Control of Invasive Plant Species in Created Wetlands

About the report:

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been using a herbicide in the form of glyphosate for the control of unwanted species in created wetlands. Results with this particular herbicide have been somewhat mixed. It was requested that the Virginia Transportation Research Council investigate other means of invasive species control that are being used or have been found to be effective and new products being developed. This report summarizes those methods of invasive wetland species control that have been researched within the past few years to determine if they could be utilized by VDOT. It was determined that the majority of the invasive species control methods that are not chemical in nature will not be feasible for use by VDOT at its created wetland sites (with the possible exception of pothole blasting with ammonium nitrate). Most of the herbicides reported on have been available and in use for several years. Although this is advantageous in that application methods have been refined, it does not appear that new, more effective chemicals will soon be available. It appears that glyphosate (Rodeo) is still one of the most effective herbicides available for control of invasive species in wetland settings due to its effectiveness on a wide variety of species and its benign effects on the surrounding environment.

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