Goats splurge on spurge

By Mike Bjarko
North Forty News

Sometimes, nature really does know best. The Dean Acres Homeowners' Association has replaced pesticides with a biocontrol approach using goats and beetles in an effort to control leafy spurge.

In 2002, Larimer County Weed Control sprayed the spurge, but the results were disappointing. In 2003, Jeb Blunt, a Dean Acres resident, volunteered to spot spray, using glyphosate (Round-Up(tm)) in an effort to control the weed, but there was just too much spurge to control without harming the desirable plants in the area. "We also didn't want to spray next to the lake," added Blunt.

Early this spring, the association contacted Ewe4ic Ecological Services, of Lander, Wyo. Operated by Colorado State University graduate Lani Malmberg, Ewe4ics provides goats to public and private landowners as a nonchemical weed control method.

About the same time, Blunt also contacted Larimer County Weed Control to obtain leafy spurge beetles. The beetles are supplied by the Colorado State Department of Agriculture through their biological pest control section.

Both the goats and the beetles arrived on the same day, June 21. One hundred goats were deployed on the south side of Lee Lake and 4,000 beetles were applied by Larimer County Weed Control on the north side.

The goats stayed three days. As they munched the leafy spurge out of one area, they were moved to the next using a portable electric fence. Blunt estimated that the goats ate about 90 percent of the spurge on the south side of the lake. He said that Ewe4ics recommends bringing the goats in twice a year for several years to keep the spurge in check.

Meanwhile, on the northern front, the beetles were establishing their beachhead. Adult beetles feed on the leaves, while the larvae attack the roots of the plant. According to Kristina Lucero, summer intern for the State Department of Agriculture, it can take three to four years have a noticeable effect.

"It depends on the area, but they have been very effective," said Lucero. The beetles applied at Lee Lake were collected in Challenger Park near Parker, where Lucero said leafy spurge control has been virtually complete.

After a month, Blunt has seen some damage to the leafy spurge plants near the lake. "They definitely look pretty sick," he said. "It's pretty cool." He said that the beetles should eventually move to the south side of the lake to control the spurge there as well.

For landowners looking for an alternative to pesticide use, both the goats and the beetles are a viable choice. The goats must be hired; the beetles, however, are free.

To hire a spurge-eating goat, a contact number for Ewe4ic Ecological Services is 970-219-0451. To request leafy spurge beetles from the Colorado State Department of Agriculture, call 866-324-2963, or visit www.ag.state.co.us/DPI/insectary/formintro.html.