leafy spurge

spurge beetles

The wet and windy spring certainly hasnt helped I know a lot of guys that couldnt help to fall way way behind on spraying because of the conditions.

I don't think the landowners are the only ones to blame. How about all the spurge in the eastern part of the state along the Interstate? Why does the state pass laws about weeds and then allow the highway right-a-ways to be full of spurge? That really bugs me. Those weeds are so easy to access, yet they aren't controlled.

are you sure it wasn't yellow sweet clover? That is crazy thick this year again.

Yeah, I'm sure. I know the difference.

How about the biggest leafy spurge seed factory in the state, aka TRNP South Unit.  Leafy spurge is a losing battle.  May as well embrace it as a late summer grazing plant....usually the only green thing around, and I've seen cows gobble it down.

Thats not leafy surge,that's canola??

If you say its all over the south unit of TRNP, you can only imagine it is spread that much quicker cause you said cows are gobbling it up. They need to get sheep in there and get rid of the stuff as they are the only animal that can actually eat leafy spurge and not have it pass thru their system to start growing again.

Sheep and goats eat spurge... I have never seen cows eat spurge. If you really wanna see spurge go up to the Tonla-Hamar-Warwick area, then you will see spurge. As for control flea beetles work great if you can get them established, otherwise tordon and 2 4D is a great option.

Every county in ND has leafy spurge

people say cows won't eat it, but they do.  It will probably cause them to abort for all I know, but they will eat it, especially when everything else has turned brown.
 
We once kicked some cows in a pasture and spotted a patch of spurge.  came back a few days or so later and there was nothing left but little stubs.

Deer will eat it!

Beetles for spurge,Iknow of a chunk of land that was really infested then the beetles took over ,now nice green pasture,but like someone said it is a losing battle.

murdock1978 Said:
Deer will eat it!

you just made a market for the seed in food plots.

Cattle and deer might try to eat spurge, but sheep are the only animal that can process it properly and will actually seek it out. The while latex in spurge is slightly toxic if i remember right. I spent two summers full time sprayin it in Montana, and they have a good handle on it in the NE part of the state.  Spurge beetles will eat it and a type of moth will also eat it as a catepillar. I've seen them all tried over and over, but the only way to make a dent on spurge is to spray tordon/2-4D every year. The plant can reproduce through the roots and from its seeds. So you have to keep at it in order to kill the roots fully.

my brother's cows seeked it out like candy.  one of his tactics is to throw out salt blocks in the middle of a patch , let em stomp it into oblivion.  that in conjuction with spraying of course

One of the reasons spurge gets to be a " forever" problem is that the people bordering you or someone in the watershed never implement any kind of control. It can wash in or be carried in by animals or birds. Leafy spurge is a noxious weed and should be treated as such. The weed control person of your area should be going after the people that are letting is slide by or are using substandard methods of control. If he isn't he probably should be shown the door. Often times there is no compliance unless there are teeth to the law.

ggenthusiast Said:
people say cows won't eat it, but they do.  It will probably cause them to abort for all I know, but they will eat it, especially when everything else has turned brown.
 
We once kicked some cows in a pasture and spotted a patch of spurge.  came back a few days or so later and there was nothing left but little stubs.

Im spraying weeds this summer for Mercer county. Cows will eat it, yes, but it just turns into a bigger problem. If they eat it, they Shi* it out, and its the same process over and over again year after year, this time in a wider area than before. Overall, its never a good thing to send your cows after it !

Problem is that if you don't have cattle in with it, the grass gets so tall you can't see all of the small spurge plants to spray em this time of year.  Its a losing battle.

buckmaster81 Said:
Sheep and goats eat spurge... I have never seen cows eat spurge. If you really wanna see spurge go up to the Tonla-Hamar-Warwick area, then you will see spurge. As for control flea beetles work great if you can get them established, otherwise tordon and 2 4D is a great option.

Yes, the beetles are finicky about soil types that they can over-winter in.