City Works wants to know if any parks or public lands have knotty bits.
Knot Weed is an invasive plant that is spreading quickly through the Alberni Valley.
To address concerns, city staff will mark out knot weed patches with signs, and will look to chemically kill the plants in the fall.
Parks Supervisor Rob Gauldrault says the city will also supply signs for knotweed on private property but it’s up to property owners to treat.
Gauldrault advises to not dig it up as the plants will send out stress shoots, plus will regenerate wherever the cut plant is dumped.
More information is available through city works or the provincial invasive plants committee.
In other related news, Port AlberniĀ City Council has authorized biological controls on overgrown lots.
Property owners can now bring in goats to weed and feed, in what has become a new business opportunity for some.
Parksville-based Goats on the Hoof Vegetation Management applies goats instead of machinery to trim troublesome weeds.
Owner Al Iwanyshyn says goats will gobble down just about anything, including blackberries and broom, on any terrain.
The city approval follows other municipalities welcoming the natural alternative to land clearing projects.