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NRC Biosecurity Officer Ken Massey with the highly invasive and toxic vine, moth plant.
The goodwill of landowners plays a crucial role in efforts to control a highly invasive and toxic vine that ranks among Northland’s worst pest plants.
Ken Massey, a Biosecurity Officer with the Northland Regional Council, says moth plant (Araujia sericifera) is among the region’s top five non-pastoral pest plants and an unfortunately all-too-common sight in both urban and rural areas.
Every year huge numbers of moth plant seeds are released from the plant’s choko-like seedpods and are carried by the wind to infest new areas.
Mr Massey says moth plant can establish itself quickly and rapidly start smothering native forest areas, garden shrubs, shelterbelt trees and roadside plants.
He says community goodwill is a key weapon in the battle against the plant, a vine with paired, oblong leaves with distinctive small, clustered white flowers which develop into seedpods.
“Anyone noticing moth plant – especially on neighbouring properties – should make the landowner aware of the problem and urge them to seek advice on how best to control the plant.”
Mr Massey says moth plant can be severed at ground level and any regrowth should be grubbed out or spot sprayed. For small infestations ‘Woody Weedkiller’ - available from most garden stores - is effective at 360 ml in 15 litres of water for foliage spraying.
He says while foliage can be safely composted, seed pods should be bagged and buried deeply or safely disposed of at a refuse centre. It’s also important to wear gloves when handling moth plant because its milky, sticky sap can cause skin irritation and ill health.
Mr Massey says neighbours keen to tackle moth plant collectively can also club together to form a Community Pest Control Area (CPCA).
Community Pest Control Areas (CPCAs) are a relatively new Regional Council initiative and can be established in areas identified by the local community as worth protecting. Over the past three years about half a dozen CPCAs have been set up around Northland to deal with a variety of animal and plant pests.
Under the CPCA system, a list of target pest/s is drawn up and a management plan formulated for how these can be controlled.
Mr Massey says each proposal for establishing a CPCA must first be endorsed by the affected local community to ensure public support, before being put to Councillors for final approval.
He says a CPCA designation can see the Council offer a variety of resources and support including free initial control work to reduce pests to a level that locals can manage.
“The Council can provide training in pest control and monitoring techniques and supplies traps, agrichemicals, poisons and monitoring equipment to groups and landowners. Typically, these resources are supplied free for the first two years, after which the community itself becomes responsible for keeping pest numbers down.”
Mr Massey says even after the initial two years, the Council continues to offer some support via half-price poisons for a further several years.
He says a CPCA designation also gives the Council more powers to ensure targeted pests are controlled.
People wanting to know more about moth plant or Community Pest Control Areas should contact Council Biosecurity Officers on the Regional Council’s freephone (0800) 002 004.