{"id":761378,"date":"2026-04-29T13:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/761378\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:06:26","slug":"ct-agency-has-way-to-fight-scourge-of-small-scale-invasive-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/761378\/","title":{"rendered":"CT agency has way to fight scourge of small scale invasive plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

It would be hard to exaggerate the negative impact invasive plants<\/a> make on Connecticut.<\/p>\n

They are the more than 100 plants not native to Connecticut and they cause environmental, economic and human health damage, and choke out native species,<\/a> according to experts. But the state is fighting back, and the Connecticut Department of Transportation<\/a> is among those fighting.<\/p>\n

The DOT is using Foamstream<\/a> and AquaPro in its arsenal for killing invasive weeds in environmentally sensitive areas, and the goal is that someday technology will improve these products and they can replace the need for herbicides use by the CTDOT.<\/p>\n

The environmentally friendly products from the two different manufacturers have \u201cworked well\u201d since being first used by the CTDOT in 2024<\/a>, according to Chris Samorajczyk, the supervising environmental planner for the Central Maintenance Administration for the agency.<\/p>\n

\"FoamstreamFoamstream is one of the environmentally safe options being used to kill invasive growth in the state.<\/p>\n

The DOT has been using Foamstream and AquaPro in specific areas such as paved islands and barrier systems in vicinity to watersheds. The technology is not being used for any big projects with the bureau of highway operations or maintenance.<\/p>\n

\"InvasiveAn example of manual invasive plant removal day and planting at Hamden Town Center Park in June 2023. (Courtesy of Save the Sound)<\/p>\n

Both products use high temperature steam to burn the upper and lower parts of the plants. Foamstream\u2019s non-herbicidal foam is made up of coconut oil, wheat, grapeseed oil and potatoes. The DOT said the foam functions as a kind of thermal blanket, heating weeds long enough to eradicate them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AquaPro has the same kind of methodology, but it\u2019s a hotter temperature. It burns at about 212 degrees Fahrenheit. It doesn\u2019t have the foam, and it\u2019s just kind of like, you\u2019re washing weeds and killing them,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of them definitely have their advantages. We found the Foamstream first, and we were just trying to get out of the pesticide-related business,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s really just smaller, herbaceous weeds. It\u2019s not really for any of the larger stuff. Overall, the small program that we\u2019re trying to start is working well and if it keeps continuing to be that official to the department, we\u2019re looking at possibly getting other units and kind of just getting these units available for more garages and more areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, there is only one of each unit in the state and it will begin to be deployed in communities in the coming weeks. Foamstream equipment can fit in the back of a pickup truck and the AquaPro can fit in a small trailer and focus on a specific area.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur workers would go out, probably the first week of May and spray them and hopefully kill them for the whole season,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public likes it because our workers aren\u2019t on the road four times [in} that area for the year. They hit it once and that\u2019s the real value in it for us. It hasn\u2019t grown to being a long linear roadway project yet. It\u2019s really smaller areas. We\u2019re just seeing where we can use this and utilize it for the best of the department,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This technology is not capable at this time for use with the DOT\u2019s guiderail program, which uses herbicide for guiderails, signs, and barriers within the state-owned right of way. The guiderail program needs the slow rolling process in which the DOT is moving at 15 mph to 20 mph on roads or highways, spraying invasive weeds with herbicide with a wand attached to the truck.<\/p>\n

Foamstream and AquaPro can only be used at a stand still and the plants need to be soaked two times with the products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked with both manufacturers about our guiderail program and the need for wands on the front of the truck. Right now, the technology is not there. They are looking at technology that would produce wands for us to use to spray on the guiderails,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we are using them for anywhere towns have brick islands in the road or anywhere weeds would pop up. We want to get to a point where we can spray it like a mobile convoy and get those guiderails,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Andy Morrill, the DOT\u2019s maintenance manager of Special Services, Foamstream and AquaPro are not a replacement for the herbicide product the DOT uses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe brought those two pieces of equipment in to try alternatives to get to an end goal of either reducing or completely eliminating the use of herbicide. Unfortunately, the industry and the technology is not there yet,\u201d Morrill said. \u201cBut we\u2019re trying alternatives. We are trying a bunch of different items that are environmentally friendly to get to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrill said he has no timeline on when that type of technology will be available for the DOT, with the hopes of someday completely phasing out herbicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a question I can\u2019t really answer, because it\u2019s based on the manufacturer and technology and their adaptation to how quickly they can get their product, a viable working product, onto a mobile piece of equipment that makes sense for us to use. We\u2019re trying to keep our personnel off the road as much as possible, and do everything from vehicles, as much as possible, because those are a safer mechanism. Until they come up with a better viable product, we are going to continue to research and find what\u2019s out there,\u201d Morrill said.<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

John Woike \/ Hartford Courant<\/p>\n

Examples of center aisles at the intersection of RT9 and Exit 16 to the Arrigoni Bridge.<\/p>\n

Samorajczyk said for what Foamstream and AquaPro do, they have \u201ca high percentage of mortality\u201d for invasive smaller species.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt works almost instantaneously. The larger and the thicker bases of these herbaceous plants, the longer it might take,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology is hitting the above ground portion. It\u2019s going down and it\u2019s really cooking the roots. It definitely doesn\u2019t work on woody stem. We\u2019ve tried it on some species like Japanese knotweed and it\u2019s not really effective. If you hold the wand over the plant a little longer, maybe 30 seconds, we saw some mortality,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you really need to do a slow sweep, of 5-10 seconds over the area that you\u2019re trying to address, and that\u2019s really why it doesn\u2019t work for a vehicle right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really slow process. It\u2019s kind of new technology and we\u2019re hoping that if it ever catches up to being able to be used in a mobile unit, that will really add value to us in our programs,\u201d he said. \u201cWe definitely want to look at this type of technology to see what would be beneficial for us on a larger scale. That\u2019s where we\u2019re at now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samorajczyk said the DOT mixes in cutting back invasives and also treats with herbicide, depending on the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll use minimal herbicides and we\u2019ll actually use herbicides that are probably less than the label recommends. We\u2019re always compliant with staying federal regulations and are even lower than a private homeowner could use. Our guys and our vendors are all licensed and they\u2019re calibrating the machines that we use for the guide row spray at a lower dosage than even prescribed,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

Samorajczyk said when the DOT is in its convoy using herbicide, the front truck is in communication with the back truck and as soon as they enter a regulated, or wetlands and watersheds areas, the machines are turned off. The DOT also sprays under the guard rail and not into the wind into adjacent forests.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt bonds to the soil right away. It doesn\u2019t leach through. All this stuff is through other DEEP (Department of Energy & Environmental Protection) permitting and allowable activities,\u201d Samorajczyk said<\/p>\n

Samorajczyk said Foamstream and AquaPro have not proved effective against hardier invasives like mugwort or thicker invasives like goldenrod.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really are hoping that we work on that kind of stuff. We haven\u2019t found that it works on that now or with much success. I don\u2019t know if the technology ramps up a little and we may be at another level of stuff that would be beneficial to us. But right now, we\u2019re just using it for basically just keeping the big kind of center medians on our interstates free of weeds where we can. We also use it for cracks and pavements and parking lots and commuter lots,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

Samorajczyk said that high temperatures are what kills weeds with Foamstream or AquaPro and also noted that the DOT is speaking with vendors and scientists who are developing this technology to have a wand on the front bumper to kill weeds on guiderails.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t find where the heat holds to kind of run it in the way we need it. They tell us they\u2019re working on it, and if they ever got to that, that\u2019d be fantastic. Because then we could just go 100% pesticide free,\u201d Samorajczyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for any viable alternative that is safe for both our employees and the environment. It\u2019s not just limited to these two companies.,\u201d Morrill added.<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also is in the fight against these plants, such as with its aquatic invasive species grant program that has been providing funding to combat invasive aquatic plants like hydrilla for over five years<\/a>. The highly invasive hydrilla chokes out all other native plant species in the water it infests.<\/p>\n

\"GregGreg Bugbee looks for turions. a resistant plant bud found in certain aquatic plants and can allow the plant to survive winter in the vegetative state (i.e., without setting seeds). (Edmund H. Mahony)<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Invasive Plant Council\u00a0<\/a>maintains an official state list of which plants have been categorized as invasive since 2004.<\/p>\n

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