(Editor’s note: This week, Feb. 27-March 3, marks National Invasive Species Awareness Week. As part of an effort to alert and educate the public on invasive species typical to McKean County, officials with the McKean County Conservation District and Penn State Extension have put together a series of stories on what to look out for and how to deal with an invasive species problem. Part 5 of the series appears here.)

SMETHPORT — In this final article for the series recognizing National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we will show you some of the many simple ways that every day citizens and neighbors can help to combat invasive species in their communities.

If you have followed our series you know that invasive plants, insects, and other animals can show up in our backyards, farms, forests, and streams. You can start in your own backyard by choosing only native species to plant in your landscape. Unfortunately, many of the box chain stores still sell many of the non-native plants that cause harm in our environment, so be vigilant about what you are buying, and better yet ask specifically for native plants.

If you find invasive species on your property, control them! If caught early, many invasive plants can be controlled mechanically by pulling them out. Be sure to get the entire root system as well. Then place the plant parts in a dark plastic bag and set it in the sun to kill the plants. For larger plants or infestations on your property, many invasives can be killed using herbicides you can find at your local plant store. Be sure to read and follow the labels to appropriately apply herbicides, and use only herbicides approved for aquatic use near streams. Because invasive species know no boundaries, work with your neighbors if you spot invasives on their property too! We can only combat invasive species if we work across the entire landscape.

And, believe it or not, you can help to manage invasive species in the many natural areas, parks, forests, and streams where you recreate! Invasive species control costs billions of dollars a year, and our local parks and forest agencies only have so much time and money to fight this battle. But individuals and community groups can do many things to help. Just as we often schedule “clean up” days to collect trash from our natural areas, so too can you have invasive species clean up days. Take an afternoon to hike your favorite trail and pull up invasive plants. This is an ideal activity for local hiking and outdoors clubs, Boy Scouts, and other community groups.

Even just noting the location of invasive species along your favorite trails and streams can help professional land managers and parks to target areas needing control. You can simply flag out and label invasive plants for your local park staff, or if you have a smartphone you can download and share specific GPS locations. The Pennsylvania Western Conservancy oversees an interactive software and website called imapInvasives where citizen scientists can learn how to collect and share data about the locations of invasive species in their neighborhood. For more information on how to use this program, go tohttp://www.imapinvasives.org/, and for more information on how to combat invasive species, contact the Penn State Extension Office or the McKean County Conservation District.

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Groshek is the communications and outreach director for the McKean County Conservation District in Smethport. Bohn is an extension educator, forestry and natural resources, for Penn State Extension, McKean County, in Smethport.