Invasive plant species can disrupt an ecosystem with a simple action, such as planting a single tree in a spot where it can thrive.<\/p>\n
\u200bA user on Reddit’s r\/invasivespecies<\/a> recently spotted an invasive tree<\/a> infested by invasive pests on the r\/InvasiveSpecies subreddit. (Click here<\/a> to watch the video if the embed doesn’t appear.)<\/p>\n \u200b”I only started paying attention to these trees that summer these lantern flies started appearing. Now I see them everywhere,” the original poster lamented.<\/p>\n \u200bThe video zoomed in on a tree of heaven<\/a>, an invasive species native to China, swarmed by spotted lanternflies, an invasive pest.<\/p>\n \u200bThe tree of heaven has earned the nickname “tree of hell” because of its highly invasive behavior.<\/p>\n According to National Geographic<\/a>, it can grow three feet a year, clone itself underground, produce thousands of seeds, emit offensive odors from its flowers, and excrete toxins into the soil. It can also serve as a safe haven for invasive pests, such as the spotted lanternfly.<\/p>\n \u200bThis tree is so invasive that it has spread across every continent on the planet, except for Antarctica, and exists in nearly all 50 U.S. states.<\/p>\n When a species overtakes native species to that extent, it drives animals and pollinators from their native habitat and makes even more space for invasive species to settle in their place.<\/p>\n \u200bInvasive species are a headache to both public land managers and homeowners, as they are difficult to remove. It is ultimately beneficial to remove all invasive species and replace them with native plants, as they require less upkeep, maintenance, and consume fewer water resources.<\/p>\n Native species will also attract pollinators back to the land and surrounding areas, thereby protecting crops, farms, and the food supply.<\/p>\n \u200bTo replant a plot, consider upgrading to a natural lawn<\/a> or rewilding your yard<\/a>. Accessible lawn replacement options to consider include clover and buffalo grass.<\/p>\n \u200bThe Redditors had amusing takes on the original poster’s video and shared their unfortunate experiences with the tree of heaven.<\/p>\n \u200b”Tree of heck is their preferred host. I think Ace Hardware does flame thrower rental; great for eradication,” one commenter advised<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200b”I always fantasize about torching the f*** out of these bugs whenever I pass by this tree. It’s so infested,” another wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n Join our free newsletter<\/a> for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Invasive plant species can disrupt an ecosystem with a simple action, such as planting a single tree in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[137401,7982,79,33586,137402,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-252622","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-invasive-plant-species","9":"tag-native-species","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-spotted-lanternfly","12":"tag-tree-of-heaven","13":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}