Technical “
From a practical point of view, you need to be vocal. If you are aware that Japanese Knotweed is in your local area, don't wait until it is on your doorstep ... ring the local authority, ring the landowner - make yourself a nuisance!
attractive flowers and lush foliage, but both will grow to the preclusion of all of our native species. So, if we can understand why these plants
have spread and why they have been allowed to gain a foothold in our landscape, should we be as fearful as the scaremongers suggest. Well to a certain extent the answer has to
be a resounding ‘YES’. We ignore these species at our peril. Negligence is these plants greatest ally, they rely on the fact that we aren’t looking, they rely on sneaking up on our bits of open ground that nobody cares about - then they take over! Open your eyes, learn to know what plants
are a problem, learn to understand how these plants spread and how they expand, and learn that their only ambition is ... total domination! I believe that most people walk around with their eyes closed, oblivious to the insidious spread of the non-native species. From a practical point of view, you need to
be vocal. If you are aware that Japanese Knotweed is in your local area, don’t wait until it is on your doorstep ... ring the local authority, ring the landowner - make yourself a nuisance! It’s only by constant vigilance and repeated phone calls that anything will get sorted with Invasive Non Native Species. These plants will spread rapidly and can quickly dominate any area in which they get a foothold. If Japanese Knotweed has already
established itself in your vicinity, then find out who the landowner is. Knotweed has the ability to grow at a rate of roughly seven metres in all directions and will continue to expand and spread exponentially until stopped - either by some form of physical containment or by intervention from man. Arguments will often ensue as to where the plant has originated from - thus one of the most effective precautions you can take is to plot where the plant has been spotted. Get some professional advice, or simply take a tape measure and plot the position and distance the plant is from your property. The following year, carry out the same exercise and you will quickly get an idea of how rapidly the plant is heading in your direction. Whilst carrying out your survey, you should also be trying to find the owner of the land and advise them that if Japanese Knotweed breaches the boundary of your property you will be taking legal action and using the measurements taken over previous seasons as proof of the origin of the infestation. With a few simple measurements and
photographs, all the arguing can be sidestepped - it’s a slam dunk and a legal victory - costs would be awarded for restoring your property and removing the infestation. If you already have Japanese Knotweed within your property boundary, then the sooner you start your eradication programme the better. If you can afford to get some professional help, then this will save you a great deal of trouble - but even if
106 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015
you can’t … then there are some simple steps that you can take.
- Fence off the infestation if you have the space - allow a minimum of three metres from surface growth to fence line (7 metres recommended)
- Allow for repeated treatment with a glyphosate based herbicide, such as Roundup or Asteroid Pro
- Repeat treatment until no new surface growth appears
- Leave the surface undisturbed for a minimum of twelve months
- Check for new growth
- Ideally, leave root system in place and plant other species around the rhizome
- Check and monitor every year thereafter The advantage of having a professional
involved is that they can bring insurance backed warranties into play and give the land owner the back up of a qualified team. However, there should be no need to
panic and no need to be scared. At the end of the day, the issues surrounding Japanese Knotweed relate more to using your common sense rather than getting into a flap about alien invaders. New legislation has also recently come
into place that states; “If an individual acts unreasonably and persists to act in a way ‘detrimental’ to the quality of life of those living locally, then the ‘Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014’ can be used to either persuade or fine anybody ignoring invasive non-native species on their land”. So, yes, these plants can be a problem -
but they can be dealt with - without losing sleep!
Mike Clough, Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd E:
mike.clough@
sltd.co.uk W:
www.jksl.com
At the end of the day, the issues surrounding Japanese Knotweed relate more to using your common sense rather than getting into a flap about alien invaders
”
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