Dan and Barb Benson have lived on Buckatabon Lake for about 20 years. They started noticing an issue with Eurasian Water Milfoil, or EWM, about five years ago.
“This one over here really cropped up in the last year,” Dan said pointing off to spot in the water off his dock. “That’s the heaviest. Then there’s little pockets.”
The invasive species popping up lead to Benson’s and their neighbors forming a lake association.
For the most part the association has been using divers to pull up the weeds, but it continued to spread.
“It’s tripled in density,” said Donna Coventry.
Donna’s husband started researching for alternative methods to fight the invasive species. That led him to some research on Weevils.
“He found out that it was successful in Minnesota at Christmas Lake and then he found people at Boot Lake that had shown success but then they had to stop it because they couldn’t get weevils,” said Donna.
Some on the lake were skeptical about using weevils at first, but they prefered it to the alternatives that involved putting chemicals in the lake.
To help with the weevils, the lake association reached out the the Vilas County Land and Water Conservation Department.
“[The Weevils] normally eat Northern Water Milfoil which is a native milfoil, but they just seem to really enjoy Eurasian Water Milfoil,” said Cathy Higley, Lake Conservation Specialist with the Conservation Department.
The goal is the weevils will eat away at enough of the milfoil so that it doesn't spread as quickly or grow as thick.
“They stress the plant out so much that it doesn’t get so fluffy and leafy, but they’re also able to make that stem droop more,” said Higley.
All summer, volunteers with the lake association have been raising the weevils in four large tubs filled with water and EWM.
Last week, the weevils were ready for release.
Staff and volunteers loaded the bundles of EWM filled with Weevils into half a dozen coolers. They used canoes to get close to where the EWM was growing. They attached the bundles to the EWM in the lake using twist ties.
The weevils won’t eradicate the milfoil, but will hopefully get the invasive species under control.
“Hopefully within about four-ish years we’ll be able to see what’s actually happening because we’re releasing weevils,” said Higley.
Last week’s weevil release was a bittersweet moment for Donna. Her husband, who researched the idea and pushed for the project, passed away earlier this summer.
“I know my husband would be thrilled,” said Donna.
It will take a few years to see if the little bugs can make a big difference, but it's a commitment people on Buckatabon lake are willing to make to get the invasive species under control.
