Once established, kudzu grows at a rate of one foot per day with mature vines as long as 100 feet. If the kudzu is growing in an area that can be mowed, persistent mowing from May to October each year will eventually kill the kudzu. A fast grower with the annoying habit of climbing over anything in its path, kudzu grows best in warm, humid weather like that found in the Southeast—no surprise there, as it’s native to Asia. Megacopta cribraria. Under the right growing conditions, it spreads easily, covering virtually everything that doesn't move out of its path. If all the roots are successfully cut, you will kill the plant above ground leaving you to deal with killing the plant under the ground. This is pretty obvious, but removing the kudzu plant itself will remove the kudzu bugs. But if kudzu is an annoyance, it’s mostly because we’ve let it become one. What do they look like? Kudzu Control: How To Get Rid of Kudzu. Chemical application, in and around root cuts and exposed root crowns, is an effective way to kill … Kudzu has taken over vacant lots and areas hit by wildfires in Sevier County. Kudzu plants can be controlled to limit the population of kudzu bugs. For this reason, kudzu vine control may start with mechanical means but has to end in chemical treatments to fully kill all the plant material. Kudzu is a persistent weed that can grow up to … Kill the kudzu! Why People Fear the Kudzu Plant. The Kudzu vine is a rapidly rising weed problem in the southeastern United States and is frustrating to manage due to how quickly it spreads and how difficult it is to totally eradicate. Kill kudzu plants to remove the bugs. However, you still need to kill each of the rooted stems at their crowns. Assuming you want to try to kill kudzu bugs along with the kudzu, timing is important. Ideally, simply pulling out the heavy vines would prevent the kudzu from returning. Overview Information Kudzu is a vine. One of the reasons kudzu has never really caught on as an agricultural commodity is that it is, in fact, too easy to kill. In all truth I hate to kill anything green. Q: Is there a best time to spray if kudzu bugs are present in the patch? Kudzu bugs are a type of insect known as a true bug because of their semimembranous wing type and piercing sucking mouth parts. Kudzu is a noxious, trailing perennial vine that is a member of the pea family. Without the plants to feed off of, the kudzu population would diminish quickly. Kudzu’s smothering growth typically inhibits the growth of most early successional plants. How to Get Rid of Kudzu. While this is a good sign, the bugs are not likely to eradicate kudzu, even at very high numbers. This works better than any commercial herbicide plus it is not so hard on the environment! It may take more than one spraying, but will do the job. The best way to kill kudzu that we have found, is to spray a solution of 1 gallon of vinegar to 1 cup of salt and add a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Follow up mechanical treatment with herbicide by spraying the foliage of re-sprouts, or cutting the tops of the root crown and painting herbicide directly on to the cut surface. Length: They are approximately 4 to 6 mm long as adults Color: They are a mottled green and brown color. Appearance. Hooray, I guess. Kudzu is unusually sensitive to overharvest, and horses, cattle, goats can graze it out and eliminate it in a year or two. Seeing this plant's vining coverage over buildings is quite beautiful, the leaves are edible to man and animal, and widespread planting of kudzu was mostly responsible for preventing a repeat of the dustbowl that ravaged the Great Plains in the 1930s. Kudzu Bugs Facts, Identification & Control Latin Name. Despite the fact that kudzu can crawl up trees and buildings it is still rooted in the ground. 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