Find out all you need to know about invasive Moth Plant here and how to safely remove it. Read about our latest competition and the winning teams.
Feedback from our teams:
"Well done SPICE for a really eye opening experience. It was great to be made aware how prevalent that plant is!!" Team Tripod
"Thank you guys so much for all your amazing organising - it's very satisfying getting rid of those pesky plants and has been great to see the difference we made last year when we revisited the same spots to find very little mothplant evidence this year. I imagine this will mean it will get even harder next year (which I guess is the point!) " Team Charzil
"Down with Moth Plant!!" - Team OGMB's
"Well done SPICE for a really eye opening experience. It was great to be made aware how prevalent that plant is!!" Team Tripod
"Thank you guys so much for all your amazing organising - it's very satisfying getting rid of those pesky plants and has been great to see the difference we made last year when we revisited the same spots to find very little mothplant evidence this year. I imagine this will mean it will get even harder next year (which I guess is the point!) " Team Charzil
"Down with Moth Plant!!" - Team OGMB's
Moth plant is a pest plant that is spreading through Sandringham, suffocating desirable plants and killing monarch butterflies. In April 2024, SPiCE and the Mt Albert Grammar School Environmental Group ran our third annual Sandringham Moth Plant Competition to encourage the community to get involved in eradicating moth plant. It was a huge success with 17 teams and a fantastic 4,800 moth plant pods and small vines with roots removed. Now it's time to announce the winners! Drum roll please......
2024 Winners
Primary/Intermediate Category
1st Prize - Teeny Tripods - 1093 pods and vines
2nd Prize - Top Moth Plant - 168 pods and vines
Thickest vine - Teeny Tripods 40mm
High School Category
1st Prize - We Need A Better Name - 961 pods and vines
2nd Prize - Moth Slayyyers - 844 pods and vines
Thickest vine - We Need A Better Name 70mm
Community Category
1st Prize - The Tripods - 964 pods and vines
2nd Prize - The Meadow Bunnies - 389 pods and vines
Thickest Vine - The Tripods 35mm
A massive well done to all our teams, thank you so much for helping us in the fight against this invasive weed and making Sandringham an even more awesome place to be!
SPiCE would like to thank everyone who took part in the competition and worked so hard, and also QiQi Deng and Mt. Albert Grammar School Environment Group for all their help and support.
If you want to know more about the problems caused by moth plant and how to safely remove it, we have lots of resources to help you further down the page. Moth plant is a pest plant that is spreading through Sandringham, suffocating desirable plants and killing monarch butterflies, if we work together, we can hopefully eradicate it from our local area. It's always a good time to "grab some mates, get outside and take it down!"
Resources
IDENTIFYING MOTH PLANT
In Auckland, moth plant can be found anywhere. From backyards and parks, to industrial and retail areas, and even in motorway plantings. There are a few different ways to identify moth plant - from pods to leaves, flowers to sap.
Moth Plant Pods: For much of the year you will be able to see the large moth plant pods. These grow from the white flowers on the vine, and contain hundreds of seeds which split and form new plants. Just be sure that you don't mix up moth plant pods with choko fruit. Chokos have shiny skin and are plump at the bottom. Moth plant pods have matt skin and are plump at the top where they attach to the vine. And choko vines have alternate hand-shaped leaves like maples.
White / pale pink flowers: The small and delicate white or pale pink star-shaped flowers on a moth plant vine often trick home owners into thinking they are a desirable plant. Growing from December to May, many of these flowers will become seed pods, spreading the devastating pest across nearby gardens and parks. Do not be fooled by the pretty flowers! Pulling out moth plants before seed pods form is the most time efficient way to eradicate them.
Sticky white sap: The white sap is the ultimate clue to a moth plant. If you are unsure a plant of seedling is a moth plant, snapping the vine open, or pulling of a leaf to see if there is white sap inside is a good way to test your theory. Just take care, the sap can be a skin irritant and is hard to remove from clothing.
Leaf Shape: Moth plants have arrow-shaped leaves with a wavy edge. These leaves sit directly opposite each other on the seedlings and vines. This is in contrast to many seedlings and vines which have leaves that alternate along the vine.
Once you have some practice, you will see them everywhere you go. Then you will officially have earnt your "moth plant glasses"!
In Auckland, moth plant can be found anywhere. From backyards and parks, to industrial and retail areas, and even in motorway plantings. There are a few different ways to identify moth plant - from pods to leaves, flowers to sap.
Moth Plant Pods: For much of the year you will be able to see the large moth plant pods. These grow from the white flowers on the vine, and contain hundreds of seeds which split and form new plants. Just be sure that you don't mix up moth plant pods with choko fruit. Chokos have shiny skin and are plump at the bottom. Moth plant pods have matt skin and are plump at the top where they attach to the vine. And choko vines have alternate hand-shaped leaves like maples.
White / pale pink flowers: The small and delicate white or pale pink star-shaped flowers on a moth plant vine often trick home owners into thinking they are a desirable plant. Growing from December to May, many of these flowers will become seed pods, spreading the devastating pest across nearby gardens and parks. Do not be fooled by the pretty flowers! Pulling out moth plants before seed pods form is the most time efficient way to eradicate them.
Sticky white sap: The white sap is the ultimate clue to a moth plant. If you are unsure a plant of seedling is a moth plant, snapping the vine open, or pulling of a leaf to see if there is white sap inside is a good way to test your theory. Just take care, the sap can be a skin irritant and is hard to remove from clothing.
Leaf Shape: Moth plants have arrow-shaped leaves with a wavy edge. These leaves sit directly opposite each other on the seedlings and vines. This is in contrast to many seedlings and vines which have leaves that alternate along the vine.
Once you have some practice, you will see them everywhere you go. Then you will officially have earnt your "moth plant glasses"!
REMOVING MOTH PLANT
There are a few things you need to consider when removing moth plant from a site. First, you must get permission from the landowner to be on their land removing moth plant. Second, you need to protect yourself from the sticky white sap which is a skin irritant by wearing gloves and protective clothing.
Then, you need to ensure that you:
1. Gather all the seed pods. Place in a plastic bag and dispose of in your landfill bin, or local weed bin. Higher up pods can be reached by extendable fruit pickers, boat hooks, rakes or your own home made tool.
2. Remove all the moth plant seedlings by gently pulling them out, ensure the roots stay intact. These can be left on site to rot - or if you are entering in our competition, taken home for a photo and put into your green bin or compost.
3. Pull out or poison all the large woody vines. The first step in this process is to trace the vine back down to where it comes out of the ground. If the soil is loose, you may be able to dig around it to remove even quite large roots. Tug it gently to see if it will easily give way. If it won't come out with the roots attached (which can sometimes happen even with small vines if they are growing out of a crack or crevice) you will need to poison the vine. Do this by making a horizontal cut as close to the ground with secateurs or a saw if it is a monster vine. By making the cut horizontal, it is easier to apply the weed killer gel and stop it dripping onto the soil or surrounding non-target plants. The vine can then be left to wither in situ.
Try and make sure you have traced all the vines down to the ground to ensure you are eradicating moth plant completely. If you can't get to the ground from which the vine is growing, just cut down as close as you can. Similarly, if you can't reach high-up pods, you can cut the vine as high up as possible. This will not kill the seed pods and large ones will still crack and spread seeds, but it will limit the energy that goes into them and stop them growing further.
There are a few things you need to consider when removing moth plant from a site. First, you must get permission from the landowner to be on their land removing moth plant. Second, you need to protect yourself from the sticky white sap which is a skin irritant by wearing gloves and protective clothing.
Then, you need to ensure that you:
1. Gather all the seed pods. Place in a plastic bag and dispose of in your landfill bin, or local weed bin. Higher up pods can be reached by extendable fruit pickers, boat hooks, rakes or your own home made tool.
2. Remove all the moth plant seedlings by gently pulling them out, ensure the roots stay intact. These can be left on site to rot - or if you are entering in our competition, taken home for a photo and put into your green bin or compost.
3. Pull out or poison all the large woody vines. The first step in this process is to trace the vine back down to where it comes out of the ground. If the soil is loose, you may be able to dig around it to remove even quite large roots. Tug it gently to see if it will easily give way. If it won't come out with the roots attached (which can sometimes happen even with small vines if they are growing out of a crack or crevice) you will need to poison the vine. Do this by making a horizontal cut as close to the ground with secateurs or a saw if it is a monster vine. By making the cut horizontal, it is easier to apply the weed killer gel and stop it dripping onto the soil or surrounding non-target plants. The vine can then be left to wither in situ.
Try and make sure you have traced all the vines down to the ground to ensure you are eradicating moth plant completely. If you can't get to the ground from which the vine is growing, just cut down as close as you can. Similarly, if you can't reach high-up pods, you can cut the vine as high up as possible. This will not kill the seed pods and large ones will still crack and spread seeds, but it will limit the energy that goes into them and stop them growing further.
When working in teams, it can be useful to have some people collecting pods, while others track and remove the vines. In fact, you will probably find you have a natural preference for one of these jobs! It is a good idea to re-visit sites a few weeks after you tackled them, as by then any vines that were missed will be obvious, and you can go in and quickly finish it off.
INFORMATION AND FLYERS
There is some great information online about moth plant. You can find some information on the Conservation Auckland website, and WeedBusters is also a great resource. If you have questions, or want to join a group who are passionate about removing moth plant from Auckland, than the S.T.A.M.P (Society Totally Against Moth Plant) Facebook Group is the place to be.
Moth Plant Map
One easy to track down moth plants in your local area is to check on this excellent map created and maintained by S.T.A.M.P. The map is colour coded with dots:
Approaching homeowners
When you approach homeowners, it can be very useful to have a copy of the Auckland Council Moth Plant Brochure with you. The brochure explains that moth plant has been identified as a pest plant in the Regional Pest Management Plan, how to recognise it and why it should be removed. You can download and print copies of this brochure (in both English or Chinese) by using the buttons below. We have also provided a letter box flyer that you can print. Write your details in it and leave it in letterboxes of houses you visit when no-one is at home, so homeowners can contact you if they would like you to come back and remove the moth plant for them.
INFORMATION AND FLYERS
There is some great information online about moth plant. You can find some information on the Conservation Auckland website, and WeedBusters is also a great resource. If you have questions, or want to join a group who are passionate about removing moth plant from Auckland, than the S.T.A.M.P (Society Totally Against Moth Plant) Facebook Group is the place to be.
Moth Plant Map
One easy to track down moth plants in your local area is to check on this excellent map created and maintained by S.T.A.M.P. The map is colour coded with dots:
- Purple - seen the previous year but unconfirmed if growing in the current year
- Yellow - killed this year, to be checked next year
- Green - was clear last year, but will need checking next year
- Red - seen this year, not yet removed
Approaching homeowners
When you approach homeowners, it can be very useful to have a copy of the Auckland Council Moth Plant Brochure with you. The brochure explains that moth plant has been identified as a pest plant in the Regional Pest Management Plan, how to recognise it and why it should be removed. You can download and print copies of this brochure (in both English or Chinese) by using the buttons below. We have also provided a letter box flyer that you can print. Write your details in it and leave it in letterboxes of houses you visit when no-one is at home, so homeowners can contact you if they would like you to come back and remove the moth plant for them.