Green Oak Township – Surrounded by neatly manicured bushes and daisies, Nancy Fisher sits on her porch reading a book.

Most home owners have the luxury of being able to spend time in their backyard, but Fisher has to keep off the grass: the perimeter is covered with poison ivy leaves.

Because of a medical condition, she doesn’t want to use herbicides to kill the toxic plants.

Fisher came up with a safe Plan B: having goats eat the poison ivy. But she ran into trouble with township officials, who say keeping farm animals violates local law – even for people like Fisher with a medically valid reason.

“I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and I’m very sensitive to chemicals. I read that goats can eat poison ivy without getting sick and it would only be a two-day process,” said Fisher, who has lived in Green Oak for more than 20 years. “Initially, when I called the township, it was approved, but two weeks later, I was told that livestock wasn’t allowed.”

“Since there are wetlands behind the poison ivy bed, I would think they wouldn’t want to ruin that habitat with chemicals. Goatscaping would be the best choice.”

In many regions, homeowners and companies are using eco-friendly goatscaping as a way to clear out unwanted plants like poison ivy, poison sumac, briars and other invasive weeds. Four to five goats can clear an acre in a week, according to goatweb.com, a website that promotes raising goats.

Mike Mourer, owner of Twin Willow Ranch in Milan, leases goats and is already booked for the rest of this year and the first half of next year. On average, he charges a minimum of $150 per week depending on the size of the site that needs to be cleared.