Goatscaping

Winston-Salem used Piedmont Goatscapers for its kudzu weed problem. Against Piedmont?EUR??,,????'?????<

Typically, most landscaping businesses rely on chemical herbicides to kill unwanted plants. The Piedmont goats offered Winston-Salem a more eco-friendly and economical way to clear kudzu.

Fortunately for the goats, Winston-Salem has plenty of kudzu, a plant that consumes almost everything in its path.

"Volunteer groups have gone into the cemetery proper to do some work and we felt like we needed to step up," said James Mitchell, the city's vegetation management director. "It's an ideal situation to try the goats out."

Goatscaping might be new to Winston-Salem, but it has been happening across the country for years. Chattanooga, Tennessee has been using goats to control kudzu since 2007.

Each kudzu plant has at its heart a carrot-shaped root that can grow up to seven inches around and 6-feet deep.

Some plants weight as much as 400 pounds, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Each root can give life to about 30 vines; each vine can stretch up to 100 feet.