Invasive Species Awareness Week Day 4: Mechanical Control and Cheatgrass

When trying to manage invasive plants mechanically, a popular strategy is to try to cut down or mow the plant before it goes to seed. However, this can be hard for plants that go to seed early in the year. Cheat grass is one such plant.

This grass will continue to grow throughout the winter so when the spring rains end, cheat grass has already gone to seed. This means you have to cut this grass super early in the year. Because cheat grass goes to seed so early, it dies early as well. This means by July, the grass is already dry and dead. This causes problem for fire regimes since it will burn hot from being so dry and abundant. Other names for cheat grass are Downy brome and Spear grass because it easily spears its seeds in socks and clothes. The little spears can also injure livestock by sticking in their mouths and eye or injure pets like dogs by burying themselves in their ears and paws.

Cheat grass is a hard invasive to control, but there are ways to manage it, it just takes a lot of time and energy.