Weed Control
Weeds are plants growing out of their natural habitat, from other countries or other parts of Australia. For example, Queensland Umbrella Tree is a weed in northern NSW.
Weeds are concerning because we live in an area with extremely high biodiversity, including the highest number of threatened species in the State.
Find out what you can do to prevent and control the spread of weeds and help protect our biodiversity.
Spread of weeds
The spread of weeds in our Shire is due to:
- our fertile soils
- warm and moist climate
- the degree of land clearing and urban development
- bushland remnants often being in close proximity to where humans live.
Many of our serious weeds have been deliberately introduced for horticultural purposes. They have spread from where they were planted in various ways. For example:
- Camphor Laurel
- Lantana
- Cat's Claw Creeper
- Madeira Vine
- Privet's
- Ground Asparagus
- Ochna/Mickey Mouse Plant.
Help reduce the spread of weeds
- Do not plant species recognised as weeds.
- Adopt chemical free camphor laurel management practices. Watch instructional video over on YouTube.
- Plant local natives
- If you decide not to remove a plant that is a known environmental weed, remove fruits and seeds to prevent the plants being spread.
- Do not dump or spread weeds or their seeds in bushland, reserves, roadsides or creek lines.
- Compost weeds on site.
- Place weeds in the green bin.
- Take weeds to the Byron Resource Recovery Centre.
Please note Madeira Vine cannot be disposed of by these methods. Check the NSW Dept of Primary Industries website for control methods.
Know how to identify weeds
Did you know the following garden plants are weeds and invade native bushland causing environmental problems?
- Murraya
- Night Jasmine
- Duranta
- Cocos Palm
- Cherry Guava
- Qld Umbrella Tree
- Coral Berry
- Ice-cream Bean.
More information on identifying weeds:
Help control weeds
Landowners and land managers are responsible for controlling weeds. The following information can be used to identify, prevent and reduce the impact of weeds.