A Montpelier school is in the ivy league, make that the poison ivy league. But city officals came up with an interesting way to combat the plant that leaves many who encounter and touch it with an itchy rash.
Goats!
Officials in Montpelier have called in three goats to rule on the problematic weeds, WCAX reported. The goats names are Ruth, Bader and Ginsburg.
Their owner, Mary Beth Herbert, told WCAX "Yes, the Supreme Court Goatuses."
Herbert had tried the traditional chemicals and and power tools before trying the goat process.
"I didn't start this out for a business, per se, I did it because I was doing invasive species removal with power equipment and gas and herbicide. I had an opportunity to kind of switch it," Herbert told WCAX.
City officials said that the poison ivy comes back every year with organic treatments not taming it, and this year has been bad.
The location of the weeds poses a problem. It is next to a river and kids and dogs use the path the weeds have grown near so chemicals are not ideal, WCAX reported.
The goats will be chomping down on the weeds for two weeks and will be back in the fall to tame the growth.
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