On a still Sunday morning no less famous than September 11th, with a photographer in tow, I sprayed the bittersweet emerging in the paths after the mowing and some overlooked black swallow wort. I also sprayed for the first time an area in the eastern corner of the field near the bee hives. Total application: 8 gallons.
The photos show grasses, milkweed, dock, deer’s tongue, the gear involved and the herbicider. Note the absence of large patches of bittersweet!
Herbicide use can lead to carpel tunnel syndrome. Ortho does not need to add this concern to its list of possible side effects on its Poison Ivy and Tough Brush Killer containers, but I need a new approach for dealing with dead and dying invasives.
After an intense week of daily root pulling, the pain in my left arm and hand kept me awake and scared for many nights. So concerned that I made an appointment with a doctor. The median nerve in the third finger of my left hand still tingles even though I have not pulled a root in 10 days.
The herbicide instructions are moot on the question of what to do after spraying. “May take 2 to 6 weeks to be effective” is all you get. Then what?
Two websites offered some indirect guidance. UConn lists some considerations of herbicide use. UMaine provides information on the control of bittersweet and black swallow-wort.
I am going to leave the roots in place to see what survives into the next season.
Dead bittersweet
Dying black swallow wort
Meadow Restoration 