Scientist Trains Local Park And Recreation Personnel

Although dealing with invasive plants “may seem like shoveling sand against the tide,” said UConn’s Dr Thomas Worthley, he offered another tool for combating Japanese barberry during a visit to Newtown this spring. The plant is a common invasive which recently has been linked to the black-legged tick and tick-borne diseases.

According to members of the Conservation Commission, Dr Worthley discussed and demonstrated the use of a propane torch, the flame being focused at the base of the barberry until the stem begins to glow, preventing nutrient transfer to the plant. Ideally, large bushes would have been cut back three to four weeks earlier, allowing new sprouts to appear, which makes the propane torch method easier, more effective and safer.

 Six area towns benefited from the demonstration that was held at a regional Connecticut Park Association meeting hosted by Newtown’s Parks and Recreation Department. In attendance were representatives from Darien, Stratford, Hebron, Monroe, New Canaan and Newtown, as well as a number of representatives from commercial businesses.

Dr Worthley discussed the various detrimental effects that barberry has on the environment, as well as the health risks posed by ticks that the barberry harbors. The barberry is well-equipped, he said, to survive and to crowd out native species. It leafs out early in the spring when it is not in competition with other plants for sunlight, water and nutrients. It can reproduce through its abundant seeds as well as through branches that touch the soil, sprout tiny roots and create a new plant.

Health issues stem from the relationship between barberry, mice and ticks, Dr Worthley said. Both ticks and mice thrive in the barberry. Ticks that feed on infected mice become infected themselves and then pose a health risk to humans and animals who may subsequently be bitten.