How to Eradicate Invasive Plants

There must be a zillion books about what to plant, but not much in the way of how to identify and get rid of the nasties that flourish in our yards. What I really like about this book is that it is honest about what is invasive, even if it might hurt some feelings. For example the butterfly bush is one that many people plant and is still sold in nurseries everywhere, but this book is one of the vanguard that realizes that these bushes spread prolifically, often displacing native plants. There are many others that everyone agrees are weeds, like wild onion, purple loosestrife, and poison ivy, just to name a few.Each plant gets its own page with a description of the plant, a brief description of why the plant is a problem, how it reproduces, its origin, general notes, noninvasive alternatives, and then, "less-toxic controls" and "chemical controls" which the author recommends only as a last resort. This is something I really appreciate, because if I was interested only in chemical controls, I wouldn't be buying a book about how to eradicate invasives, I would just buy Round-up. Although, there are a few plants that the author says are extremely difficult to control without chemical assistance. Lucky me, I have a few such specimens in my yard, but at least now I know that cutting them down is not going to work - ever. I've been wasting my efforts on trying to get rid of them with manual efforts. Others, I've been trying to cut down, but pulling out is the best way to get rid of them. For others, it's smothering. That's what makes this book so great. It tells you exactly the best way to get rid of each pest individually.The noninvasive alternatives are particularly nice considering that quite a few of these plants are used as ornamentals. It gives an answer to the question, "but if I don't have that, then what else can I use?"If you want to avoid chemicals as much as possible and get your yard/garden invasive-free, then this book is the best resource I have seen to date.

Excellent book that we previewed from the local library, and immediately saw its value. If you cleared out all the listed invasives from your yard, you'd have TONS of room for more benign plants.Well written, great photos and illustrations, easy to find the plants that are pests. A must have in a world where new 'exotics' are arriving on our shores daily. Interestingly, the majority of these pest plants have their origins in asia.

Even though the scope of the plants included isn't specific to the area where I live (North Carolina), it is by far the most detailed and comprehensive book on invasive plants that I've seen. I especially appreciated the specifics of what it takes to eradicate each plant. And, no, plant killers don't work on every plant. Sometimes repeat mowing works, other times you have to pull it out and put in in your garbage (not on your compost pile). I used this to cross-check the plants with another book I have on invasives in my area to know specifically what I need to do during the next growing season.

I'm in Alaska and wondered if this book would be at all useful to me, but I was quite impressed! I literally spent hours wandering through the book!

Well written and very useful

Wonderful book! There's so much information on how to get rid of those nasty invasives. I have been gardening for over 30 years and there are methods in this book that I've never even heard of.

Clear description of plants with corrective actions. Very user friendly.Good reference material. I initially borrowed it from the library and liked it so much I purchased it.

Love the book. Great pictures

boring...nothing new and not worth buying.