06/17/2026
Last fall, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife private lands program funded experimental drone flights spraying invasive kudzu patches on 8 pieces of private property, over 6 counties, totaling 100 acres.
As we are now actively in the growing season for kudzu, the team revisited these sites to assess progress made. Here is some good news:
• At this point, we have achieved 90-95% control in some patches.
• Native vegetation has responded! We have released elderberry, dogbane, geranium, perennial ryegrass, yellow buckeye, ironweed, wingstem, pokeweed, common milkweed, and ragweed, among many others.
• So far, negative effects on trees within the units and outside have been prevented.
• Wildlife continues to utilize these areas: over a dozen species of songbirds have been spotted, as well as white-tailed deer, chipmunks, black rat snakes, and cottontail rabbits running/slithering through the sections.
Although kudzu persists, our team has seen the benefits of this tool and will continue the fight against this invasive species.
Check out these before-and-after pictures of different sites!
📸: Kentucky Private Land Habitat Management
