Kudzu, the nightmare weed that gobbled the South, is disappearing.

Slowly, inexorably, the scientists, foresters, farmers, goats and sheep are gaining the upper hand on the slinky, creepy green vine that makes abandoned homes and utility poles disappear seemingly overnight.

“It’s in retreat,” said Jim Miller, a somewhat retired research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Auburn, Ala., nicknamed Dr. Kudzu.

Yet kudzu's decline is difficult for a Southerner to grasp. The "mile-a-minute vine" has inspired poets, musicians, playwrights and science-fiction enthusiasts.

Read more about the vine that didn't eat the South here.

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Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect there won't be enough employee parking at its headquarters on Clifton Road in Atlanta when all workers are required to return to work later this year. ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

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State Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, introduces himself while attending an AAPI mental health event at Norcross High School on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

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