From Judy S.:
I hope you can find some time soon to let me know whether or not NAP is still using Buckthorn Baggies. I was introduced to them several years ago on a NAP Work Day at a pond in the western-most corner of the city-owned portion of Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area – West. That was intriguing because at that point The Friends of the Woods did not have funds to do a burn and the school system prohibits use of herbicide on their property – the central 40 acres.
I ordered some and we used them on the school-owned property for a couple of our work days with New Life Church. Some of the baggies have been in place for at least one year and others even longer.
On our most recent work day – Saturday, May 6 – I spent most of my time removing some of the ones closest to the entrance trail. Below is what I wrote regarding that experience to Pat Frey, our Treasurer, who also sponsors a Nature Club at Scarlett Middle School.
After sending my experiences and thoughts about the efficacy of the Buckthorn Baggies, I googled the question, “are Buckthorn Baggies worth the effort” and got an AI answer plus a link to an interesting discussion of the question on the Michigan Botanical Society’s Facebook page.
Anyway, I’m getting wordy, as usual, so here’s what I wrote to Pat yesterday:
What I did on the last Work Day was to remove about a dozen buckthorn baggies from stumps close to the entrance of the woods.
Removal of baggies: Some of them slid off easily – others were very tight but I used a small clipper that I had in my pack.
Trimming: Only 3 out of the dozen seemed totally successful – and those three, if I remember rightly, each sheltered an ant colony. I suspect those were all buckthorns, but could not tell from the stump, except that each was a single stump.
The others had multiple stumps and fairly large shoots grew out from them and around the baggies. Most of those shoots were invasive honeysuckle. I trimmed those back to the stump or occasionally, pulled them out of the ground – again, if I remember rightly. It led me to believe that the baggies may be pretty much useless on honeysuckle stumps.
Tools: I used a combination of a folding saw or clippers if the shoots weren’t too big.
Disposal of baggies: There was a lot of dirt in some of the baggies, so I took them back to Colonial Square with me and put them in the trash. By that time I’d been out there about 2 1/2 hours and didn’t have the energy to clean them for recycling.
Next time: One thing I wished I had done was to use my saw to cut the stumps down to the ground. I want to go back and do that for the ones I can find because otherwise they are a trip hazard. Since a trip over a stump back in 2022 was what eventually caused my shoulder surgery, I don’t want to leave them hidden in the greenery for someone else to trip over.
Efficacy: This may be a little too complicated for the Nature Club kids or, depending on the group, just the kind of challenge they would appreciate.
The jury is still out as to whether the Buckthorn Baggies are effective on buckthorn or not. A dozen examples in a small space could just be the technique used by a particular group of volunteers. I hope to contact the folks at NAP who were instrumental in getting us started on Buckthorn Baggies. I also wonder if they have noticed the ant colonies.
Thanks for any info about NAP use of the Buckthorn Baggies.
Judy S.
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