A Massachusetts Redditor has been having issues with a neighbor's invasive plant and sought advice on "r/treelaw."

"Neighbors have neglected a big clump of bittersweet. It's completely out of control and strangling my trees. It's a constant battle but didn't realize how bad it was," wrote the original poster, along with some pictures from the neighbor's side. "Some of the trees on the border are already dead, and my service power line runs next to all of the trees/bittersweet."

There are two species of bittersweet that could be involved: one invasive and one native, but it's difficult to determine which from the pictures alone. American bittersweet is threatened, which makes destroying it illegal.

Assuming the Redditor is dealing with the invasive Oriental bittersweet, the poster has quite the fight on their hands. It doesn't help that the neighbors in question have left the country for a year, leaving the property manager to find a new tenant and deal with landscaping.

Invasive species are a blight that causes hundreds of billions of dollars in economic costs globally every year. Having to work with neighbors in these instances only complicates the management of invasive species. Residents have clashed with neighbors over managing buckthorn, sunchokes, bamboo, and numerous other invasive plants.

Reddit commenters were leaning heavily on pesticides as the answer to Oriental bittersweet.

"The only success I've had killing dense bittersweet is with herbicide," said one. "You can apply a concentrated glyphosate directly to cuts stems and it should kill it."

Other users were much more cautious, though. "There is no magical amount of Roundup you can work without risking cancer," said one of the replies.

That said, many natural alternatives to synthetic herbicides are available, such as vinegar solutions and digging up the root systems, and are worth trying before resorting to chemicals linked to health or environmental problems.

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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