A key aspect of reserve maintenance is the control of invasive vegetation within a reserve’s boundaries. Invasions by non-native flora has been widely studied in South Africa with the aim of eliminating invasive species and restoring ecosystems to their natural state through the reestablishment of natural biodiversity. Kruger National Park Management concluded that invasive vegetation is one of the largest threats to biodiversity. In 1997 the IUCN stated that invasive vegetation is the second largest threat to global biodiversity. Invasive vegetation competes for the same finite resources as indigenous vegetation and are a danger to a reserve’s natural flora impacting vegetation structure and biodiversity. Invasive vegetation faces no natural predators giving them a major advantage in outcompeting native vegetation. Olifants West Nature Reserve (OWNR) is occupied by a number of different invasive cactus species with the most abundant being sweet prickly pears (Opuntia ficus indica) and queen of the night (Cer