The Difficulties of Japanese Knotweed

Originally introduced as an ornamental plant, Japanese Knotweed has gone above and beyond its original purpose and has grown into a huge problem. This invasive plant species is a ruthless and merciless coloniser, destroying native plant life and causing mayhem to local ecosystems. Japanese Knotweed crowds out all other plants, creating mono cultures and ruining yards, gardens and sometimes even buildings. This pest is such a problem that accommodating its spread is outlawed here in the UK. Without proper treatment, Japanese Knotweed can ruin your property and spread throughout the neighbourhood.

There are many ways to treat the weed, yet most do not get rid of it entirely. Due to its stubborn nature, traditional methods such as slashing or pulling do not work. The plant comes back, so you pull it again and burn it.

However, all it takes is a single fragment of a root to grow, so the plant can gain yet another foothold and continue its conquest. There is hope, however, but it requires a three part strategy and a lot of time to destroy. The strategy is listed below, but sometimes it is best to hire a Japanese Knotweed contractor.

Plastic tarps are essential for covering the plant, and the bigger the better. Stake them down tightly, and make sure to wash your shoes; Knotweed can spread from even the slightest foot traffic. The tarps create a barrier against the plant and cut off vital sunlight. Something more attractive can be put over the tarps, such as dirt. When the Knotweed eventually grows and pushes against the tarp (Knotweed is known to push through concrete) merely stomp it down. The stalks will break, and the plant will continue to grow much slower due to a lack of sunlight.

The next thing to do is to treat the plant with a chemical known as glyphosate. This chemical is found in products such as Roundup. Glyphosate blocks a plant's ability to create food reserves, so the best time to use it is during the summer or fall. However, a year round spraying will have the best effect.

Cutting the Knotweed has been mentioned earlier, and is still an essential strategy in removing it. Cutting alone won't help remove this difficult invader, but cutting in conjunction with sunlight blocking tarps and chemical treatment will. The plants will have difficulty photosynthesising if they have nothing to photosynthesise with, along with having little to no contact with sunlight.

All these things will help eradicate the plant. However, it will be a long term, year round fight. If you want to save yourself a lot of hassle and backache, the best thing to do (as mentioned before) is to hire a Japanese Knotweed contractor. They charge depending on how far they must travel, so try and get a local one. Japanese Knotweed contractors are highly trained specialists, and will help you with your growing concerns.

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