Vancouver Sun, November 08, 2008 (VANCOUVER)

Just when you think all your toil and trouble has paid off, and you've finally grown that prize-winning garden, up crops the gardener's worst enemy: Weeds. What to do?

Well, you could pull out the weed-whacker and set to work, but that would mean a lot more toil and trouble. Or you could invest in herbicides, but that could have deleterious effects, especially on environmentally sensitive lands.

Or, if you're really into thinking outside the box -- or the pen -- you could simply go out and purchase a few goats. That's right, goats. Just ask Annie Booth, an assistant professor in the Ecosystem Science and Management program at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Last summer Booth decided to let some goats graze on land in Prince George, as part of the Prince George Northern Sustainable Landscape Initiative, a cooperative research project between UNBC and the city.

She repeated the experiment this summer, and found the goats were most efficient at clearing away many of the most troublesome weeds, including dandelions, thistles and horsetails.
Better yet, the animals are friendly and easy to herd. "Working with goats is like dealing with large cats with hooves," Booth told the National Post.

So successful was the project that Booth would like it to go national, and she's recommending that cities across Canada consider leasing goats for the summer to control weeds in environmentally sensitive areas.

Which will give an entirely new and welcome meaning to the phrase "someone's got your goat."