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MULLAN - The Lucky Friday unit of Hecla Mining Company is beginning a new method of pest control for much of its land.

Spotted knapweed, a noxious weed that is native to Europe and Asia, has made itself known throughout Idaho. The problem with this is that its natural enemies - certain insects - didn't travel with it.

The plant is crowding out those that are native to Idaho.

"It can very easily maximize resources (in the soil)," said Nez Perce Bio-Control Center Coordinator Paul Brusven. He's working with Hecla's senior environmental technician, Judy Cloos, to help control the amount of knapweed near Lucky Friday.

Cloos attended a workshop conducted by NPBC and left with five samples of the weed's native enemies - Cyphocleonus achates, a weevil.

She released the insects, between 250 and 500 total, along three miles of land on Friday Avenue and Larson Road. They're root feeders - they bite holes in the roots and stems of knapweed and injure the plant from the inside.

C. achates was first introduced in the United States in 1988 and is now in several states. It attacks only knapweed and does not fly well. The insects won't harm or bother humans, Brusven said, and certainly don't bite.

Cloos released the weevils last month. She and Brusven took observations Tuesday regarding any progress the insects have made. They will do this annually for five years. Cloos said managing the weed this way will cut down on Hecla's costs from spraying insecticide.

They're taking the observations every two meters along a 20-meter line, recording the height of the tallest plant and the amount of plants, among other criteria. It's one of nearly 500 similar sites in Idaho.

It should take between three and five years for the insects to make a dent in the knapweed population, Brusven said. When there are fewer plants to feed on, the insect population lowers, too. They won't destroy knapweed completely, and the insects won't die out.

Brusven said this is a way to restore balance to nature, and since the insects don't know property lines, they travel to help control other knapweed infestations.

"It's neighbors helping neighbors," he said. "Weeds are everyone's problem, so working together is very important."

NPBC holds workshops on bio-control each summer and anyone -- private landowners to businesses to government agencies - is welcome. For more information, visit www.nezperce.org/~biocontrol.