How does the fast-growing weed Kudzu affect our wild birds? Well, since the plant grows so rapidly and kills all native plants in its way, birds lose their habitat and natural food sources. And our birds are already losing enough habitat as it is.
Kudzu has claimed seven million acres of land in the Southeastern United States and is currently consuming 120,000 acres per year. –Kudzu-Free Communities
So, how do we stop it? Well, for a fraction of the chemical and manpower cost to remove Kudzu, goats are taking over. Apparently, they love the stuff and can clear an entire patch in a day or two. Effective!
In Chattanooga, a local farmer allowed his goat herd to graze on the kudzu with dramatic results. A television show called Dog With Jobs featured a goat-herding dog that worked with kudzu. A cool, environmentally safe idea.
This weed is one of the best known invasive plant species in the United States and goats seem to be one of the best ideas to eliminate it. No chemicals, no hard labor, and inexpensive too. There are some other non-chemical alternatives that are effective as well.
A common belief is that the only way to eliminate kudzu control is to spray with herbicides. The Kudzu Coalition has learned over the past four years that there are many effective methods to control small infestations of kudzu without using chemicals. — www.kokudzu.com
Spartanburg, South Carolina is one town that is fighting hard to eliminate Kudzu from its city. Kudzu is in the news often and it is a very large problem to many southern areas.
Strangely, there are some who do not think kudzu to be a problem (such as the mayor of Peachtree City, Harold Logsdon), but we hope this program keeps on growing and more people get involved!
Mayors are not vital to eradicating kudzu since so much of the poisoning is done through the county. County level government is more important to using green ways to manage/erradicate kudzu.
Privet, cogon grass, and so many invasive weeds are less useful than kudzu. The Asian history of using kudzu for food, and 60 medicinal purposes mean we are getting published studies finally with Harvard for this very old vine that ate the South. It is higher than alfalfa in protein and is related to the snow pea. It would be great if people used it. If it were spinach, who would buy spinach with it growing wild as it does? Just don’t get shot for trespassing if you harvest it. No one will shoot you for stealing kudzu, but they will for trespassing.
http://www.kudzus.blogspot.com
(Poison is bad altogether and we don’t agree that it should be used at all). We believe that mayors are part of the local government and should absolutely play a part in their surrounding environment. As useful as Kudzu may be, it is too invasive and does way more harm than good. Garlic Mustard is also used as a food (we have even posted recipes), and there are many other bad invasives that we could mention. Kudos to those who steal kudzu as long as they aren’t replanting it elsewhere (and hopefully no one shoots them either).
If there could be more uses for kudzu to help get rid of it that would be great!