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In this section

Managing by plant type

Council provides a range of services to the community to assist in managing invasive plants.

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Expand the sections below to learn about the services available for managing each of our priority species. You can also view our fact sheets and brochures for more information.

Ground covers

Ground covers

Ground covers include low growing plants that spread along the ground and tend to smother and prevent regrowth of other plants.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Asparagus ferns:
    • Basket (or ground asparagus) (Asparagus aethiopicus cv. Sprengeri)
    • Climbing (or sparrowgrass, wild asparagus) (Asparagus africanus)
    • Feathered (or ferny asparagus) (Asparagus plumosus)
  • Cow pea (Macrotyloma axillare var. axillare)
  • Creeping lantana (trailing lantana) (Lantana montevidensis)
  • Dyschoriste (Dyschoriste depressa)
  • Gingers:
    • Kahili (or yellow ginger lily, wild ginger) (Hedychium gardnerianum)
    • White (or butterfly ginger, garland flower) (Hedychium coronarium)
    • Yellow (or cream ginger, cream garland lily) (Hedychium flavescens)
  • Mistflower (Ageratina riparia)
  • Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobat a)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • Buffel grass (or African foxtail) (Cenchrus ciliaris)
  • Colombian wax weed (Cuphea carthagenensis)
  • Giant tropical salvia (Brillantaisia lamium)
  • Glory lily (or fire/flame lily) (Gloriosa superba)
  • Purple-leaved plectranthus (or African spur flower, candle plant) (Plectranthus ciliatus)
  • Ruellia - Creeping ruellia or water bluebell (Ruellia squarrosa)
  • Wild petunia, Mexican bluebell (Ruellia simplex syn R. tweediana)
  • Sicklethorn (or single-leaved asparagus) (Asparagus falcatus)

Control options

Depending on the size that they cover treatment options include solarisation, manual removal or foliar spray. Solarisation is an effective way of managing invasive plants where you do not wish to use herbicides. It involves putting down thick plastic to inhibit photosynthesis. It usually takes several months to kill the plants however the time will vary according to weather conditions.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction).
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against pasture weeds

Further information and resources

Pasture Weeds and Weedy Grasses

Pasture Weeds and Weedy Grasses

Pasture weeds are plants that are unpalatable, poisonous to stock or invasive in a farm. Pastures can be impacted by a range of invasive plants including grasses, broadleaf and woody weeds. Different invasive plants can have different economic impacts on your pastures. It is recommended to prioritise control activity on invasive species that pose the greatest threat to your property.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Annual ragweed (ambrosia, bitterweed, hayfever weed) ( Ambrosia artemisiifolia)
  • Fire weed (Madagascar ragwort) ( Senecio madagascariensis)
  • Giant parramatta grass (Bloomsbury grass, smutgrass) ( Sporobolus fertilis)
  • Giant rat’s tail grass (common) (or cat’s tail) ( Sporobolus pyramidalis, S. natalensis)
  • Groundsel bush (or consumption weed, water bush) ( Baccharis halimifolia)
  • Parthenium (or bitter weed) ( Parthenium hysterophorus)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • African lovegrass (or Boer love grass, weeping grass) ( Eragrostis curvula)
  • Buffel Grass ( Cenchrus ciliaris)
  • Castor oil plant ( Ricinus communis)
  • Crofton weed (or catweed, hemp agrimony) ( Ageratina adenophora)
  • Grader grass (or oatgrass, habana grass, kangaroo grass) ( Themeda quadrivalvis)
  • Praxelis ( Praxelis clematidea)
  • Thatch grass (or thatching grass) ( Hyparrhenia rufa subsp. rufa)

Control options

Pasture weeds can be managed by solarisation, manual removal, foliar spray or wick wiping. Where the infestation is so large, tilling and cropping might be a more viable option. This involves turning the soil over to kill the invasive plants and then planting a crop. Slashing, mowing or brush cutting can work if timed before flowering and if weeds are not spread by stem fragments.

Council recommends taking an Integrated Weed Management approach utilising a combination of mechanical, chemical, cultural and biological control and prevention.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction).
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against pasture weeds

Further information and resources

Shrubs

Shrubs

Weedy shrubs can invade natural areas and reduce biodiversity.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Bitou bush (or jungle flower, South African star bush) ( Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundifolia)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • Barleria (porcupine flower) ( Barleria prionitis)
  • Coral berries - Australian Holly (or Christmas holly) ( Ardisia crenata & Ardisia crispa)
  • Bloody berry (or baby pepper, pigeon berry) ( Rivina humilis)
  • Shoe-button ardisia (or China scrub) ( Ardisia elliptic a)
  • Giant devil’s fig ( Solanum chrysotrichum syn. Solanum hispidum)
  • Groundsel bush ( Baccharis halimifolia)
  • Ochna (Micky Mouse plant, bird’s eye bush) ( Ochna serrulata)

Control options

Weedy shrubs can be cut down, ring barked or treated with herbicide by foliar spray, cut stump method, cut and swab method or basal bark method

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction)
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against weedy shrubs

Further information and resources

Succulents and Cacti

Succulents and Cacti

Invasive succulents can reduce grazing land and displace native vegetation. Invasive cactuses can also injure wildlife and hinder livestock movement.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Prickly pear – Common pest pear (or spiny pest pear) (Opuntia stricta syn Opuntia inermis)
  • Resurrection plant (or air plant, cathedral bells) (Bryophyllum pinnatum)
  • Sword pear (or sword cactus, barbed-wire cactus) (Acanthocereus tetragonus)

Control Options

Control options for succulents include foliar spray, stem injection or complete manual removal and proper disposal (most can reproduce from fallen plant parts). Solarisation may be an option but no trials have been done so far. You will need to monitor for any regrowth and remove plants.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction)
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against succulents

Further information and resources

Trees

Trees

Weed trees can invade natural areas and can be costly to manage once they are fully grown.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Broad leaf pepper tree ( Schinus terebinthifolius)
  • Camphor laurel ( Cinnamomum camphora)
  • Chinese celtis ( Celtis sinensis)
  • Honey locust ( Gleditsia triacanthos incl. cultivars and varieties)
  • Mexican bean tree ( Cecropia pachystachya, C. palmata and C. peltata)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • Golden trumpet tree ( handroanthus chrysotrichus syn. Tabebuia chrysotricha)
  • Tree of heaven ( Ailanthus altissima)
  • Satinleaf ( Chrysophyllum oliviforme)

Control Options

Weed trees can be cut down, ring barked or treated with herbicide. Here are some demonstrations of some herbicide application methods, cut stump method, cut and swab method and basal bark method. Herbicide can be injected into trees by drilling holes and filling these with herbicide so that it is transported throughout the plant.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction)
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against tree weeds

Further information and resources

Vines

Vines

Invasive vines smother native vegetation and can even kill large trees. Undertaking control activity on invasive vines that are along waterways or that are smothering native vegetation is the best place to get started.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Balloon vine (or heartseed vine) ( Cardiospermum grandiflorum)
  • Cat’s claw creeper (or funnel creeper, yellow trumpet vine) ( Dolichandra unguis-cati)
  • Dutchman's pipe (or calico flower) ( Aristolochia spp. other than native species)
  • Hiptage ( Hiptage benghalensis)
  • Kudzu (or Japanese arrowroot) ( Pueraria montana var. lobata, syn. P. lobata, P. triloba other than in the Torres Strait Islands)
  • Madeira vine (or bridal wreath, heartleaf, lamb’s tail vine) ( Anredera cordifolia)
  • Thunbergia (or Bengal, blue trumpet, sky vine) ( Thunbergia grandiflora syn. T laurifolia)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • Air potato (or bitter yam, wild yam) ( Dioscorea bulbifera)
  • Blue morning glory (or blue dawn flower) ( Ipomoea indica)
  • Coastal morning glory (or Cairo morning glory, mile a minute vine) ( Ipomoea cairica)
  • Fragrant thunbergia (or angel wings, sweet clockvine, white lady) ( Thunbergia fragrans)
  • Gidee-gidee (or bead vine, crab’s eye, jequirity, rosary pea) ( Abrus precatorius)
  • Glycine (perennial soybean, tropical legume) ( Neonotonia wightii)
  • Moth vine (or bladder flower, milk vine) ( Araujia sericifera)

Control Options

Most invasive vines can be cut at the base and either dug out or treated with herbicide. Stems can also be scraped with a sharp tool and herbicide can be sprayed or painted on. Here are some demonstrations of cut stump method and cut and swab method.

Two exceptions are the Air potato and Madeira vine which produces aerial tubers. This means you will need to remove, contain and dispose of the whole plant. Putting a tarp under the vine before removal will help to catch falling aerial tubers.

Vines that are growing across the ground can be solarised where there is no canopy cover. This can also be useful for vines that grow across the ground and attach via root nodules such as Cats claw creeper.

For all invasive vines you will need to follow up and monitor areas and dig out any regrowth or spot spray.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of weed control hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction)
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against vine weeds

Further information and resources

Water Weeds

Water Weeds

There are four main types of aquatic plants free floating, floating attached, submerged plants and emergent plants. Water weeds out-compete native plants, clog up water ways, interfere with irrigation and deplete waterbodies of oxygen by blocking sunlight.

Of all invasive plants, aquatics can be the most difficult to control as they are spread easily along waterways and seeds can remain viable for long periods of time. Identifying and preventing the establishment of water weeds is critical.

Priority Restricted invasive plants

  • Cabomba (or fanwort, fish grass, Washington plant) ( Cabomba caroliniana)
  • Hygrophila (Gulf swamp weed, glush weed) ( Hygrophila costata)
  • Hymenachne ( Hymenachne amplexicaulis)
  • Pond apple (or Cherimoya) ( Annona glabra)
  • Saggitaria (or arrowhead) ( Sagittaria platyphylla)
  • Salvinia (or kariba weed, water fern) (Salvinia molesta)
  • Senegal tea ( Gymnocoronis spilanthoides)
  • Water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes)
  • Water lettuce ( Pistia stratiotes)

Priority locally significant invasive plants

  • Blue lotus ( Nymphaea caerulea subsp. zanzibarensis)
  • Kidney-leaf mud plantain ( Heteranthera reniformis)
  • Parrot’s feather ( Myriophyllum aquaticum)
  • Water poppy

Control Options

Treatment options for aquatic weeds include manual removal, mechanical removal, herbicide treatment, solarisation and biological control. Containment is a priority. This can be achieved by alerting neighbours about the presence of the weed and in some cases with a containment boom.

For a full description of control options

Services Available

  • Assistance with identification
  • Find out how to report an invasive plant
  • For assistance with choosing control methods for priority invasive plants that suit your property contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer.
  • Provision of hire equipment (including set-up and operating instruction)
  • Co-ordination of neighbourhood control programs for high priority invasive plants, contact council to speak to a Vector and Pest Plant Officer

Council programs protecting against water weeds

Further information and resources