You have my sympathies.
That would be … courageous.
Mare’s tail is a bastard to get rid of. But it is possible.
Japanese knotweed is so bad it needs to be mentioned on the TA6 form if you ever try to sell a property with it. Watch the buyers run for the hills. Mortgage lenders refuse to do so. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has been amended to cover what you have to do if it’s on your property Japanese knotweed / RHS Gardening. This one really is a nightmare. Actually, come to think of it, it’s worse.
VB
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But glyphosate gets rid of it
How?
But “I love the smell of glyphosate in the morning” just doesn’t have the same ring.
Yes I contacted the council to get something done about knotweed growing in the foundation . As you say it can cause huge problems with selling but can be controlled with a management plan
Just get a goat. Those fuckers will eat anything and everything. You will never have to mow the lawn again.
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I think glyphosate gets rid of any plant by preventing it from making the amino acids it needs to survive. The hard part is getting the glyphosate to every part of the plant and this is hardest with knotweed. The RHS reckon that it will take an amateur, working assiduously with over-the-counter glyphosate applied to the plant, four years to kill it. Professionals with super strength chemical and the equipment to inject it at the right places and the expertise to do it at the right times can get rid of the weed in ‘just’ two years. But that won’t be cheap. They will offer an insurance-backed plan though, so you can sell your house on the basis that the death squad will finish the job under the new owners.
The answer to all questions is ‘glyphosate’. According to the RHS again https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=257 multiple applications of this will see the weed off. An amateur can do the job but they will have to stick at it - possibly (but not necessarily, I guess) over a number of years.
VB
You’ll have to get the goat a shovel, and maybe shuttering for its trenches. Knotweed rhizomes go down 10ft and they don’t die easily. Less than a gramme of rhizome can be enough to start an infestation.
You can forget the lawn too. Once more from the RHS - knotweed “suppresses all other plant growth”. Maybe Stu’s lawn might be OK ?
VB
Some friends of mine have recently spent 3 years (successfully) getting rid of Japanese Knotweed.
The goat thing, it was a joke. You know, ha ha ha, funny?
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Whereas I was 100% serious about getting it a shovel.
VB
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My friends did a lot of poisoning, digging and burning. Their immediate neighbour also has an infestation for which the council have got involved on an enforcement level.
Yes that’s why I eventually contacted council as no one would do anything , it spreads like hell and this place is yards from the railway line so if it spreads there it can go like wildfire
Japanese Digging Goat FTW.
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Took 3 years when I did it. Most was killed off by first foliar application (both sides of leaves), second year foliar for what remained and finally stem injection for the few remainders (in a hedge) in 3rd year. Not at my house, I hasten to add.
Not sure how long it had been there before, but at least a few years.
Want
It’s two streets away from us and ‘at the other end’ of our street. A friend who’s a lot closer to it gave up on the idea of selling her house after word got around - the worst affected property is owned by an absentee landlord (living abroad) who is very resistant to spending what it takes to have it professionally cleared. Last I heard the council were trying to pursue him but weren’t making much progress. Now it’s in several properties it’s become a tough nut to crack.
VB
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Tough one. Compulsory Purchase Order required on the absentee property… if only.
Or guerilla gardening
