Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Weevils were successfully released into Center Lake Wednesday morning.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. a small party of weevil well-wishers gathered at Center Lake Conservation Association president William Hilliard's house to start the process of "planting" the weevils. The party consisted of Hilliard; two EnviroScience consultants from Ohio, Kerry Kline and Mark Schaab; Center Lake Conservation Association treasurer Neal Carlson; and a senior aquaculture major from Purdue University, Paul Wigginton.
The purpose of planting these native beetles in Center Lake is to attack the growing problem of Eurasian Water Milfoil, a rapidly-growing exotic weed that chokes out other plants and interferes with recreational activities. The Center Lake Conservation Association has been fighting this weed problem for 20 years and found that cutting and chemical herbicides aren't working effectively.
Cutting causes reseeding, so the weeds regrow. With weed killer, the weeds eventually come back, too. Carlson said the chemical Sonar works effectively to destroy Milfoil without harming native weeds but is too expensive - about $60,000-$70,000 - and needs to be reapplied every year.
Weevils, on the other hand, require a three- to five-year treatment and then they stick around forever, according to Carlson. Milfoil is their only food source so they don't destroy any other plant, and they regulate their eating and reproduction so as not to totally eradicate their food.
Weevils have an 80 percent success rate, said Schaab. They aren't perfect but they seem to be the best solution so far. So far in Indiana weevils have been planted in Griffy Lake in Bloomington, Pretty Lake in LaGrange County and Round Lake in Whitley County. Good feedback has come from those lakes who have used weevils for several years, including Paradise Lake and Lake St. Helen in Michigan and Sand Lake in Illinois.
At approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday, after cruising around in the boat for half an hour, Carlson and Hilliard picked a suitable spot to plant the weevils. The EnviroScience consultants produced plastic bags full of Milfoil, each plant containing weevils to be released. "There are only a few adults," Schaab said. "There are about a thousand eggs on each stem."
"Eggs are generally produced on the stems," Kline said.
Kline and Schaab measured the area in which the weevils were to be planted and marked the area with yellow buoys to warn away boats and other activity that might destroy the weevils. These buoys are visible and boats should stay at least 50 feet away from this area. About 12,000 eggs and larvae were planted at three sites on the northeast side of the lake.
"This has been talked about the last few years," Carlson said about bringing out EnviroScience to plant weevils. He and Hilliard were excited about this project. The weevils will be plotted every fall and spring for the next few years to keep up with their progress. Planting weevils is not guaranteed to solve the problem, but Center Lake Conservation Association has high hopes for the success of this project.
"Usually with biological control you wait and see what happens," Wigginton said. "Sometimes you cause more problems. Sometimes you get unexpected benefits as well."
Wigginton's purpose in this project was to bring plant samples and photos back to Dr. Carole Lenbi, professor of botany at Purdue University, who is interested in the growing trend of weevil planting.
Center Lake and its appearance are important to citizens and especially to the Center Lake Conservation Association. "Our hope is by putting this in the lake we'll help solve some of our weed problems," Hilliard said.
"This lake is a real jewel," Carlson said.
