Nakusp has a new weapon when it comes to battling invasive species in the area: pesticides.
Village crew won’t be using them for cosmetic purposes. Instead, it will be a last resort if the invasive species can’t be dealt with otherwise.
“There are two things you have to have in order to apply pesticides in a municipality,” said Terry Welsh, director of recreation and parks for the village of Nakusp. “You have to have licensed applicators, and you also have to have a pesticide license, which is granted by provincial authority.”
The last recorded instance for a pesticide license on file in Nakusp was back in 2005. The reason the village has been able to get the new license is because a member of staff undertook their certification in pesticide application.
The type of pesticide used will be RoundUp, and the active ingredient is glyphosate. It’s a systemic herbicide that prevents the plants from making certain proteins that are needed for plant growth.
RoundUp takes a period of 10-14 days to act.
The village is currently dealing with one type of invasive species with this method, Japanese knotweed. There is a patch of knotweed across from the village office and in other areas of town.
“Within the Weed Act in BC there are a number of invasive species that are of concern in the area, and so we would use herbicides, where appropriate, for control of those plants.” said Welsh.
Another invasive plant around the village is Scotch Broom. The village is using mechanical control to help deal with that plant, which means the plant is physically removed.
If the RoundUp doesn’t work, the village will use a three way application for plant control. In this case, it would be the commercial grade version of Weed-X.
The village hopes to use the pesticides as little as possible.