Published: August 26, 2006 11:55 pm         

Pesky vine is invading southern West Virginia

So what is kudzu?

If you thought of that funny-looking toy instrument known as a kazoo, into which the performer hums or sings, guess again.

Actually, kudzu is a massive vine, not a musical device, although it is striking some sour notes west of the mountains and parts of southern West Virginia.

Back in 1876, the Japanese introduced it at a fair as an exhibit, and some Americans seized onto it as an ornamental vine.

Trouble is, the vine, known scientifically as Pueraria thunbergiana, began to branch out from merely serving as ground cover and now threatens trees, buildings and even power lines, says David Dick, a weed specialist for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

“It just grows too fast and covers up buildings,” he said.

“It’s choking trees and pulling trees down. It’s bad for forested areas and power lines. It climbs up poles and, especially after a good rain, can short out power lines. It causes blackouts and things like that.”

In grim reality, an Invasion of the Tree Snatchers.

“It’s part of the bean family — peas, green beans and all that good stuff,” he said.

The bad cousin of that family is rearing its ugly presence west of the Eastern Panhandle mountains and popping up in Charleston, Beckley and the Williamson area.

Dick has taken some calls of late about the nuisance.

“A guy called and said he saw a patch along a river bank where he lives,” he said. “He looked out one morning and his tree was gone. It just pulled that one down. It can do that.”

Patches of the vine are evident in much of the state, but it is less common in the mountain counties, Dick said.

Thirty-five years ago, he learned from an acquaintance kudzu was strangling both sides of the tracks at Cass Scenic Railroad, but it since has been eradicated.

“There’s a good bit of it around Charleston,” Dick said. “It’s growing on sides of the interstates and things. It’s tends to follow people around.”

Color-wise, kudzu is a medium green with bright, purple flowers.

“They hang down under the vines, and you don’t see them when you’re driving by,” Dick said.

“You’ve got to get out and look up under the leaves to find them. They are a fairly large flower and actually quite pretty. They look a little bit like a wisteria.”

How does one eliminate kudzu?

“Very carefully,” the weed specialist said with a laugh.

“Several things. One, it won’t survive mowing. If you mow it on a regular basis, like a lawn weekly, it won’t survive that.”

If the lawn is too steep, put some animals out to graze.

“Goats and sheep love the stuff,” he said. “If you have a steep hillside, fence it and get some goats. They love it. They will eat it to death — literally.”

For those lacking animal assistance, there are, of course, herbicides. One Dick suggests contains dicamba and is found in such brand names as Clarity and Banvel.

Tordon is another, since it is based in picloram, or the relatively new product called Grazon. Another is marketed as Surmount.

“Roundup can be used, but it’s not quite as effective,” Dick said.

Picloram, another chemical, is considered the most effective, but one must secure a license before applying it since its use is restricted, Dick said. It’s found in such products as Access and Pathway.

“It stays in the soil a long time, so you have to be really careful and not use too much and pay close attention to what you’re doing with it,” he cautioned.

Like the coyote, kudzu was a long time penetrating the hills of West Virginia, but now has a distinct presence here, Dick said.

“And it’s now in Pennsylvania and New York and other places,” he said. “It’s gone farther north than us. But it just grows better in the South.”

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com