning is successful only
when used in combination with a
chemical herbicide. Herbicide application
in fall followed by burning
in spring seems to work best.
•Chemical herbicides labeled
for use in aquatic areas such as
Rodeo and Habitat can be applied.
Round-up is NOT labeled
for aquatic use, so don’t even
think about using it. An area is
considered aquatic if it is below
the ordinary high water mark. A
DNR permit is needed to apply
chemicals if the area is wet at the
time of treatment. It is considered
wet if your socks would get
damp if you stood there without
shoes.
Homeowners along Lake Michigan from Sheboygan to
Door County have lost their lake views. Duck hunters
find it impossible to push their skiffs into the dense
growth to hide their boats from the ducks. Fishermen
in inland lakes can’t get their boats away from their docks
– if they can even find their docks – to get out to their
favorite fishing spots.
Along with the inconvenience to humans, stands of
phragmites become so dense that diverse natural wetland
plant communities are entirely crowded out. These
invaders do not provide the food and shelter for fish,
insects and wildlife that native plants like wild rice,
bulrush, pickerel-weed and arrowhead do.
Phragmites is extremely flammable in fall, causing
a danger of wildfires in marshy areas. The tall, densely
growing plants make it nearly impossible to fight any fire
that starts. A carelessly discarded cigarette or spark from
a passing car could be disastrous.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has
received nearly $806,000 in grants through the Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative to pay for herbicide spraying
on 3,600 acres along 118 miles of Lake Michigan
shoreline. The DNR sprays from helicopters where the
grass is impenetrable. Where there is access, they use
boom or backpack sprayers and the bundle, cut and treat
method (more about that later.)
The bundle, cut and treat method is best for small
stands and is best done in late summer or early fall before
the stems turn brown. Get some sisal twine, which will
degrade in a year or so, and cut it into 14-inch lengths.
Gather a handful of neighboring green phragmites canes
and tie them firmly with the twine at waist high or lower.
Cut the bundle with a sharp hedge shears just above the
twine and immediately spray or paint the “stumps” with
herbicide. Apply just enough to moisten the fresh cut
edges.
The cut vegetation can be left where it falls, except if
there’s a chance it could float away. Then it should be
collected and placed in clear garbage bags and sent to the
landfill. If you think your garbage collector will balk at
picking it up, label the bags “Invasive plants approved by
the DNR for landfilling.”
If that all sounds like too much work, if you have a large
stand or if the whole shoreline of your lake is infested,
get neighboring property owners together and contact a
certified pesticide applicator.
About 90% of the phragmites will be killed with the
first herbicide application, so follow-up is needed one
year later to get the stragglers.
A small stand of phragmites will soon be a large one,
so we need to beat this bully back before it takes over our
part of the world.
Lawanda Jungwirth grew up in Omro, Wisconsin and
now lives in the Town of Clayton in Winnebago County with
her husband, Ron. She has been a UW-Extension Master
Gardener since 1994 and has written a gardening column
for the Oshkosh Northwestern since 2000. She is interested
in environmental issues, organic gardening, control of
invasive plants, natural health, quilting and hiking. You
may contact her at ljungwirth@new.rr.com or through her
website: http://garden.iam4pack.com
NOVEMBER 2011 ❘ Badger Sportsman ❘ badgersportsman.com ❘ 45