Weeds on my property

Every landholder should, as far as they are able, prevent weeds from establishing on their land and impacting upon neighbouring properties.

Identifying weeds

The first step to controlling weeds on your land is to correctly identify them. You may find the following resources useful:

• The booklet Garden Escapes in Bushland and Reserves contains many common garden weeds
• For smartphone users the free iNaturalist app uses artificial intelligence and experts to identify photos taken of weeds (Google Lens or similar visual search functions may also help)
• The website New South Wales Flora Online run by the National Herbarium of NSW is useful for searching for weeds that have naturalised in the State
• Council staff are always willing to help you identify weeds; take some good photos and send them through the Online Services Portal or email hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au

Controlling weeds

Different weeds require different control methods. The following resources are useful for finding best-practice information on the control of many types of weeds:

• NSW WeedWise
• Weeds Australia
• Australian Association of Bush Regenerators
• Sydney Weeds Network
• Weed removal fact sheets for bush regenerators
• Bush Regeneration Handbook

Getting help with my weeds

Landholders unable to control their weeds themselves may like to try one of the following options:

• Engage specialist bush regeneration contractors to undertake the work at competitive rates; many are listed on the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators website
• Engage qualified arborists or garden maintenance operators; search online or in local newspapers
• For frail people, carers, or those with mobility impairment, try Easy Care Gardening, a subsidised gardening service by teams of volunteers

Although Council cannot control your weeds for you, we are always willing to provide advice. Please contact us through the Online Services Portal or email hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

Large infestations

Landholders with extensive infestations of weeds on their property should develop a weed management plan. This will help you approach control strategically and avoid becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Given time and persistence, it is often possible to eradicate many weeds from your property.

Your weed management plan should use the following principles:

1. Correctly identify the weeds on your property, learn how they spread, and what the best-practice methods are for their control (see section ‘Controlling weeds’ above).
2. If the infestation spans several properties, involve your neighbours from the outset. Coordinating efforts will have much better long-term outcomes.
3. Determine the source of the weeds, the extent of the infestation and where the core areas are. You may find it helpful to represent this on a simple map.
4. Deal with the source of the weeds first. If this is not possible, then you will need to be prepared to continually contain their spread into the future.
5. Control plants in the sparser areas first before moving toward the core areas. The rapid removal of dense patches of weeds usually results in flushes of other weeds germinating.
6. Where weeds grow along creek lines, drainage lines, or on steep slopes, consideration should be given to the risk of soil erosion and the need for installing erosion control devices.
7. Start every session by going back over previously worked areas.
8. Six months after plants have been removed or killed, reinspect the area and control any regrowth or seedling germination.
9. As weeds are controlled it is good practice to replace them with local native species. These will help suppress seedling germination and provide food and habitat for local wildlife that may have come to depend on the weeds. Council’s Warada Ngurang Community Nursery grows a range of locally sourced native plants and holds frequent Native Plant Giveaway events for Hornsby Shire residents. Check Council’s website for upcoming events.

If you require help formulating a weed management plan, contact Council through the Online Services Portal or email hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

Regulated and notifiable weeds

Some weeds are regulated under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015. If you suspect State regulated plants or notifiable regional priority weeds, please contact Council through the Online Services Portal or email hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au. A list of all State regulated plants and regional priority weeds relevant to the Greater Sydney Region can be found here. For more information see the section ‘Weeds and the law’ on this webpage.

Noxious weeds

Up until 2017, the main piece of legislation dealing with weeds in NSW was the Noxious Weeds Act 1993, and plants listed under the Act were called ‘noxious weeds.’ This Acthas since been repealed and the term ‘noxious weed’ has no legal meaning and should no longer be used.