Weed Control

The number one responsibility of the Weed Control Authority is to control noxious weeds in Scotts Bluff County. The Weed Control Authority is administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. They have designated 7 Nebraska weeds as noxious, they are Canada thistle, Musk thistle, plumeless thistle, leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, diffuse knapweed and purple loosestrife. Scotts Bluff County has also designated field bindweed as a noxious weed.

It is the responsibility of the Weed Control Authority to do annual inspections of all land in its jurisdiction in order to determine whether noxious weeds are present. If noxious weeds are present the Weed Control Authority has the responsibility either to control or advise landowners on control. It is the duty of every person who either owns or controls land in Nebraska to control noxious weeds.

Scotts Bluff County Weed Control Authority also does commercial spraying of all kinds, including bare ground pre and post emergent weed control. We can also do hay and forage weed free certification.

Noxious Weeds Must Be Controlled

You are required to control noxious weeds on your property…
The noxious weeds are: Musk, Thistle, Plumeless Thistle, Canada Thistle, Leafy Spurge, Knapweed (spotted and diffuse), Field Bindweed and after January 1, 2001, Purple Loosestrife. Notice is hereby given this 25th day of August 2002, pursuant to the Noxious Weed Control Act, section 2-955, subsection 1(a), to every person who owns or controls land in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, that noxious weeds being or growing on such land shall be controlled at such frequency as to prevent establishment, provide eradication, or reduce further propagation or dissemination of such weeds.

Upon failure to observe this notice, the county weed superintendent is required to:

• Proceed pursuant to the law and issue legal notice to the land-owner of property infested with noxious weeds giving such landowner 15 days to control the noxious weed infestation. Conviction for non compliance may result in a $100.00 per day fine to the landowner with a maximum fine of $1,500; or
• Should more immediate control be required, proceed pursuant to the law and have the weeds controlled by such method as he/she finds necessary, the expense of which shall constitute a lien and be entered as a tax against the land, and be collected as other real estate taxes are collected, or by other means as provided by law.

The public is also notified that noxious weed seed and propagative parts may be disseminated through the movement of machinery and equipment, trucks, grain and seed, hay, straw, nursery stock, fencing materials, sod, manure, and soil as well as articles of similar nature. Methods of treatment have been prescribed by the Directory of Agriculture and may be obtained from the county weed control authority.

Frequently Asked Questions