May has arrived, and we are still selling mulch out at our Yard Waste site. Come get it while it’s hot! Pun intended.

Speaking of yards, I have been doing a little experiment which is not that novel, I am sure you have heard of goat-scaping or know of someone who has used goats to clear out unwanted plants.  When we moved to our new house last fall, part of the charm was the lot which includes a creek and woods. However, the woods have been impacted by invasive English Ivy and kudzu. Neither plant is indigenous to North Carolina. Other vines and groundcovers cannot compete when these two seemingly ubiquitous plants are around. While the vines are not stranglers and do not kill the trees they climb on purpose, they do in fact shade out the trees foliage and will over time kill the tree.

Having become the property owner of 1.2 acres to caretake, my first calls were to Cooperative Extension to talk to my new partner-in-plant management, Payton Flowers. Payton and I discussed different methodologies to physically removing the kudzu and ivy, and what types of herbicides could be applied and at what times to safely kill the vines, but not have harmful impacts to the surrounding vegetation. The main takeaway from that conversation was to get the kudzu when it started to leaf out.

Then a casual conversation with another ivy-fighting friend in Charlotte planted the seed of goat-scaping. She had someone’s number and would share it. The back and forth with Jacob, my goat man, began.

Now Jacob is a salt-of-the-Earth kind of guy. He loves his goats. He loves his goats more than making a quick sale, so vetting his customers is key. After about an hour of chat, he agreed to allow his precious crew onto my grounds with a list of must-haves: power, water and daily saltine crackers and mini-marshmellows as their treats for a job well done. It’s been over a week now of having our team of 10 out mowing down the vines and in this world of instant gratification, I have had to consider that sometimes good things take some time.

They went for the kudzu first. Rich in protein, goats choose their fodder based off what will allow them the most energy in the event they need to run from predators and not have any more time to graze. Kudzu nipped and vines slashed. Next, they went for my understory hardwoods. They were quite intentional as they stepped on the young trunks and bent them down to reach the also higher protein leaves. After that the poison ivy was tackled. Score.  There was quite a lot of that! Privet, honeysuckle, autumn olive have all fallen to their tiny scissor mouths. The English Ivy (the main reason for my call) is pretty acidic, so Jacob had me leave out some supplements as a Tums-style remedy. He said if I didn’t have something basic to balance their bellies, they would stop eating the ivy altogether. I have kept the bowl full because that ivy has to go.

At writing, they have six more days for them to graze and since their choice plants are decimated, they will only have ivy and I can’t imagine there being anything left. As I went out last night to give treats with the kids, I noticed two of them had faces like they had been eating cake – pretty puffy around the jowls. My husband says “Gout?” I shrug, but they didn’t look like that yesterday. I give goat man a quick call and text a few pictures. He quickly prescribes liquid Benadryl as they have gotten into yellow jackets. Of course! The swollen faces of bee stings. A little fenagling of cracker bribes and a quick squirt with a giant syringe with kids Benadryl and voila. Those two might not eat as fast, but those guys are designed for survival. Honey badgers look out – these goats are not to mess with.

So what’s all this got to do with recycling you might think? Well for one goats should not eat your recycling. I remember a story as a kid about “Gregory the Terrible Eater” and those goats in the story ate all sorts of garbage including tin cans, bottles, tires. Let’s keep recycling in its place: in the bins, not as litter on the ground for animals to accidentally ingest. No animal should eat plastic – from sea turtles to sea birds, so we have a responsibility to put our waste in the right place. There are litter pickups happening locally all the time. Google “Great American Cleanup” or join a local group as an adopt-a-highway through the DOT.

Secondly, goats are a natural choice instead of using heavy equipment near my creek. If you are considering some yard clean up, why don’t you look to rent some goats? It will save you from getting poison ivy and bee stings.

If you need help administering some Benadryl, you know where to reach me: Becca.hurd@gastongov.com.

Becca Hurd is the recycling coordinator for Gaston County.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: YOUR TURN: Ever heard of goat-scaping?