Kudzu, a fast-growing vine that covers everything in its path, has been spotted near Adams and Edgar streets in Steubenville. (Photo Provided)

As if Asian Tiger mosquitoes and spotted lantern flies aren’t enough to worry about, now there’s kudzu.

Kudzu, a fast-growing vine that overtakes anything in its way, has been spotted between Adams and Edgar streets in downtown Steubenville.

Councilwoman-at-Large Kimberly Hahn described it to council last week as “unreal.”

“It has filled trees and cascades down, it’s going to a second-floor window” of a house, she said. “We have to actually tackle it immediately; we have the ability. It’s not about one house having weeds that are out of control, we really need to eradicate it.”

Kudzu, native to Asia, was introduced in the United States during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876.

“It’s a really aggressive-growing plant,” Ohio State University Extension Educator Erika Lyon said. “It was initially brought in to be used as pasture forage, but it got out and took over just about everything. It’s known for smothering trees and other plants.”

The vines easily grow a foot a day — and in ideal conditions, “up to four feet a day,” said Aaron Dodds of the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District.

And once it takes hold, getting rid of it can be tricky.

“There are strong commercial herbicides that keep it in check, but you need a commercial applicator to utilize (them), which is often expensive.”

Lyon said cutting kudzu back isn’t easy.

“Anytime you’re dealing with aggressive-growing weeds like kudzu and Japanese knotwood, it’s not going to be ‘once and done.’ It’s going to take frequent cuttings,” she said.

Still, she said, “if you see it, rip it up and throw it in the trash. Don’t leave it on the ground because it can potentially spread. And there are some herbicide treatment options.”

Dodds said in this case, a landowner reached out to a councilwoman who, in turn, reached out to JSWCD.

City Manager Jim Mavromatis said he and Sanitation Superintendent Bob Baird already talked to the resident and assessed the situation. For now, he said, “We’re not going to do anything with it.”

“We looked at a couple of areas,” he said. “The vines are growing, but some of it is on somebody’s personal property and they’re going to have to deal with it. … Right now it’s not causing any major harm to anything.”