Invasive Species

What are they and why should we be concerned?

Invasive species are non-native plants, animals, insects or other organisms that were accidentally or intentionally introduced causing environmental, economic or human health harm. Not all non-native species are invasive; many add value and do not out-compete our native species. Invasive species cause harm in several ways:

Crowding out native species for water, nutrients and sunlight.
Preying on native species which may lack adequate defenses.
Creating an environment that does not support native regrowth.
Providing food and shelter for other invasive pests.

Invasive species lack the natural predators to restrict their spread and do not provide the food and shelter needed by native pollinators, insects, birds and animals.

Without human intervention, invasive species spread and we lose the richness and natural biodiversity we have come to expect.

We can all help by learning how to identify and control invasive species around our homes and community.

Please visit the following link for more information: DEEP Invasive Species

Invasive Plant Species

There are many invasive plant species in and around Canton, the Farmington Valley, and also throughout Connecticut. Some of the most common are listed below:

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum or Reynoutria japonica)
Japanese Stilt Grass (Microstegium vimineum)
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Winged Euonymus (aka Burning Bush or Euonymus alatus)

The easiest way to identify these and other invasive plant species in Connecticut is to review their photos and descriptions on the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) website.

There are several ways to manage invasive plants. Most often it takes a combination of methods to reduce their numbers and vigilance to keep them at bay.

The following Field Guide has photos of over 20 common invasive plants. Page 26 describes when and how to control ten of them.

Field Guide Invasive Terrestrial Plants (ct.gov)

The following document explains how to dispose of invasive plants:

Disposal of Terrestrial Invasive Plants

We can all do our part by planting more native species in our own gardens and communities.

Invasive Insect Species

There are a few significant invasive insect species to look for in Canton and the Farmington Valley. All can cause serious damage and often kill trees.

The emerald ash borer attacks Ash trees. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid can be found on the undersides of Hemlock needles. Spongy Moth caterpillars will eat many different trees and shrubs, The Spotted Lanternfly is a threat to hardwood forest trees, orchards and vineyards with the invasive Tree of Heaven as its preferred host.

Animals such as deer, turkeys, birds, and squirrels depend on our forest trees for food. Dead trees are costly to remove and can damage buildings and infrastructure.

The following reference describes how to identify and locate these pests, recognize the damage they do, and manage them.

DEEP Invasive insects information

Importance of Supporting Native Species

“Five percent of our native plants support 74% of the insects that drive the food
web.” - Doug Tallamy, from A Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World.

The wide use of herbicides and pesticides combined with habitat loss has led to the decline of world-wide insect and invertebrate populations. When we lose native plant species that pollinators feed on, we lose the very pollinators that we depend on to grow our food.

"It is pollinators that are essential to the continued existence of 80% of all plants and 90% of all flowering plants, and it is birds and mammals that disperse the seeds of those plants and provide them with pest control services.” - Doug Tallamy, from Homegrown National Park website.

Members of the Canton Land Conservation Trust, the Town of Canton, the UConn Master Gardener program, the Cherry Brook Garden Club, and other volunteers are working together to manage invasive plant species and replace them with native species that support our native insects and birds. Our Pollinator Pathways goals, activities, and successes are described on the Pollinator Pathways page.

Look for volunteer opportunities to reclaim our open spaces by removing invasives, and supporting pollinator pathways. We can all do our part by learning more about invasives and replacing them with native species on our property.

For a comprehensive list of native plant species found in Canton, refer to the Natural Resources Inventory, Canton, Connecticut – Chapter 5: Plant Life (page 23)