u/ohnunu_

so this slope in my backyard USED to be a monarch butterfly habitat filled with milkweed. now its covered in goutweed.

ive been trying ways to tackle it for a couple years now but this is the summer that im attacking full force.

my current game plan is to 1) yank out everything aboveground over the entire slope, then 2) take a shovel and cut the dirt into sections as deep as i can go, then 3) go section by section with a hand rake and dig out as much of the roots + rhizomes as possible. 4) monitor and spot treat as needed

so far, ive taken 2 afternoons to get almost halfway through step 1. it just rained so thankfully a lot of the roots are coming up with the stems but theres still a lot i'll have to dig up. im trying to take advantage of the window where it's flowering but hasnt gone to seed yet since flowering takes up a lot of energy.

i'm also finding some interesting things buried under all the weeds... i found a bunch of rusty old rebar?? and some concrete blobs???

SW Michigan

either multiple queens decided to overwinter inside my house (unlikely) or this lady is absolutely obsessed with breaking in because this is the second day in a row now where i have had to catch her and release her back outside! and i still have no idea how she keeps getting in. i try to keep an eye out whenever i come in and out of the house but i have yet to catch her in the act.

anyway id love to know what species she is! iNat says V. maculifrons which would be awesome since i usually only see German yellowjackets around here

SW Michigan

spotted a few clumps of these guys on the side of my house while setting up the garden hose today. some kind of orbweaver is my guess?