We’re under attack and you may not even notice.
Garlic mustard. Gobs and gobs of garlic mustard are showing up in shaded areas around the state.
It looks harmless enough – even attractive – but this pretty plant is penetrating our land and overrunning all the indigenous stuff.
The Mequon Nature Preserve has joined a state-wide anti-invader army. Their effort is part of the 2016 Garlic Mustard Pull-A-Thon.
Volunteers have already bagged a bunch of the offender.
Jason Nickels, an educator at the Mequon Nature Preserve, says everyone can help,
“It’s actually pretty easy to hand pull, especially after it’s been raining a little bit, so we try to get at it this time of year and it’s the only one that has four white petals so it’s pretty easy to pick out," he said.
Experts advise taking the battle to your own backyard and not limiting it to organized efforts.
Every little leaf counts as the DNR has it on a restricted list -- making Alliaria petiolata actually illegal to sell.
The Mequon Nature Preserve Executive Director, Kristin Gies, believes there could be big consequences if the plant is not eradicated or controlled. She says it’s very destructive over time,
“It destroys anything under its path so because it can become such a carpeted layer nothing else can compete," she said.
Some people prefer to eat the invader. No kidding. There’s actually a website called eat the invaders.org. It has some creative garlic mustard recipes – like pesto, getting right to the root of the problem.
