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What is a WEED?
A variety of opinions abound on this subject. Most consider a
WEED
to be any plant that is on either the Colorado Noxious Weed list
or any plant on your land that you consider undesirable.
What is a NOXIOUS WEED?
Noxious weeds are plants that are
NON-NATIVE
to North America. They have no natural predators and can easily
become invasive.
The following comes from an Executive Order put forth by
Governor Bill Owens:
"All land owners have a responsibility to plan and implement
a coordinated program that utilizes a variety of integrated
methods to manage noxious weeds, the purpose of which is to
achieve desirable plant communities."
It is
KEY
for all landowners to realize the vigorous competition Noxious
Weeds present to our native habitat. Once some of these more
tenacious perennials have established themselves, it can take
years of vigilant efforts to bring them into check.
Why should I control my NOXIOUS WEEDS?
There are several reasons we need to control noxious weeds:
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Colorado has a
WEED LAW
which mandates eradication, control and suppression of a variety
of Noxious Weeds that thrive in Colorado |
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Noxious Weeds lessen the productivity and graze ability of your
land |
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Left unchecked, Noxious Weeds can rapidly choke out other plants becoming a monoculture and keeping native plants and grasses
from populating your land |
“It is currently estimated that more than 43 million acres (65%)
of Colorado’s 66 million acres of public and private lands are
deemed by local weed management professionals to be, on average,
in less than adequate compliance or cooperation with
local weed management efforts.”
(Source: Report to the Colorado General Assembly
by Eric Lane, State Weed Coordinator for the Colorado Department
of Agriculture.)
Noxious Weed infestations impact agriculture; land values;
wildlife grazing habitat; native threatened and endangered
species; recreation and tourism.
Follow this link to the
Colorado State Weed List for
more information.
How much will Weed Control Cost?
It is difficult to say as each infestation and property site
varies. The type of application required will be based on
a variety of issues:
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Location |
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Terrain |
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Target Weed/s |
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If Water is Present, etc. |
The greatest factor
in determining costs is the target weed and subsequent chemical
necessary to control it. The chemistry developed to selectively
control specific weeds varies as does the effect those chemicals
will have on the target plants. Some of the more common
modes of action inhibit photosynthesis and growth.
Therefore as you can see, an accurate assessment of a variety of
issues will determine the costs of control.
What time of year is best to control Pest?
There are such
a wide variety of pests all of which need to be treated at
various times throughout the year. Please visit our
Control
Schedule
to determine what the best times of year are for a number of
different pests. Keep in mind that the dates listed may vary
based on weather and physical location of the infestation.
How are Noxious Weeds controlled?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is common strategy in
developing methods of control. IPM may consist of one or
multiple accepted methods of Biological, Chemical, Mechanical
and Cultural controls. We can assist you by making
recommendations on all methods. We conduct inspections, write
management plans, and conduct Chemical and occasionally
Biological control methods.
Be advised that
CHEMICAL WEED
CONTROL
is the most commonly used and most effective method of weed
control. We understand that it is also controversial;
subsequently we are sensitive to community/environmental impact.
We take our chemical treatments very seriously
maintaining our licenses through attending numerous continuing
education programs and by keeping up to date on the latest products and
Rules/Regulations as administered by the Colorado Department of
Agriculture.
We select only those herbicides and insecticides that will
effectively target the pests you have hired us to control
ensuring no damage to grasses and desirable vegetation.
How did these Noxious Weeds get on my
land?
There are a wide variety of ways this might happen:
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There might be a seed bank in the soil – some Noxious Weed seeds
can remain viable in the soil for 2-15 years and disturbing the
soil may well cause these seeds to germinate |
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Climate conditions may trigger seeds which have been dormant |
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Not utilizing Weed-Free Certified Feed (Hay) by you or your
neighbors |
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Wind, Birds and Animals may carry or drop seed on your land |
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Weed seeds may be transported by vehicle/trailer tires,
clothing, shoes and even pet fur |
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In an effort to reduce the spread of seeds, VMI
is diligent about washing off all of our equipment and shoes after making an application at every site
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I’m taking care of my weeds and my
neighbors are not, what can I do?
Contact your local County Weed and Pest Department to find out
more about your potential courses of action.
What can I do to help in stopping the
spread of Noxious Weeds?
Become educated and learn to identify both native and non-native
plants
Visit
our
Resources page to learn more as well as our
Affiliations/Links page for links to other
informative sites
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Inspect your property and know what is growing on your
land |
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Hire only qualified and licensed professionals to assist
you with your vegetation management needs |
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Don’t pick wildflowers or noxious weeds and try not to walk or
drive through infested areas. Seeds are hitchhikers – the
spread of seeds may be responsible for future infestations |
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Be aware of the ornamental plants that you purchase and plant on
your property as many of the weeds that we consider noxious
today are escaped ornamentals |
Will one application get rid of my Noxious
Weeds?
Highly unlikely.
Weed Management professionals agree and advise that in order to
control noxious weeds it will require multiple treatments.
It is important to develop multiple year plans especially on
infestations that have been present for years. While a one
time treatment may be effective in reducing a population, annual
inspection and maintenance is key. Not doing so may result
in wasted dollars from your initial treatment investment.
Our
Certified
Professionals
will develop a plan to ensure the proper
herbicide is applied to the targeted pests. We always follow
recommended rates of application and will not reduce rates in an
effort to save you a few dollars as doing so will cost you far
more in controlling your noxious weeds in the long run. It is
important to recognize that developing a watchful management
plan is imperative to effectiveness.
Are the chemicals you use harmful?
The chemicals we use have been tested for years and would
not be allowed on the market were they not safe. We read each
label at least 5 times before and after using the chemical to ensure
we are following all of the guidelines put forth by those
labels.
It is our policy that any chemical classified as a known or
probable human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection
Agency, National Toxicology Program or the International Agency
for Cancer Research, will not be used.
Most literature about chemicals is quite technical. Click on
either the
EXTOXNET
link to visit Oregon State Universities database of pesticide
toxicology information or the
EPA web page link
for general pesticide information.
What is a pesticide?
A pesticide is any substance or mixture of
substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or
mitigating any pest.
Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the
term pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and
various other substances used to control pests.
If chemicals are safe, why then do you
place a Warning sign on my property after performing a chemical
application?
These markers are not warning signs. In compliance with
the Pesticide Applicators' Act, we are required to notify and
post any time we make a pesticide application in any turf or
ornamental category. We will post on all of our jobs so
that our clients and their neighbors may take whatever
precautions they feel are necessary, should they be concerned
about contact with pesticides. We advise our customers to
keep family and pets off treated areas until the application has
dried or as the label suggests.
How
toxic are the products you use?
The products we use
generally contain the same active ingredients that are found in
most of the garden products you can purchase at retail garden
and hardware stores. The difference is most products sold
at these outlets are meant to be applied directly and products
we use are in much larger quantities to be diluted to various
strengths depending on the target pest.
The large majority
of the products we use contain a "Caution" label. Caution
refers to products of relatively low toxicity and those that are
comparatively free from health hazards. Acute Toxicity is
measured in LD-50 (This figure is the dose that is lethal to 50% of
animals).
The higher the LD-50
number, the safer the product.
See the table below for a few examples.
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Household
Products |
LD-50 |
Chemical
Products |
LD-50 |
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Nicotine |
50 |
Sevin, Carbaryl |
500-850 |
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Caffeine |
192 |
2, 4-D |
375-805 |
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Aspirin |
1000 |
Round-up |
4300-5400 |
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Vitamin A |
2000 |
Banvel, Dicamba |
1040-1700 |
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Table Salt |
3000 |
Malathion |
1000-1375 |
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