Do Not Overuse Herbicides

Overusing herbicides weakens all vegetation, making roadsides more susceptible to weed invasion. Herbicide overuse also eliminates desirable and harmless broadleaf species that would otherwise reduce weed invasion by taking up space and outcompeting weeds with similar light and nutrient requirements. In other words, when plant species have similar ecological roles and occupy the same space or niche within the environment, one will outcompete the other. Facilitating the growth of plenty of desired broadleaf species means there are more plants to shade out potential weeds that might creep in. Conversely, leaving a large area of bare soil with plenty of sunlight creates an environment that invites weeds to invade again. For these reasons, IRVM calls for careful spot herbicide use for weed control.