Invasive Species Library

Invasive Species Removal
in Ohio

Most people do not know these by name. They know them as the prickers, the wall of green, the stuff you cannot walk into. They crowd out everything native, they hold the damp cover ticks live in, and poison ivy runs right through them. Mowing does not kill them — the roots survive and come back thicker every season.

Land recovery and property protection · Northeast Ohio

We give you your land back, and we make it safe to use.

The brush, thorn and poison ivy that grew up under your good trees comes out, and what you get back is ground you can walk without watching your step.

From $295 for an afternoon's work to full estate restoration.

The Scale of the Problem

Why Ohio's Invasive Species Keep Winning

Invasive plants were introduced to Ohio for landscaping, erosion control, and wildlife habitat. They escaped cultivation decades ago and now dominate millions of acres of woodland, field edges, and residential properties. Bush honeysuckle alone has invaded over 75% of Ohio's woodlands.

These species share a strategy: they outcompete native plants for sunlight, water, and soil nutrients, then spread rapidly through bird-dispersed berries and aggressive root systems. Each year without intervention, the infestation expands and becomes more expensive to control.

Species Guides

Identify Your Invasive. Learn How to Remove It.

🌺Bush Honeysuckle

Ohio's most aggressive invasive. Leafs out before native plants and holds leaves later, shading out everything underneath. Over 75% of Ohio woodlands are affected.

Full removal guide →🌹Multiflora Rose

Impenetrable thorny thickets that spread by root suckers and bird-dropped seeds. Originally planted for erosion control, now classified as a noxious weed in Ohio.

Full removal guide →🍂Autumn Olive

Nitrogen-fixing shrub that changes soil chemistry to favor more invasives. Produces massive quantities of speckled red berries spread by birds across entire properties.

Full removal guide →🌸Bradford Pear

Banned in Ohio since 2023. Seeds escape to form thorny Callery pear thickets with weak wood that splits in storms. A growing problem on rural properties and field edges.

Full removal guide →

← Back to Invasive Species Problem Overview

Invasive Species

Common Questions

How do I identify bush honeysuckle on my property?

Bush honeysuckle has opposite leaves (pairs facing each other on the stem), tubular flowers that start white or yellow and fade to pink, and clusters of red berries in fall. The easiest identification is in November — honeysuckle holds its green leaves 2-3 weeks after native trees have dropped theirs. Every green patch you see in late fall is likely honeysuckle.

Why doesn't mowing kill invasive species?

Mowing and bush hogging cut invasive species above ground but leave the root system intact. Most Ohio invasives — honeysuckle, multiflora rose, autumn olive — have extensive root networks that survive cutting and resprout vigorously. Some species like multiflora rose actually spread faster after mowing because cut canes that contact soil can root and form new plants. Forestry mulching grinds the root crown below ground level, which is far more effective than cutting above it.

Can I remove invasive species myself?

For small infestations — a dozen plants or fewer — hand pulling and cut-stump herbicide treatment are effective DIY methods. Pull honeysuckle when soil is moist to get the entire root ball. For cut-stump treatment, apply concentrated glyphosate or triclopyr within 15 minutes of cutting. However, once an invasive species covers a quarter acre or more, the volume overwhelms hand methods. A half-acre honeysuckle thicket with hundreds of stems would take 40+ hours of manual labor.

How much does professional invasive species removal cost in Ohio?

Professional forestry mulching for invasive species removal costs $2,300-$2,990 per acre in Ohio, depending on brush density and terrain. This includes grinding all stems, root crowns, and surface vegetation into mulch on-site. No hauling fees. For severe infestations, a follow-up chemical spot treatment 6-12 months later targets resprouts from the seed bank. Volume discounts of 10-20% apply on properties over 2.25 acres.

The reason most people miss

There is a part of the yard nobody walks any more.

The prickly, thorny stuff at the back of the yard does not just block your view. It builds exactly what ticks need to survive: deep shade, a layer of wet leaves underneath that never dries out, and thick cover deer bed down in. The deer bring the ticks, and the tangle keeps them there. Much of it is bush honeysuckle, though most people just call it brush.

This is the part most people have not connected. That wall of green is not just untidy — it is where they live, and it sits right between the house and everywhere the kids and the dogs actually go.

It is rarely just brush, either. That same edge is where poison ivy runs — along the ground, up the trunks, through the tangle where you cannot see it until you are already in it. Vines are what make an overgrown edge genuinely unusable rather than merely ugly, and they come out with everything else.

Doubled

Geauga Lyme cases, 2025

Geauga Public Health issued an advisory in spring 2026 after confirmed Lyme cases in the county doubled over the previous year.

= Connecticut

Ohio's risk level, 2026

Ohio State researchers found the risk of encountering an infected blacklegged tick in Ohio is now comparable to Connecticut, where Lyme has been endemic for decades.

Lower

Tick risk after clearing

Work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that clearing out invasive honeysuckle cut the density of infected tick nymphs, by changing where the deer spend their time.

Clearing takes that layer out. The big trees stay, the canopy stays, and the wet tangle at knee height — the part that holds ticks and hides deer — is what goes. Research measuring invasive brush removal has found fewer of the young ticks responsible for most Lyme cases afterward.

To be clear about what that means: this is habitat work, not medicine. Clearing the brush takes away the conditions ticks depend on. It does not make a property tick-free and it is not protection from disease — keep using repellent and keep checking after a walk. We are telling you this because it is a real reason to do the work, not because it is a guarantee.

Sources: Allan et al., PNAS (2010); Bron et al., Journal of Medical Entomology (2021); Geauga Public Health advisory (2026); Ohio State University (2026).

What that stuff actually is, and how to spot it →