Invasive species Archives - Manitoba Co-operator

Close up of zebra mussels that washed up on the beach after a wavy and windy day.

Comment: Management key to zebra mussel challenge

This invasive species is here to stay so we need to limit the damage

You could almost set your watch by it. Since 2013, when zebra mussels were first detected in Lake Winnipeg, new sightings of the invasive species in our lakes and on our shorelines have become a regular occurrence. And while the ubiquitous videos of their shells collecting on the shores of Lake Winnipeg that we have

Waterhemp emerges through the canopy of a soybean field.

Crops, News

Waterhemp found in Stuartburn, La Broquerie

The invasive species can cause tremendous yield losses, particularly among row crops

By Geralyn Wichers August 30, 2021

Infestations of waterhemp have been found in the RMs of Stuartburn and La Broquerie in southeastern Manitoba, bringing the known infestations to 10. MARD reported the new infestations earlier this month and urged farmers to keep an eye out for the noxious plant. “If it’s not under control, this could be our No. 1 weed in a

An Asian giant hornet, trapped at Birch Bay, Wash. on July 14, 2020 by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) researchers, is seen at Olympia, Wash. on July 29, 2020. (Photo: WSDA/Chris Looney/handout via Reuters)

Livestock

U.S. training ag staff to track, trap, kill ‘murder hornets’

Invasive species remains threat to bees, honey producers

By GFM Network News August 20, 2021

Blaine, Wash. | Reuters — The first Asian giant hornet nest of the year has been found in Washington state, and plans are being developed to eradicate it, likely next week, the state’s agriculture department said on Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and

We need to move beyond passive efforts, such as unrestricted hunting, that have been shown to disperse wild pigs and make the problem worse. – Cam Dahl

Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: Wild pigs an alien invasion

It’s time for co-ordinated, targeted eradication efforts on wild pigs

By Cam Dahl August 11, 2021

We have been invaded by aliens. No, not green creatures from Area 51, but by plants and animals that don’t belong here. Take, for example, the common dandelion, which is not native to North America. European settlers brought dandelions here in the mid-1600s to enhance their gardens. Zebra mussels are another example; they are not

Mice can cause significant damage to on-farm grain storage, with contamination of grain with mouse droppings even leading to rejection by grain distributors and exporters.

Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: ‘No one ever forgets living through a mouse plague’

The dystopia facing Australian rural communities, explained by an expert

By Steve Henry May 19, 2021

Imagine constantly living with mice. Every time you open a cupboard to get linen, clothes or food, mice have been or are still there. When you go to sleep they run across your bed and, in the morning, your first job is to empty traps filled with dead mice. And the stench of dead mice

Crops, News

These non-native weeds are big problems in Manitoba

Keep an eye out for these noxious weeds in the coming growing season

By Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association April 26, 2021

The Province of Manitoba has declared the last full week of April as Invasive Species Awareness Week. The Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association (MWSA) recognizes this week by highlighting just a few of the invasive plants considered to be a significant threat to the landscape of our province. Many of these invasive species are mistaken for

“We want to have a consistent message and strategy across the west.” – Stephanie Criswell, Montana Invasive Species Council.

Livestock, News

Pig fighters without borders

An international working group hopes to make the fight against wild pigs a consistent one

By Alexis Stockford April 6, 2021

The fight against wild pigs will have a newly united front in Western Canada and the western United States, should recommendations published late last year by an international working group get their way. Manitoba is among the provinces and states to throw its weight behind the body, which launched last year in an effort to

Some areas of Western Canada might already be past the point where “pig free” is even possible, says a University of Saskatchewan researcher.

Farmit Manitoba

Losing the war with wild boar

Forget eradication. For some parts of Manitoba it’s now a containment game

By Alexis Stockford March 31, 2021

It’s time to up our efforts in the battle against wild pigs, according to a leading voice in the field. Ryan Brook of the University of Saskatchewan has spent years studying the rise of the invasive species in Western Canada, and has also spent years raising the alarm. He has watched as sounders — the

Asian giant hornets have noticeably large orange heads and black eyes; worker hornets are about 3.5 cm in length; queens can be up to four to five cm in length, with a wingspan of four to seven cm. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture)

Livestock, Weather

Two more ‘murder hornets’ turn up on B.C. mainland

One nest found last month in neighbouring U.S. town

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News November 11, 2020

Beekeepers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland are asked to keep an eye out for so-called “murder hornets” after two were found in the region within a week. A single Asian giant hornet was found Saturday at Aldergrove, near the intersection of Fraser Highway and Highway 13 — about five km from where

Livestock, Weather

More ‘murder hornets’ found in B.C., Washington

Findings suggest some were able to overwinter

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff, Reuters May 30, 2020

Reuters/Staff — Officials in British Columbia and Washington state have confirmed new sightings of the Asian giant hornet, dubbed the “murder hornet,” indicating the invasive, predatory insect survived the winter in the Vancouver area and U.S. Pacific Northwest. The stinging hornet, whose queens can grow as large as 2-1/2 inches in length, could potentially pose

Buyers found for five Prairie pulse plants

‘Two Michaels’ have left China, Trudeau says

Prairie cash wheat: Gains in prices vary by type

GFM Network News