Always Adapting: New Pesticide Application Method

Roth lab members on the invasive red swamp crayfish project aided Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in treating infested ponds with pesticides this past week. We’ve been working to treat ponds twice a year, once in late spring and once in fall, to kill any red swamp crayfish in the ponds. There are always trade-offs with any invasive species management decisions. Although our pesticide applications aid in suppression and control of the invasive species, we also see non-target impacts to any aquatic species in the ponds. As with any response strategy, we are constantly adapting our decisions based on data we collect, and pesticide treatments are no different. We’ve been adapting our application method to best suit the shallow macrophyte ponds we work with. This week we tested two new methods of application: a floating carboy (pictured above) and a wand (video below). We will continue to trap and collect data on ponds next year to see how effective these application methods were!

Author: Sarah Walker
Photos and Videos Courtesy of Mackenzie Thompson and Colin Assenmacher