Kudzu is a tenacious vine imported purposely in about 1910 from Japan where it had been used as cattle food. This plant has frequently been called "The cancer of the Earth". In the United States it has engulfed vast areas of rural but also urban sites. Over 7,000,000 acres in the southeastern United States have become wastelands due to kudzu infestation.
The appearance and persistence in an urban neighborhood is a blight on the real estate value of the neighborhood. Here are some of the facts about the life history of kudzu and possibilities for its control. Kudzu is a member of the pea/bean family. The large, light-green leaf has nutrition value for cattle, but the vines quickly get out of control and become serious pests, engulfing houses, barns, and forests.
The dense canopy of leaves gradually kills even the largest of trees by eliminating light needed by the host tree. The plant multiplies by stem growth of as much as a foot a day, by surface and underground cable-like runners that reach hundreds of feet in length, by flowering and setting seed, and by underground tubers. Each of these vegetative parts is very difficult to eradicate. Repeated cutting of the crown of leaves and stems will gradually starve the tuber and kill the plant but may take years. The best control for a home owner is to learn to recognize the large 3-leaflet leaf and climbing vine and to treat it with herbicide as soon as detected. Even two-inch seedlings are easily recognized with a little instruction. Pull the vine carefully out of the tree or bush without breaking the stem. Most herbicides available to the homeowner work on the leaf. Curl the vine into a tight wreath-like circle and stuff in to large kitchen garbage bag to reduce damage to other desirable adjacent plants and to protect pets/children from exposure to the chemical. Several inexpensive products are now available at Lowes and other similar stores. Triple Strike appears to work well. Wear gloves while spraying and carefully direct spray into the bag. Tie off the bag carefully. The vine and leaves should wilt in 1-3 days. After about a week, wearing gloves, check that the vine is dead, then carefully dig out the tuber and roots to insure that the tuber will not sprout new growth immediately or in the following year.
Present status in the Sherwood Forest Community and nearby communities:
1. A long, expensive campaign in the 1990s appeared to bring kudzu under at least temporary control in the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum, but a serious outbreak occurred again in 2006. After a year-long intensive fight, all known stands of kudzu have been eliminated from the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum by September 2007. The former sites have been orange flagged and are under weekly surveillance.
2. A massive stand of kudzu exists behind the Dunbar Funeral Home and Piggly Wiggly stores in a steep mini-ravine not visible from the street. This ditch is densely filled with towering Asian bamboo and kudzu. Vines have spread eastward and southward from here almost a full block and are threatening homes on either side of these two businesses. Discussions on the matter with Dunbar revealed that they are considering removal of the bamboo and kudzu by a professional company at a cost of $8,000-$10,000. The extent and degree of entrenchment of the kudzu will make elimination a major effort. The infestation of about four neighboring homes is still light but should be treated as soon as possible. Fall treatment by herbicides is especially effective because the herbicide is carried down into the roots where it kills the roots and tubers. A Kudzu Alert will be posted on the Bloomwood and Wilmot Gates of the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum with suggestions for getting free help in checking your yard for kudzu and eliminating it quickly.
Many excellent articles and photos about kudzu are available on the web. Just access http://www.google.com and search for kudzu.
Don't delay! Check today! Take kudzu away! Enjoy your kudzu-free home and garden another day!
