Landholders across the region are closing in on the invasive arum lily, with hundreds of properties and thousands of hectares treated and an open invite for everyone to join a State Government-funded control effort.
With $340,360 in funding from the State Natural Resource Management Program, the blitz is bringing together local and state agencies, environmental organisations and private landholders in a coordinated and sustained push to at control the toxic weed.
Nature Conservation has already worked with more than 300 landholders across 3500 hectares in recent years, and are inviting more to take part.
Blitz participants will be joining the likes of Ann Ward, who purchased an arum lily-riddled property on the Margaret River in 2017.
"At first it seemed overwhelming, until I realised there was a simple solution," she said.
The following year, Dr Ward enlisted the help of Nature Conservation for a single spray event that proved successful.
"About 95 per cent did not come back," she said.
"Small follow up sprays will be needed over the next few years but the hard work is done. Now I'm able to replant the area to encourage biodiversity and hopefully help restore some health to this part of the country."
Dr Ward believes more people would get involved if they understood why it was important, the nature of the problem and how easily the plant could be combatted.
Arum lily was introduced from South Africa and runs rampant across the region, choking native vegetation, reducing the availability of food for wildlife, and forming thick, unsightly monocultures where diverse native plant communities should be.
It is a major threat to the South West's biodiversity and is poisonous to pets, livestock and people.
Despite being a hardy species that reproduces and spreads easily, the plant itself is easy to kill.
Project officer Genevieve Hanran-Smith said landholders could undertake spraying themselves - with free herbicide and easy-to-follow instructions - or hire an experienced contractor for a subsidised fee.
"We aim to make it easy to get involved and have all the resources they need to start. The first step is heading to natureconservation.org.au to register and get further information."
