Japanese Knotweed... help please!!!

[Twinkletoes90]

please can anyone help me/give advice on what to do...
yesterday I was dong gardening and noticed a plant I hadn't seen before - rang my mum and she said oh no its Japanese Knotweed - came straight round - yes it 100% that... and we found out its coming from the neighbours garden who backs on to ours... this little weed in my garden its about 30cm tall... his is really really tall - above the fence... and looks like he has this for decoration? they have a gardener and his garden is really lovely and well looked after... apart from this mass of knotweed... I mean there is loads all mixed in with his bushes!... so my question is what the heck do I do? I have looked oline and getting quotes of £3000 plus to get rid of - I do not have that money spare for this! how can I get rid?

This is the little bugger in my garden and the other is my neighbours...

Go speak to the neighbours, they need to treat it ASAP

That seems like just a few shoots but the roots must be removed! Any piece of root left will regenerate into a new plant so you must be scrupulous about removing it. It breaks very easily so not easy!

Dig down carefully, remove all the roots and burn. Track back roots as far as you can and keep removing as soon as you see any more shoots.
You will need to speak to the neighbour and get them to do the same.

But if you do this you can get rid of it. If the clump is left to get bigger, then it’s much harder!
Good luck!

Get rid of yours but let your neighbour know they have it and that you would like them to get it treated as you don't want it coming in to your garden?

thank you im going to try tonight the digging - il send hubby to talk to them hes normally good at talking to people... I just don't understand how they haven't tackled it - surely their gardener would of noticed it - hubby peeped over and there is loads in there garden!!

Have a look at this bbc link www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40899108 which strongly advises weed killer rather than digging. It also suggests your neighbour could get an asbo if they won’t control theirs!

If you are in no hurry, i.e. not building over that land, it's probably more effective to chemically treat what's there as to completely clear the land through digging requires all bits of root to be removed, and is quite labour intensive.

I'd also suggest it's fairly pointless to go to the effort of digging it all out while your neighbour still has the plant as it'll just come back, however you can do something there as it's unlawful to allow the spread of knotweed onto another property, so they should take action themselves, and you can take legal action on it. It's worth keeping on top of it in your garden but needs to be removed from the neighbours garden too to properly get rid.

This sums it up, and the Environment Agency guidance is quite good too.

Weed killer is better, because by digging you will chop up the roots and this is how it propagates.

It has to be treated otherwise you would have real trouble in selling your house. Mortgage companies will not lend money if knotweed is found within 10 meters from the property.

Latest studies show that even the most strong weedkillers won't help in the short term. It needs to be dug out repeatedly, and burnt or buried in special landfill; and treated with the strongest weedkillers that are not available on the household market.

iv just spoke to hubby - hes going to speak to neighbours and praying they get theres sorted... he also spoke to the gardener at work he said he will come round and help us sort our problem - he has done this before he said but may take a while...
im just glad I spotted this before it gets out of hand!! - by looks of neighbours garden they have loads and I really hope they will get rid!

You need to get a specialist treatment as dies your neighbour and you need to ask your neighbour to pay for it. Legally they are responsible for the cost of removing it from your property.

Racecardriver - what if they say no? I don't want to start a neighbour war type thing - but I don't have the money to get specialist in - quoted £3000 - and im defo not payng for theres when its clearly started in theres :(

I had this a few years back, neighbours garden full of the stuff & it started spreading into mine. I just kept on top of it with a glyphosate-based weedkiller to stop it taking hold in my garden & it worked. Luckily the neighbours got it treated and it was completely eradicated .

@twikletoes you can sue them. You can claim for the cost of treating you garden and obtain a court order forcing them to treat their garden. They will also be liable for your fees if it goes to court (unlikely though, it is legally very clear cut, a good lawyer would advise to settle).

You have to declare jkw on one of the forms you need to fill in when selling your home (disclosure form maybe? I can’t recall).

Many mortgage providers will refuse to lend money without a treatment plan and 10 yr guarantee in place. You need to get your neighbour to sort this out as a matter of priority as it is devaluing your property.

Agree with Race - knotweed is a reportable plant. Once it’s spread onto your land you can ‘order’ your neighbour to treat it.

We have knotweed around where I live. A licensed contractor will agree a minimum of 3 year treatment programme. You should only treat once the plant has flowered and inject into the stems.

Don’t agree to their gardener treating it. If they try to cut back, they will spread it.

Alternatively I read recently you can eat it (trad Japanese food stuff) - as long as you haven’t chem treated it.

Hubby went round last night... they are aware of how bad theirs is and apologised about it coming into our garden - their son is a licensed gardener who is going to sort there's and said he will sort ours out to!

Definitely keep an eye on them sorting it and make sure they do. It can ruin your home, knock money off the value and prevent a re mortgage!
You can take legal action if they don't treat but hopefully t won't come to that

What's licensed gardener?

Knotweed needs to be treated properly, not just cut back, and it needs extensive treatment. In addition, why have they let it get so bad? But suddenly the son is going to deal with it when you ask? I don't know of anyone who is able to effectively remove knotweed who would let it get like that.

I'd be keeping an eye on this and watching how they treat it if I was you.

If they just cut it or pull it up, it will come back. Proper guaranteed removal requires pretty much excavating the soil, burning the plants and burying the ashes.

Chemical treatment over three years can keep it under control but there's a strong chance it will pop back if you let up on it.

It is reportable and it is their responsibility, keep an eye on what they do and if it's a bodge keep on at them. It can affect house price.

Sorry Twinkle, but I don't believe their son is licensed to remove knotweed. If he was, why would they have let it become so established?

I would say to them that your insurer has asked for a copy of the certificate to keep on your file, and see what they produce. (I wouldn't actually speak to your insurer).

Totally agree with Bluntness, someone in the know would not let it get in that state. I'm not believing their story.

Twinkle, are you sure it's not Russian Vine? Looks almost identical to JK but is more 'viney' whereas JK has vertical bamboo like stems.

I had this scare a few years ago when I moved into a new house. The stuff had spread across an entire flowerbed & up a tree. After 2 sleepless nights & lots of reading up on JK treatment, I tracked the vines to the base of the plant & a tag was attached saying 'Russian Vine, Mile-a-Minute'.

www.sundaygardener.co.uk/fallopia_also_known_as_mile_a_minute_plant.html

It's a good point to double check what you're dealing with. The knotweed I've seen has fibrous thick "rhubarby" or yes bamboo like stems (the six foot tall ones I mean). They are light and snap easily and are hollow in the centre if memory serves. Hard to tell from your pics...