Aquatic Weed Control – Eurasian Milfoil, an Invasive Danger to US Waters – Milfoil Control Options
Fresh water fish tanks have long been decorated with the feathery water flora called Eurasian Milfoil, but over time the milfoil has migrated from fish tanks to lakes and rivers.
Still, It did not stay there. This water flora was never intended to grow beyond the boundaries of an fish tank and now all North American lakes, rivers, streams and pools are in danger of becoming home to Eurasian Milfoil.
In its indigenous Eurasian environment it is a comparatively harmless flora (but still a bit of a pest) but here, out of its normal waters, it takes over and demolish ecosystems, clogs water intakes and power plants, and makes them unsuitable for recreational purposes.
A Number Of theories are around that explain its foundation. One is that it hitched a ride on the ballast of a ship coming from Europe or Asia. The idea is sound. In milfoil tainted waters, tests proved that, 25 percent of the ships departing the water had some milfoil on them. Another explanation is that fish tanks containing the water plant or live worm boxes containing the flora were thrown into lakes, rivers, or streams.
One of the plants worst characteristics is that it is able to live in about every aquatic surroundings in North America. It can live in the cold of Washington State or the warmth of Florida. Milfoil will have successful growth if it is the Rockies or the warm lakes in the south. To make its life easier, nothing seems to like eating it.
Once established it propagates quickly in waters that range from 2 feet to up to 30 feet, snarling just below the surface and choking out the native vegetation. Some plants like millet are given little chance to grow, which causes troubles because they are a food source for many and a home for small marine creatures. This tangled growth also causes problems for any mammals or birds that fish for their food. In addition to stimulating problems for local wildlife, these tangled plants reduce the amount of wind reaching the water, which reduces the oxygen levels of water making it hard for fish to expand and giving algae and unfair opportunity at growth.
Milfoil causes difficulties not only for animals but for individuals as well. Not only does milfoil reduce water quality but the mats make shoreline swimming impossible. With fewer fish, fewer people will want to fish in milfoil overrun waters. These weed are also a menace for boaters as they wear on engines, reduce areas for water-skiing and make navigation obstructions harder to see.
companies and towns fair little better than the boatmen and the wildlife. At times intake tubes or over flow pipes become blocked causing either flooding or water shortage. Large milfoil mats that get caught in dykes can be damaging and hurt electrical energy production.
Management of this little water plant has been hard. Poisonous Substances are not a good solution because they kill the whole ecosystem. Manual removing the flora isn t fully productive because the bits that break off can form new plants somewhere else. Harvesting machines are rarely used as they too break some of the plants, which can actually cause further growth. Milfoil has been more successfully removed by vacuum dredging, which can pick up any broken pieces left behind. In the end, the answer is a little weevil that eats only milfoil, therefore putting nature back in proportion.
Milfoil is just one type of predatory species that has outstayed its welcome; many other invasive are still thriving across the nation. Introducing non-native plants or beasts into an environment has issues that can be destructive. Just look at the south and kudzu.