JACKSON, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming (UW) Extension has just released a new weed treatment guide with recommendations for how to manage Canada thistle and other plants on the Wyoming Designated Noxious Weed List.
Canada thistle is an invasive plant present in Teton County. According to Teton County Weed & Pest (TCWP), despite its name Canada thistle is not, in fact, from Canada. This weed is native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe and North Africa, and was accidentally introduced into Canada in the 1600s through a shipment of contaminated grain.
TCWP writes on their website that Canada thistle spread down the east coast of the U.S. from Canada, and was first discovered in the Rocky Mountain West in the 1800s. It’s currently the most widespread of all thistle species, with a particular pervasiveness in Teton County.
UW Extension’s new user-friendly resource is a digital guide that offers identification and treatment tools for Canada thistle, among other specific Wyoming state-designated noxious weeds, county-declared weeds and common garden weeds for gardeners, landowners and agricultural producers.
Potential control methods for each weed are ranked as effective, somewhat effective or ineffective. A press release from UW Extension confirms the table lists treatment options for more than 50 weed species. While it was compiled with Wyoming residents in mind, many of the species listed can also be helpful to gardeners and producers on a larger regional scale.
Depending on the target species, the control suggestions may include hand pulling, tilling, mowing, revegetation or outcompeting, smothering, grazing, herbicide treatments or biological control.
“I wanted to create a ‘one-stop shop’ for people trying to treat weed problems,” Abby Perry, UW Extension educator and author of the new publication, said in the press release. “I also wanted to create something that gave people options for success, but also options to avoid, and I think this table lets them do that at a glance.”
Perry also suggests experimenting with a combination of strategies listed as effective, an approach that often can improve overall control.
While all the information in the guide is peer-reviewed and research-based, Perry notes that treatment methods can always behave differently in different ecosystems across the state and in different landscape settings.
To download a free copy of the guide, click here.
