Invasive Pests Present Service-Learning Opportunities

Invasive Pests Present Service-Learning Opportunities

Rockets have likely noticed a number of new polka-dotted companions on campus.

Five years after spotted lanternflies were first identified in Ohio, the invasive species is firmly established in Lucas County - including on the grounds of The University of Toledo, where students, faculty and staff can be found swatting and stomping in line with one management method recommended by the Ohio Department of Agriculture to kill the bugs directly.

Now students are tackling a more strategic mitigation method to target their host plant through a service-learning initiative that positions the campus as a classroom.

"We're not going to stomp our way through this invasion," said Dr. Todd Crail, a Distinguished University Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences who oversees Greening UToledo through Service Learning (GUTS). "The way to control this invasion is to manage the tree of heaven. Our students are going learn about the coevolution between these two invasive species while making a noticeable difference on campus."

Spotted lanternflies hopped from their native habitats in southeast Asia to the United States in 2014, bringing with them concerns about their negative effects on grapes, hops and other annual and perennial plants - not to mention their sticky secretions called honeydew that build up on vehicles, lawn furniture and anything else situated beneath the trees of heaven that tend to host dense populations of these pests.

Spotted lanternflies coevolved with the tree of heaven, another invasive species that poses concerns for its potential to dominate local ecosystems. That's especially true in areas where the ground has been disturbed, like along railroads, bike trails and river corridors.

Crail and his colleagues are exploring both insect and plant species in this semester's Introduction to the Environment courses, including how native species like birds and pollinators are adapting to them and why they, but not all non-native species, come to carry the negative connotations of the term "invasive."

Then, in line with the service-learning requirement of the courses, the students will head into campus to identify tree of heaven, cut it down and treat it with herbicide as a means of mitigating the spotted lanternfly population on campus.

The service-learning initiative GUTS is facilitated by student workers who coordinate hands-on opportunities for their peers, who may or may not be currently enrolled in a course with a service-learning requirement.

Past opportunities have traditionally been in nearly a dozen native-plant gardens located across Main Campus, as well as the seed storage and nursery facilities in and around Bowman-Oddy Laboratories. This is the first semester the initiative also will be tackling tree of heaven in coordination with campus groundskeepers.

"We've been working with Dr. Crail and the GUTS program for years and we've seen them become a very valuable resource on campus," said Jeff Gajdostik, manager of the grounds maintenance crews. "I have nothing but praise for these students and their impact on the beautification of UToledo."

Crail anticipates the students' efforts this semester will pay off in a noticeable decrease in the spotted lanternfly population by next summer, but he warns that they're here to stay.

"This is not an eradication," Crail said. "We will always have spotted lanternflies in Ohio, but that doesn't mean we can't reduce their numbers."