One Redditor may have just found the most unexpected (and adorable) ally in the battle against invasive plants: a hungry groundhog.
In a post shared to the r/invasivespecies subreddit, the user captured a neighborhood groundhog mid-snack after they offered it a generous helping of garlic mustard, one of North America's most persistent and destructive invasive weeds. "Was doing my usual round of invasive pulling today and heard this little guy pop out from this container," the OP wrote. "I left him a pile of garlic mustard, and he was eating it! There will be a lot more coming."
Garlic mustard might look harmless, but it crowds out native plants, disrupts local ecosystems, and spreads fast. According to The Nature Conservancy, this European import releases chemicals into the soil that block other species from growing, a phenomenon known as allelopathy. When native plants get pushed out, pollinators such as bees and butterflies lose vital food sources, and the larger food chain suffers, too.
That's why many homeowners are ditching resource-hungry monoculture lawns in favor of native-plant landscaping.
These low-maintenance alternatives — from clover and buffalo grass to xeriscaping and rewilded yards — require less watering, fewer chemicals, and much less mowing. Native lawns also support pollinators, which protect the food supply. Even replacing part of your lawn can make a difference.
Turns out, this little lawn-care assistant got others thinking too. "Brilliant! I've been known to feed the gophers weeds too," one commenter said, while another added, "I love when friends help us eliminate invasives." Someone even said they decided to give the idea a try: "I was pulling garlic mustard all day and have a groundhog that lives under my shed. … Then an hour later saw the little guy loving it."
If anything, the post is a reminder that even the smallest steps, including pulling invasives or planting a patch of clover, can help tip the balance. And sometimes, nature finds a way to meet you halfway.
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