The school district landscape maintenance people removed the growing weeds last summer. Nothing is being done to stop the growth of it now. Is the school district required to stop the growth of this weed? With school out 6/11, can't they spray and kill the weed?

Reporter
June 5, 2008, 10:01 a.m.

Dear Mrs. Pam Gates.

Thanks for your report of puncture vine. My apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

The state does not require the control of puncture vine; however, you may want to check and see if you have an active County Weed Control District in case they have any requirements. Even if not required to do so, the School District would be wise to control it considering the painful seeds that will soon be all over the baseball field – they could do a lot of harm. Contact you local SWCD to find out if they can help.

We hope you will keep on reporting! By looking for and reporting the less abundant, but equally as aggressive, invasive species, we can control them before they become tomorrow’s Scotch broom, English Ivy, or even puncturevine. Check out this website for a list of plants and animals that are priority for early detection and control in Western Oregon: http://www.westerninvasivesnetwork.org/pages/plants.php


Tania Siemens
OSU Sea Grant/The Nature Conservancy
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu

Tania Siemens
June 25, 2008, 4:57 a.m.