COLUMBUS, Ohio — National Invasive Species Awareness Week was March 3-8.  For most people, the week passed with little fanfare – but for those in the agriculture community, invasive species probably deserve weeks of attention, if not more.

“Invasive species are those that aren’t native to a place, but arrive through people’s actions, either by accident or on purpose,” said Kathy Smith, Ohio State University extension forestry program director. “They escape, usually spread fast and can reduce or eliminate native species by eating, shading, crowding, damaging, infecting or out-competing them.”

According to The National Invasive Species Council, which sponsored the week nationally, invasive species cause a multibillion-dollar annual drain on the nation’s economy. And the Convention on Biological Diversity calls invasive species the second largest threat to the world’s biodiversity after habitat loss.

“We’re trying to open people’s eyes to what’s going on in the environment around them so hopefully, they’ll take action,” said Smith, who leads extension’s Ohio Woodland Stewards Program, “whether by removing invasive species on their own farm, reporting a sighting, joining a volunteer group or just helping us spread the word.”

The top 10 invasive plants in Ohio include Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, autumn olive, common reed or Phragmites, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, multiflora rose, reed canary grass, buckthorns and bush honeysuckle. The list goes on and on; there are 500 non-native invasive plants in the state, and roughly $200 billion is spent on eradicating these.

Perhaps the most familiar invasive species of late is the exotic emerald ash borer. The insect has killed millions of Ohio’s native ash trees and if left unchecked, it could wipe out all ash trees in North America.

“We live in a global society and invasive species should be on everyone’s radar,” said Amy Stone, OSU extension educator from Lucas County and a member of extension’s Nursery, Landscape and Turf Team.

“Invasive species potentially can impact the food we grow, our landscapes, our communities and, ultimately, our pocketbooks. The sooner we can identify them, the less the damage and the lower the cost to manage them.”

An OSU study reported bush honeysuckle plants are causing Ohio’s state bird, the cardinal, to be less genetically fit. The non-native shrubs produce less nutritious berries than those of displaced native dogwoods and highbrush cranberries. Cardinals nesting in bush honeysuckles fledged 20 percent fewer young.

A weed common in farm fields is the Japanese barberry, which creates a denser, more humid environment. The change leads to big increases in the number of ticks and the mice that spread them. Bush honeysuckles, Smith says, may do the same thing.

The common reed and cattail can be an attraction to a pond, but they can spread to unwanted areas. “Many farmers and growers don’t realize the full extent of invasive plants,” said Theresa Culley, president of the Ohio Invasive Plants Council.

“I think that more people, especially those in the agriculture and nursery industries, are increasingly now coming to recognize the ecological dangers of invasive plants. They realize that invasive species can ruin pastureland or interfere with crop production.”

Scientists studying invasive species at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center have developed a new smart phone application that lets citizens join the fight. The Great Lakes Early Detection Network app equips users to take photos of suspected invasive species, then upload them and locations for verification. It can be downloaded free at http://go.osu.edu/GLEDN