Call it “Weed Spray May.”
Over the next month, Highway Department crews for both Rock and Walworth counties look to expand use of herbicides to keep roadside weeds at bay and save money on mowing.
In Walworth County, there are 392 miles of county road with grass ditches that need to be mowed and invasive weeds that need to be tackled year-round.
Walworth County’s Deputy Highway Commissioner Barry Pierce says his county’s highway crews are expanding a pilot program using herbicides to knock back weeds and slow grass growth. It saves money.
Pierce says it costs the county about $25,000 for each round of mowing. The whole point of the mowing is for motorists to see clearly on county roads.
He says it’s harder to tame tall grass alongside a county road if lots of weeds are mixed in, because mowers simply flatten the weeds.
Both Walworth and Rock counties’ weed-management programs use a blend of EPA-approved weed sprays applied when it’s dry and windless. It does not harm native pollinator plants.
