R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Attendees of “Invaders in the Woods: Invasive Plants, Pests, and Diseases in Michigan Forests” take in a slide show presentation that discussed how to identify, report and control non-native species.

HYDE — A presentation entitled “Invaders in the Woods: Invasive Plants, Pests, and Diseases in Michigan Forests” was recently given at the Michigan State University Forestry Innovation Center. After a brief introduction by Central Upper Peninsula Wild Ones President Laurie Johnson, whose group hosted the event, Forestry Innovation Center Director and Outreach Academic Specialist Jesse Randall discussed problematic, non-native species in the state and took questions from the audience.

Since citizens, gardeners, loggers, conservationists, foresters and other people who spend time outdoors are vital in helping to track where invasive species have spread, Randall began by explaining that the event was to be more of a conversation with those in attendance than a lecture.

“The group that is here really is the eyes that we need outside in our natural environment to find our most recent pests, our most recent pathogen introductions,” Randall said. “There’s always new things coming in. Probably the largest takeaway from this talk is: if it looks out of place and your gut’s telling you, ‘I’ve never seen that before,’ get ahold of somebody. That’s how most of the new introductions are found.”

One method of reporting is through the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN), which also has educational resources on its website and mobile app. Coordinators for Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAs) can help with control.

Species on Michigan’s watch list “have been identified as posing an immediate or potential threat to Michigan’s economy, environment or human health.” Invasives named in Randall’s talk included the following, most of which have been spotted in the state:

– BEECH LEAF DISEASE (BLD): Caused by a nematode that overwinters in buds, BLD can affect native and ornamental beech trees. Leaves show the first sign of the disease; nematodes are microscopic.

Identifiable symptoms are dark banding (striping) of leaves, caused by interveinal necrosis; leathery leaf texture; or leaf curling. Younger beech trees are killed more quickly, but all ages can be affected and die. Transportation of planting material and ornamental beech is one way BLD is spread. This relatively new forest disease was first found in Ohio in 2012.

– ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB): Randall emphasized that this insect, yet to be reported in Michigan, will be catastrophic if it ever reaches the area. It’s a wood-borer with a preference for maple, but the beetles will infest other types of tree as well. They may be transported in firewood or solid packing material.

One scary thing about beetles like this, Randall said, is that they have the capability to put their life cycle on hold and resume when environmental conditions are ideal. He shared a story about another type of longhorned beetle, a cousin to ALB, that climbed out of a dining room table after 18 years.

“We’ve come a long way in how we treat wood, how we are supposed to inspect packages, but nothing is perfect when you have something that can survive that long,” Randall said.

“It’s big, it’s slow, so we can easily see it, and it doesn’t move very fast, so that’s the good thing. But being a wood-borer, trees don’t show obvious signs of it until it’s been in there several life cycles.”

The critter resembles the native and generally harmless white pine sawyer beetle; one clear way of telling them apart is that the native has a white spot at the top center of its wing covers.

Signs of ALB include frass at the base of a tree and leaking sap.

– HEMLOCK WOOLLY ADELGID (HWA): Like the ALB and BLD, HWA is on Michigan’s watch list. These sap-eating insects have been identified almost entirely along the western coast of the Lower Peninsula along Lake Michigan. Randall said the most likely way it will reach the UP is by hitching a ride across the straits on a bird very soon.

HWA presence may be detected by small, round, white, cottony masses at the base of the needles on the underside of hemlock tree branches.

It can take four to ten years for an infested hemlock to die. Chemical treatments are possible for high-value trees, but Randall said that injections damage the hemlocks themselves and should only be done once every five or six years. Soil drenches, too, can inadvertently kill other insects and birds.

– SPOTTED LANTERNFLY (SLF): Though its choice would be tree of heaven, SLF feeds on over 70 plants, including many fruit trees that are important to Michigan’s economy.

“The insects cause direct damage by sucking sap from host plants and secreting large amounts of a sugar-rich, sticky liquid called honeydew. This honeydew and the resulting black sooty mold can kill plants and foul surfaces. The honeydew often attracts other pests like yellow jackets, flies, and ants, affecting outdoor recreation and complicating crop harvests,” reads the State of Michigan’s listing for SLF.

Eggs masses of the SLF are found on surfaces like trees and vehicles, and they resemble chewing gum – grayish, wax-like putty. They are likely to be seen September through May.

Juveniles have white spots on black or black-and-red wingless bodies; adults almost look moth-like and have black spots on their wings, which when open reveal yellow, red and black patterns beneath.

As of February 2025, SLF had reached five counties in Southeast Michigan.

– WILD PARSNIP: This plant causes severe burns and lasting scars from chemicals called furanocoumarins in the stem, leaves and flowers – which can be spread by wind, water or equipment – that causes extreme skin sensitivity to sunlight, resulting in blisters, rashes and skin discoloration. Dogs and horses have also been afflicted.

If suspected contact is made, the skin should be washed with soap and water, covered and kept out of sunlight for at least 48 hours. Randall said that medical clinics sometimes misdiagnose or mistreat parsnip burns, trying to treat them with methods like steroids that work for other types of rashes but not phytotoxic ones.

One victim to its chemicals is Randall himself, who said that he was exposed while mowing in shorts several years ago and still has marks on his legs.

“You go back out into the sun years later, it will still darken. It permanently tattoos your skin,” Randall said.

Wild parsnip lookalikes include other members of the carrot family – cow parsnip, angelica and Queen Anne’s lace.

Plants can be removed manually, by pulling or cutting one to two inches down the root, or by mowing before it flowers.

It is present in the UP, including in Delta County.

– GARLIC MUSTARD: A plant that takes over the understory and sterilizes the soil with a chemical it exudes, turning fields into monocultures in which even other invasives can’t grow, garlic mustard has a five-year seed bank and is self-fertilizing. Randall said that its population can explode dramatically in a year or two, and early treatment is best. The plants may be pulled and then burned, “and then you come back and you check and make sure that they didn’t germinate the next year,” Randall said.

A member of the audience from the Delta Conservation District said that garlic mustard is “becoming more common” in gardens in Escanaba.

“During its first year, garlic mustard leaves are rounder and take on a rosette formation at ground level. In their second year, the leaves grow up a flowering stem and become more triangular and heart-shaped with toothed edges. Small white four-petaled flowers emerge in the spring,” describes the Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization.

When the leaves of a garlic mustard plant are crushed, the scent of garlic is released, hence the name.

– JAPANESE BARBERRY: One of the dangers of barberry is that the chain of effects around it can result in more Lyme disease in the area. The thickets are so dense that predators can’t walk through it, but greater populations of mice and more relative humidity also lead to booming numbers of ticks.

Originally introduced as ornamentation and for use as living fences or hedges, the barberry shrub has red berries, cream-colored flowers, and has leaves that turn red in early autumn. It is still sold in some nurseries, but notably not in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York – all of which have banned it.

It is considered established in Michigan, but as an invasive, it can still be reported to MISIN.

– AUTUMN OLIVE: This large bush is one that had been introduced as a means of feeding wildlife. It continues to serve that purpose to detrimental effect – birds spread its seeds to unwanted areas, and the plant is hard to kill.

“I’m a victim of this tree,” said one man at the Forestry Innovation Center, seeking help. “I’ve tried to dig it, pull it… And if you just leave a little root in that soil, it’s going to come right back.”

Randall suggested that one possible treatment could include opening up a side of the bush and treating it with a chemical that may be drawn into the root system.

Guidance on treating and managing these invasive species and others – like buckthorn, ironwood, burning bush, honeysuckle and knotweed – is available. Education may be found on the Forestry Innovation Center’s website at https://www.canr.msu.edu/fbic.

In Alger, Delta, Marquette, and Schoolcraft Counties as well as Hiawatha National Forest, the Lake to Lake CISMA – a partnership of multiple groups whose mission is to protect natural ecosystems – may be able to offer help. Their phone number is (906) 226-8871 ext. 3068.