Bannock County prepares for especially busy mosquito and noxious weed season

Now that the snow is starting to melt and Bannock County residents are looking forward to nicer weather hiding right around the corner, the county’s Noxious Weed and Mosquito Abatement districts are gearing-up for one particularly busy season.

On Tuesday morning, the county commissioners approved new policies to allow these agencies to use cost-share grants for more services they could provide to people who might have found a noxious weed plant making its way into their yard.

Bannock County Noxious Weed Supervisor David Herter said this year, we’ve seen so much snow, more deer and native wildlife made their way down into more rural areas – some of which have had decorative plants such as the Japanese Yew, that are deadly to these animals.

He said the Japanese Yew plant hasn’t been too big of an issue in Bannock County, however, there are other types of plants that aren’t necessarily considered to be a “noxious weed” yet can still be toxic to wildlife, such as the Myrtle Spurge.

He said, as we approach into the later Spring months and into Summer, that’s the time you could expect to see some unwanted plants growing in your yard.

“That’s when people are outside, that’s when all of those weeds are starting to grow, and that’s when people starting noticing it a lot more,” Herter said.

He also added, since this year has been particularly wet, we could expect to see one rough year for mosquito season, and warns folks to be extra cautious when that time of year rolls around.

If you think you might have found a noxious weed in your yard, you can call Bannock County Noxious Weed Control at: 208.236.7407.