Thank you for the excellent article in the Dec. 8 Sunday Telegram on Thaea Lloyd and her efforts to control Asiatic bittersweet on Peaks Island (“To combat an invasive plant, a Peaks Island woman has persuaded her neighbors to adopt endangered trees).

Bittersweet in a scourge in Maine and people are slowly becoming more aware of it. The state’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has excellent information on bittersweet and other invasive plants and how to combat them on its website. Just go to maine.gov and type in “natural areas program.”

In my own efforts to deal with invasive plants, I have found that the only way to keep up with them is to use an herbicide. This does not mean spraying the herbicide, which is an option, but rather cutting a vine or branch and applying the herbicide-water mixture to the cut area with a brush or dauber. This is called the cut-stem application method. By this means the herbicide does not harm any insects or birds or leech into the soil. YouTube also has good resources on fighting invasive plants.

Dewey Meteer
Nobleboro