According to data released last summer by the state Health Department, Indiana County ranked 14th in the state for the highest number of cases of Lyme disease. There were 227 confirmed cases of the tick-borne disease in 2016, and four of our five neighboring counties had even more.
So take a look out the window and see if there are any Japanese barberry bushes nearby. The state Ag Department’s new Controlled Plant and Noxious Weeds Committee will meet for the first time this month and may consider banning the invasive ornamental shrub, which is attractive in more ways than one…it is popular for its beauty and hardiness, but it is also very popular with ticks. They love it!
A University of Connecticut study finds concentrations of ticks carrying Lyme disease are much higher where barberry is present….120 ticks per acre where barberry is uncontained, 40 per acre where it is contained, and only 10 per acre where there is no barberry.
Barberry has already been identified as an invasive plant by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. It’s a popular plant at nurseries and other garden retailers, but placing it on the list of noxious plants and weeds could place restrictions or outright bans on the plant, which can cause injury to crops, livestock, agricultural lands, or other property.
