Industrial Vegetation Management

Understanding Municipal Weed Management

How To Manage Public Lands With a Strong Integrated Vegetation Management Program

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It’s not easy keeping our public lands inviting and weed-free. Municipal land managers must work hard and develop strategic vegetation management programs so our parks, roadways, sidewalks, sign posts, planting beds and more stay attractive, usable and safe.

When so much land needs to be kept under control, using an effective integrated vegetation management plan is the best way to stay under budget while getting the necessary results you need.

With an integrated plan, there are a number of methods to protect your land from weeds and unwanted brush:

Postemergent Herbicides

Prevention methods include using postemergent herbicides to help control unwanted plants once they emerge from the soil. Controlling weeds once they become a problem is a reactive-only approach. Municipal land managers can keep costs down and help minimize risk associated with unruly vegetation by combining both postemergent and preemergent herbicides in their application programs

Mechanical

Mechanical control is physically removing grass, weeds and brush by mowing or trimming with mechanical tools or even pulling weeds by hand. Mechanical means are fairly standard to remove unwanted vegetation quickly to reach a desired look in the short term. However, this technique alone will not suffice for a long-term management strategy.

Preemergent Herbicides

Fall application of preemergent herbicides can help greatly in a municipal weed management plan. Even after peak season, many plants have produced another crop of seeds that will then germinate in future seasons. Preemergent herbicides help to deplete seed banks of these unwanted plants. By breaking germination cycles, applicators can help stop more weeds from sprouting the following season, saving money and time on future management. This can also help minimize risk by reducing the amount of time people need to be at these sites applying treatments, cutting back brush, etc. It’s a valued part of long-term integrated vegetation management.

Interested in learning more? Watch our video about Envu's solutions for maintaining municipal properties like roadsides here:

See why a fall-based, selective weeding program is important when maintaining roadsides.

Our science-based solutions at Envu are specifically created to be an integral part of a strong integrated vegetation management program. By maintaining municipal areas, we help ensure that the environment stays safe and the people in our communities are well cared for and protected.

Contact your Envu rep to learn more about integrated vegetation management and environmental stewardship.