MAINE PUBLIC • October 6, 2023
On a sultry September day, Deane Van Dusen of Biome Care evaluates a small stand of apple, ash and birch trees at the Tarr-Eaton farmhouse in Harpswell Neck. “This is where the worst infestation is," he says as he circles the stand of trees to find Tatarian honeysuckle. This large stand has probably been growing here for 40 years, and he will use a treatment to kill the shrubs. He says the honeysuckle, left unchecked, will take over this grassy field and those beyond it that provide habitat for birds such as the bobolink and eastern meadowlark, food for wild animals like foxes and rabbits, and native milkweed for monarch butterflies. Van Dusen, a licensed master applicator, saws the woody shrubs down to stumps and then mixes a 50/50 solution of Triclopyr and water to paint on the stumps. Honeysuckle, introduced as ornamentals in the late 1800s, now threaten much of Maine's ecosystem. Conservationists say it's up to all landowners to be vigilant to stop their spread.