Teton County Weed & Pest: Guardians of the Ecosystem

While spring gardening may steal the spotlight, fall yard work is equally crucial. Putting in some effort now can make your spring and summer seasons more manageable.

Teton County Weed and Pest District’s Entomologist, Mikenna Smith, together with scientific staff from Valent Biosciences will be conducting a mosquito “field cage trial” this month. Field cage trials are large scale, field experiments where mosquitoes are placed in cages that are strategically placed in the path of a truck mounted ultra-low volume adulticide spray drift. This is the most “real world” experiment that can be conducted to determine if certain pesticides can kill the caged mosquitoes.

Rush Skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea) is a member of the Sunflower (Asteraceae) family, but unlike many of the native plants in the sunflower family, skeletonweed is an invasive, noxious weed in Teton Valley. Also commonly called hogbite, gum succory, or devil’s grass, skeletonweed originates in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa but has spread to many western united states, including Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. 

Hoary Cress, also known as whitetop, is a creeping perennial from Europe that spreads rapidly through both seeds and persistent roots. Identified by its lance-shaped leaves and dense clusters of small white flowers, this invasive plant thrives in various habitats including fields, meadows, and roadsides. Its aggressive growth outcompetes native vegetation, posing significant challenges for effective management, which typically involves a combination of prevention, mechanical, and herbicide-based strategies.