These creatures make holes into the beds or get into tunnels made by moles and then feed on the ginseng roots. Grain treated with zinc phosphide or Warfarin, is used by some growers to help solve this problem. Weeds can also be a serious problem. Only a limited amount of research has been done with the use of herbicides on ginseng beds. Hand pulling of weeds combined with the use of a mulch is the only recommendation at present.
Theft is one of the major concerns of Kentucky ginseng growers.
The dried roots are extremely bitter tasting. The desirable compounds in the root are the alkaloids hydrastine and berberine. The dried roots are used for many medicinal purposes, especially for eye, skin, and digestive disorders. It is commonly available in health food stores as a tea, powder, or in capsule form. Goldenseal is a naive perennial and occurs over the same range and under the same wooded conditions as ginseng.