General guidance: A variety of methods can effectively control (though not eradicate) Spartina. Where control has been effective it has been carried out on a regular cycle and can be expensive in time and money. However, before deciding on a particular strategy it is important to understand why the plant has invaded in the first place. It may be its invasion is a symptom of changes in sedimentary patterns and not a cause. If this is the case then other, native saltmarsh plants might be expected to invade if Spartina were not around.

Mechanical control of Spartina may be an alternative to using herbicides. On Lindisfarne NNR in the late 1980s attempts to control Spartina anglica using a variety of herbicides were tried on the mudflats of the Lindisfarne NNR. Details of these can be found by reference to an English Nature 'enact' article (Volume 1. No. 3, 1993). In the 1990s mechanical trials were undertaken using a machine, which 'buried' the plants. This have proved to be highly successful according to a further article in 'enact' (Volume 10. No. 4 2002).