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Eurasian milfoil is a soft looking flora that was once a everyday flora to find in fresh water aquariums.

Yet, It did not stay there. Now it is considered an predatory species that threatens North American fresh water streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.

In its native Eurasian environment it is a comparatively harmless plant (but still a bit of a pest) but here, out of its normal waters, it takes over and demolish ecosystems, clogs water intakes and power plants, and makes them unwanted for recreational purposes.

A Number Of hypotheses are around that explain its introduction. One is that it caught a ride on the ballast of a ship coming from Europe or Asia. That is a good guess. When they tested ships departing occupied water, 25 percent carried some milfoil with it. The other main theory is it was introduced by people discarding aquarium plants or packing material used to ship live worms.

The most hazardous thing about this flora is that it can adapt to live in about every kind of marine habitat in North America. It can live in the cold of Washington State or the warmth of Florida. From fresh waters of the Rockies to the salty waters of the salt marshes it can expand. To make its life better, nothing seems to like eating it.

Once established it spreads quickly in waters that range from 2 feet to up to 30 feet, matting up just below the surface and choking out the native vegetation. Some floras like millet are given little chance to grow, which causes troubles because they are a food source for many and a home for small marine animals. This tangled growth also causes problems for any mammals or birds that fish for their food. Further more, the large mats keep the wind from properly aerating the water and choking adult fish as well as helping spawn algae blooms which further exacerbate the problem.

These plants are problematic to people as well. Not only does milfoil decrease water quality but the mats make shoreline swimming hopeless. Milfoil hinders fish reproduction, which means fewer fishermen. Milfoil is also a problem for sailors because it can become entangled on the engine, cause dangers for water skiers and block navigation hazards from the boatmen view.

Communities and businesses are also put at a disadvantage because of this small water plant. Water intakes or over flows can get blocked leading to shortages in some places and flooding in others. Dykes and electrical energy output can also be affected if the water plant mats get caught up in the dams.

Milfoil control has been hard. By And Large poisonous substances are out of the question as they demolish the very ecosystem they were meant to save. Physically removing the flora isn’t fully successful because the parts that break off can form new plants elsewhere. For that reason the large mechanical harvesters are only used in the worst cases and then only as a first step. Milfoil has been more successfully removed by vacuum dragging, which can pick up any broken pieces left behind. A weevil maybe the solution to the milfoil dilemma as it love to eat the water plant and is a natural way to battle the weed.

Milfoil is just one type of invasive species that has outstayed its welcome; many other invasive aquatic plants are still thriving across the country. When plants or creatures are inserted outside their natural environment, you can’t anticipate the implications.