Continuously mowing or weed-wacking Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) will eventually exhaust the plant. You can also smother using cardboard and organic layers, especially if you'd like to make a new garden bed at the same time. Burning is a successful control, although I don't know how many people are able to do burns like that on their property. Also, although I am an organic gardener in every other respect, there are rare cases where pesticides are warranted (IMO and of course used according to instructions). I use herbicides judiciously to control some of the worst non-native invasives such as Garlic mustard, Buckthorn, Oriental Bittersweet, etc. Round-up can be used on Garlic mustard. Here's a good article by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. Here is a link that might be useful: Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

I think it depends. In my woods in NYz5, I had 5 acres of poison ivy to clean up. Most of the land was wooded but there was a cleared area where the power/phone lines ran to the house. In the woods, where the plants were relatively isolated, I pulled them by hand and bagged them. I patrolled deep into my neighbors' land because garlic mustard doesn't really notice property lines. In the cleared area, I tried RoundUp for probably three years running, but found that if I didn't get all the plants quite early in the season, they wouldn't die before they set seed. I switched to weed whacking and believe that, in the end, that would have been effective (I sold the house before I learned the answer). I also learned that seedlings don't respond especially well to RoundUp. You spray them, but they don't die. I did manage to eradicate several areas that were carpeted with GM seedlings with 2,4-D but it may be (since these appear all summer) that the better approach is to allow them to reach their second year and then weed whack. Finally, what I learned was that I had to get out there almost as soon as the snow melted. The plants mature very quickly very early in the season. Fortunately, they are whackable a couple of weeks before the desirable woodlanders (and the PI and mosquitoes) appear. Another thing I learned was that you may as well spend winter hacking down multiflora roses and shrub honeysuckle. Makes it easier to reach some of the garlic mustard later on....

Thanks MeMo, I took a break when it started to pour rain and did some online reading; then went out afterward and pulled some more until I got too tired. So far I have 7 bags full of it. One place said to put the bags out on the curb for trash pickup, but I'd think the stuff would start growing in the landfill, unless incinerated like another site mentioned. Maybe I'll the bags sit around too and then burn them later when I think the stuff is dry. Sounds like Round-Up helps control it when the plants are small, but I have Jewel Weed, Dame's Rocket (I call it wild phlox) and violets just to mention a few down among the Garlic Mustard right now. Sure would hate to kill all that too. Plus it'll come back every year. Reminds me of Curly Charlie sedum I fought for 20yrs!! I also read that in England there is a type of beetle and a weevil that keep Garlic Must. in check, but the insects don't live here. And that after a certain date, a person is not suppose to pull the weed anymore because it has gone to seed and it will be futile, you'll only spread the seed more. What fun.

"I like to believe that each person can decide for themselves whether or not a plant in a given situation is threatened to a point that it would be more beneficial to move it than to leave it where it stands, whether it is in a park or on a roadside or any public property. " A roadside is not punblic property. I think it would be of interest that in many cases when only a single individual of a plant species exists that plant is left as undisturbed as possible and is propegated instead of moved, because even then moving the plant is not more beneficial (indeed, probably worse) to leavin it. Those singular individual plants in question are not, however ignored. By looking at that example, NO plant is 'threatened to a point that it would be more beneficial to move it than to leave it where it stands' unless imminent destruction in the near future is likely due to human activites. Therefore in almost any surcumstances leaving the plants is definatly the better option, but some site care such as checking and removing all weeds in the vicinity of the plants is vastly better than moving them. Also, if you cant do that site maitence (for example, not on your land)your probably not supposed to be moving plants from there anyway. Unless you have premission of course, preferably permission to maintain the site. A roadside planting is most likely secure, and with the wildflowers and garlic mustard, perirodic weeding in the imidiate vicinity of the plant population may be all that is required for the long-term presistance of that population. It is interesting to note that in certain curcumstances (for example, native wild plants transplanted to a neatly kept garden) the population of transplanted plants are unlikely to survive in the long-term because they may not reproduce. While the individual transplanted plants may survive, the establishment and long-term presistance of a self-supporting population in in doubt, altough it can and does happen, it might just as easily not because of many subtle variables affecting the growing site means establishment of said transplanted plants might be in unlikely. Without long-term presistance of a self-supporting population, it, in my mind atleast, not a resce in the sence that these plants have been removed from a population that probably needs all the individuals it it can get, and presistance in the wild is far more important, ecologicly speaking, than presistance in cultivation. Note: the terms Establishment and self-supporting population does not just mean that the species sometimes reseeds itself, altough that is a important factor in the process. In the case of this garlic mustard weeding within the viicinity of the plants on a regular basis would probably ensure theri survival in the short term, altough their long-term survival may be in doubt because, lets face it, you wont be there forever to weed. WHat might work is if you suceed in reducing garlic mustards population density in the area.