Why remove Buckthorn?

Buckthorn is a noxious woody, invasive shrub taking over 80% of Chicago-area forests, and likely your yard and your neighbor’s too. It’s often disguised as a helpful privacy hedge that came with the property, but don’t let the innocuous appearance fool you. If you’ve got buckthorn, you’re probably already battling to reclaim pieces of your yard, since it will overtake everything given the chance.

When you have a buckthorn on your property, you’re signing up for double the yard work: its berries give birds explosive diarrhea (nature’s least dignified method of seed spreading), and the hedge itself poisons the surrounding soil, leaving behind what ecologists call an “ecological desert.” Clearing buckthorn from a Northbrook yard cuts off the seed source and lets native plants and wildlife come back. Here are some helpful resources to get started restoring nature in your own yard.

Sources: Wetli, Patty. “Nearly 80% of Chicago-Area Forests Are Infested With Invasive Plants. Ecologists Urge Homeowners to Join the Fight.” WTTW News, June 9, 2025, https://news.wttw.com/2025/06/09/nearly-80-chicago-area-forests-are-infested-invasive-plants-ecologists-urge-homeowners.

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