MINOT (AP) -- Rain has helped crops -- including a crop of weeds, Ward County officials say.
The rains boosted weed growth about a month earlier than normal, said Derrill Fick, the county's weed control officer.
That includes the yellow toadflax, a new and invasive weed to the state, he said.
Weed control board member Chuck Weiser said the yellow toadflax can suppress grass and become solid. Gardeners know it as "butter and eggs."
Toadflax was used as an ornamental plant in graveyards for years before people brought it into their flower gardens, Weiser said.
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"Most of these weeds reach what we call a critical mass ... and then it just almost explodes," Weiser said.
"What we're trying to do is make everybody aware that it's out there and that they can mow it to slow it down," Fick said.
Another weed, houndstongue, has burs that attach to hair and fur of livestock and wildlife.
Deer, cattle and even rabbits are spreading it, Weiser said. It can be deadly to cattle and horses, he said.
"We're pulling the plants that have seed on them now, and we're bagging them up and getting them out of there, and then spraying the ones that will have seed next year," Weiser said.
