Japanese Knotweed Treatment and Control throughout West Wales by Industry Experts – Green Leaf Remediations

Have you got knotweed at your property? Read on the web how this will cost you £1,000’s? Possibly has an effect on your mortgage or ability to market your property? Please do not worry! Green Leaf Remediation offers expert services for the treatment method and management of knotweed in West Wales, and be assured this doesn’t cost as much as you may think.

Japanese Knotweed is a perennial weed that will grow and advances fairly quickly if not managed. The weed suppresses all other plant life growing around it from its crown and rhizomes (root system ) that spread extensively below the ground. The shoots die off above ground in the winter and re-emerge above ground once again at the end of springtime, early summer. Any effectively established shoots can grow in excess of 9ft high and can colonise the soil within a few years. There are numerous articles that say you may kill the roots with chemicals, however, you will need an NPTC qualified person to utilise any chemical substances due to new legislation which covers the management, and removal of Knotweed. There are many common myths that say you are able to remove Knotweed manually, however, it is really an extremely difficult and intricate process and in most cases, not successful unless you use a knotweed expert. In the height of the growing season, 60% of the Knotweed plant is its roots below ground so removal is quite difficult and it spreads wildly from one tiny fragment of crown or rhizome. Removing Knotweed material without having considerable knowledge carries a very good risk of distributing the plant to other regions of the soil that have been previously unaffected.

How do I remove Knotweed?

There are many different methods of removing Knotweed and a Knotweed Professional will be able to give you advice on the best and most effective approach.

Weed Wiping Method is the leaves of the plant being wiped with a sponge that is soaked with the required herbicide. It’s a low impact treatment method and doesn’t kill or disturb the plants surrounding it, nonetheless, its use depends on the size of the area of knotweed.

Stem-Injection is usually a low impact way of removal and there is little risk of disturbing or killing the plants and flowers growing around it. The stem injection method is used for smaller areas of Knotweed where it has established itself amongst plants and vegetation that you would like to keep. It’s also a technique often used when Knotweed is near a watercourse. The stem injection process works extremely well in dry or inclement weather conditions and the soil can’t be disturbed following a treatment.

Foliar Spray Application is frequently employed and is amongst the most favourable control strategies as well as stem injection. The method is used to treat the Knotweed over numerous growing seasons. Determined by the size of the area of Knotweed is it is normally sprayed 2-3 times in the first year and once in the following years. The chemical used is an Environment Agency approved herbicide and needs dry weather as well as the soil to remain undisturbed in subsequent years to be effective.

Bund/Stockpiling Method is a combined treatment using stem-injection or foliar application, followed by excavating the underground material and removing the soil and material to a different location in which the emergence of ‘new shoots’ can be subjected to additional herbicide application. This process is employed on sites where you need the removal of the knotweed to be quick and not done over several seasons so is therefore especially beneficial to building plots of land and development sites as work can carry on immediately.

Cell Burial/Root Barrier Method is a treatment used if you have adequate space on site to create a cell burial or utilising a root barrier to avoid the significant costs of transporting the soil and waste to landfill. Cell burial buries the Knotweed waste to a minimum depth, or if encapsulated within a geomembrane it can be closer to the surface of the ground. Root barriers can be installed both vertically and horizontally when there is a threat of cross-boundary contamination. Again, an approach generally suited for development sites when construction work has to start promptly.

Excavation & Removal Off-Site is a legitimate and quick control alternative that has its advantages for development sites if done correctly, having said that, a lot of Knotweeds qualified personnel aren’t advocates of it mainly because it raises substantial logistical problems. The challenges being there is a higher than normal risk of the Knotweed spreading in addition to the cost to securely transport the material to a designated landfill site. There’s also a considerable duty of care requirements under the Environmental Protection Act( EPA ) 1990. In summary excavation and then removal should only be used as an absolute last resort.

Is Knotweed Harmful to Dogs, Cats and People?

Essentially, Japanese Knotweed isn’t toxic and harmful to dogs, cats, people or any other animals like some other highly invasive plants. It is not harmful to touch, however, always employ extreme caution when near it to prevent inadvertently allowing it to spread.

Some Knotweed Myths (some of which are exploited by some companies for financial gain)

• “It will grow through solid concrete”
• “It will destabilise foundations”
• “It will cause structural damage”
• Property affected by Japanese Knotweed is not mortgageable

In simple terms, if the previous groundwork or construction has been completed to an acceptable standard then Knotweed is not going to grow ‘through solid concrete’, it will not destabilise solid foundations and it is highly, highly unlikely to ‘cause’ architectural damage. In fact, these claims are inaccurate, to say the least, and in many cases, totally bogus.

However, in a few instances, if the foundations or concrete are old, inadequately built and have pre-existing cracks or fractures within, then Knotweed will certainly take advantage of any weak point in its pursuit of light and water and will rapidly establish itself, whilst exacerbating the initial fracture and possibly cause the structure to disintegrate.

South Wales Knotweed Removal Specialists covers the whole of West Wales up to North Ceredigion, South Wales (including Swansea, Cardiff and Newport), Powys and throughout South Glamorgan & Gwent. We also carry out contracts in the West Country, as far North as Shropshire and into the Midlands and Birmingham areas.

We are a fully qualified Japanese Knotweed Certificated Surveyor (JKCS), family run business We specialise in managing Japanese Knotweed, other invasive plant species and ‘general nuisance weeds’ which are found in the UK for residential premises and land development sites.

We also offer tree services, such as pollarding, crowning, pruning, felling, through our NPTC chainsaw operators, all of whom possess a vast amount of experience within the forestry industry.

Our Qualifications& Accreditations incorporate:

• City & Guilds NPTC Level2
• Principles of Safe Handling& Application of Pesticides (PA1/ PA6)
• Principles of Safe Handling& Application of Pesticides near water (PA6AW)
• Herbicide Stem Injection
• Property Care Association
• The Control& Eradication of Japanese Knotweed Surveyor’s Training Course
• Qualified Technician (PCAQT) in Japanese Knotweed
• Accredited Surveyor in Japanese Knotweed

While there are several contractors who operate within the UK weed control industry who definitely are respectable, knowledgeable and thorough specialists, you will find regrettably plenty of companies who claim to have the experience, qualifications and accreditations to ‘eradicate’/ ‘eliminate’ Japanese Knotweed at low cost. Nevertheless, we would recommend anyone to exercise caution and to ensure that the service provider/ company you enlist to carry out the control programme are qualified to do this and they comply with the industry codes of practice.

Call us on 01269 591651 or 07531142316 and one of our experts will be able to answer any questions you might have and to arrange a site visit.