General Discussion

Asian tiger mosquitos. My mom grew up with those and she was halfway across the globe ...

Hammerhead worms are also invasive here; they are scary

So, so many.

Stiltgrass

Nonnative bittersweet

English Ivy

Multiflora rose

Various nonnative bamboo species

Privet

Wineberry

Autumn olive

Silvergrass

Nonnative phragmites

Periwinkle

Japanese maple

Norway maple

The list goes on, this is just off the top of my head. I'm in the U.S. Piedmont Uplands, so being in proximity both to DC and Philly means we have a ton of invasives, especially since we suppress fire (we are a fire ecology here!) and do not suppress disturbances like deer and development. I used to do stream restoration/maintenance and sustainable landscaping for the Chesapeake Bay region, so I have removed a looooot of invasives. (I still do, just in my free time coz I'm back in college for the moment while I have the opportunity to get a 2nd degree so I can do a career pivot!)

Bradford pears 8|. Like, they're so bad that the state will give you a discount on removing them from your property if you sign up for their plant-a-native-tree-instead program. I have the world's most giant Bradford pear in my front yard and I'd love to take advantage of that program but all the trees they list as native alternates are like...huge. Like, grow to 100+ feet tall huge. I live on a tiny 1/4 acre suburban lot. Ain't no giant trees going in here.

Wild boar is also a big problem, especially in the mountains and more rural areas. I would be down for learning how to shoot a gun if only to go boar hunting.

Also while I'm here, I have fun facts for all the lanternfly sufferers! [b]Spotted lanternfly actually has a particular relationship with a tree called tree of heaven.[/b] Spotted lanternfly, as a nymph, is able to feed on a wide range of trrees--this is why it's damaging so many of our native trees and crops. However, the trees that Lanternfly can eat actually narrows as it goes through each of its lifestages, until eventually its diet narrows down to exclusively the tree of heaven. Squashing spotted lanternflies is great,[b] but if you're able to remove tree of heavens in your area, you will be able to prevent them in the first place! [/b] Tree of heaven is also relatively easy to identify. It has little "thumbs" at the base of the leaf where it attaches to the stem. If you are unsure, you can also tear off a leaf or branch. It has a "rancid peanut butter" smell that is unpleasant to most people. (If it smells chemically, double check leaves--you may instead have a native black walnut you can leave be!) [img]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vIhyFt2wW9U/maxresdefault.jpg[/img] Tree of heaven is a very tenacious species (if it wasn't, it probably wouldn't be invasive!) and is likely to resprout at the base of its trunk after being cut down. The easiest way to remove it is to rip it up by the root when it's young. If this is not possible, repeatedly cutting the suckers that pop up when you cut it will over time exhaust its energy stores and eventually kill it. I say this because, people know about the lanternfly, but not about its most effective method of control: removing tree of heaven, and I think that's a failure of public education on the topic. Removing trees is way easier than squishing bugs! This is a good presentation on the topic! https://extension.psu.edu/controlling-tree-of-heaven-why-it-matters

[quote name="@Dinogrrl" date="2024-01-28 17:09:36" ] Bradford pears 8|. Like, they're so bad that the state will give you a discount on removing them from your property if you sign up for their plant-a-native-tree-instead program. I have the world's most giant Bradford pear in my front yard and I'd love to take advantage of that program but all the trees they list as native alternates are like...huge. Like, grow to 100+ feet tall huge. I live on a tiny 1/4 acre suburban lot. Ain't no giant trees going in here. Wild boar is also a big problem, especially in the mountains and more rural areas. I would be down for learning how to shoot a gun if only to go boar hunting. [/quote] Do you happen to live in [url=https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Cercis]any of these areas of North America?[/url] If so, maybe they have Redbuds? Redbuds are native and [i]canadensis [/i]only gets to be 20-30ft top, plus they look lovely, are hardy in a wide range of environmental conditions, and offer good pollinator support. I'd be surprised if your free tree program doesn't offer them, they are an incredibly popular landscaping tree! Can't fix ya boar problem though :| lol that feel when you're dealing with two nasty invasives

@Science Redbud is one of the trees on the list, hmm... I've definitely seen those seeds around, maybe I'll try to nab one the next time I happen across one on the ground.

Thankfully no boars this close to the city, yet.

@ForestHeart OOH NOOO NOT MORNING GLORY!! I have those too! they're SO rampant, they just start appearing everywhere in the spring. Ough, and those ROOTS... they don't go deep, but they go LONG and cling to the ground for dear life.

It's such a shame too, they're flowers are so pretty. They'd make the prettiest fairy dresses if you turn them upside down.

Someone already mentioned it but the monk parakeet! Native of South America, in Spanish it's called Argentinian parakeet. They've been in introduced to the USA, Mexico and many European countries, and they're normally kept a pets! [img]https://i.imgur.com/PYsMFPK.jpeg[/img] Also the North American beaver, after they were introduced they started reproducing like crazy because they don't have any natural predators here and they ended up damaging forests and causing floods.