playcleango.org

Belle Bergner with the North American Invasive Species Management Association has advice for horseback riders.

"If you have horses, get the certified weed free hay and feed it your horses three days before you head out into the wilderness."

Her comments are part of the playCleanGo Campaign, which educates Recreationists about how they can stop the spread of invasive pests.

For example, in the water..."You may have heard of Zebra mussels, quagga mussels. Eurasian water millfoil. There's so many more it could go on. But yes, really simple for people to clean their boats with a cloth. For Non motorized watercraft. Just wipe things down."

And for people who own motorized boats,...." Make sure that bilge is drained before you head out and before you leave and bring it again in that same water body."

For more information about these and other outdoor activities, including hiking and camping, the website is PlayCleanGo.org.

Play clean. Go is a campaign aimed at recruiting recreationists to help stop the spread of invasive pests.

We do have 100 pests.com, a drop down where you can look to see what threat already exists in your state. And it's good to keep your eyes out for those top 20 invasive pests ests that we know exist in certain areas.

Cecilia Secada, who heads USDA’s Hungry Pest Campaign, has one specific example of what to look out for… “such as the egg masses that look like patches of mud. The egg masses from Lantern flys and Gypsie moths attach themselves to outdoor gere, like your lawn chair or your lawn mower. They can even attach themselves to vehicles.

So she says it's always a good idea to spray off your vehicle before hitting the road.

“There are a lot of things to look for. The main thing is simply cleaning before you go, whether it's your outdoor gear or cleaning up your own boots and personal gear. It's really easy to just wash stuff off so that you don't inadvertently bring organic material with you from one place to another.”