Kudzu, Cactus, Rabbits, & Squirrels

 In our college biology class the professor gave a lecture that essentially said this: When the British took over Australia an officer’s wife brought cacti to decorate the back yard with plants. The cacti took over the country side. Why, because there is no natural enemy to cactus in Australia. To get the cacti under control they imported in rabbits to eat it, which got it under control. But the rabbits had no natural enemy, so the country side had too many rabbits. Then they imported snakes to take care of the rabbits and then…..” guess what?

Georgia had a similar problem. The farmers were having a hard time with erosion. Good fertile soil was hard to keep in one place with heavy storms and all. Some genius (?) suggested they plant Kudzu. It was deep rooted and keep the good soil from being washed away. Georgia bought Kudzu from Japan and planted it. Guess what? It had no natural enemy and got out of control, I took this picture only one mile from our house about 25 to 30 years ago.

Problem solved! The Kudzu is no longer there. A subdivision is in its place. Humans need housing, roads, ball fields, tennis courts. Yep, they found the natural enemy: Humans