Is it really a bog?

WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE BOUCHARD

Every spring, you look at that section of your property that’s sopping wet and think to yourself, “I should do something about that bog.” But with the start of tick and mosquito season, you decide to put it off until fall. Now it’s fall, but before you start landscaping that “bog,” you need to know what that soggy area actually is.

Many people in Maine refer to wet areas on and around their property as bogs, but there’s a good chance what you think of as a bog is not actually a bog. State regulators and scientists define a bog specifically as “a type of freshwater wetland identified by acidic water, poor draining soils, peat, and indicator plants,” according to Ali Clift, education project manager for the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District.

True bogs, Clift noted, are protected by state and federal regulations. Alterations to them — and landscaping activities are considered alterations — require a permit, if they are allowed at all, according to David Madore, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. To determine whether your “bog” is actually a bog, contact the department.

Assuming your bog is not really a bog, you have options for enhancing the area by working with the site’s natural conditions.

The first thing to do is determine whether invasive plants are present, said Gary Fish, the state horticulturist. Glossy buckthorn, in particular, thrives in wet sites. If invasive plants are present, manage those first and be prepared to replace them with native species suited to wet conditions. Lists of native plants are widely available. The Wild Seed Project, for example, offers a native plant list organized by growing conditions.

You can also identify appropriate plants by looking at the native species already growing on the site, Fish said. If you find plants such as dogwoods or willows, you can take 2- to 3-foot cuttings and, using something like rebar for support, live-stake them in place.

Fish also said plants commonly used in rain gardens can be good choices for wet areas that periodically dry out because they tolerate both wet and dry conditions. He recommends choosing plants that do double duty by supporting caterpillars and pollinators.

One thing you definitely should not do, he said, is fill in or bring in soil to cover up a wet area.

“If we can learn to tolerate a few wet areas on our property, it’s not a bad thing,” Fish said.

Not only do wet areas support native habitat, they also help maintain groundwater levels.

“The more water you can capture, the better chance you’re going to have of keeping your well recharged,” he said.

Keeping a wet area wet means, unfortunately, that mosquitoes are not going away. You are not completely at their mercy, though, said Griffin Dill, an integrated pest management professional with University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Because mosquitoes rely on dense brush, tall grasses, and tree cover for protection and resting places, selectively pruning trees and dense brush can increase sunlight and air circulation while making it easier for birds to prey on them, Dill said.

“Kind of opening things up around the home landscape can help eliminate some of those resting sites and thus help minimize some of the mosquito encounters,” he said.

Reducing or eliminating standing water in places such as flower pots and clogged gutters and using products containing Bti, a naturally occurring bacterium found in soil, can go a long way toward controlling mosquitoes across the landscape, Dill said.

And wearing protective clothing and repellent remains one of the most effective ways to reduce mosquito bites while enjoying your yard, Dill said.