Growth coming into the house!!

[naughty40me]

Is there anyone that can give any advice on this?

A shoot of some kind of weed coming through to the house.

I think it's the same stuff that has overtaken the garden this summer. It's everywhere!

It's an Housing Association house which I moved into in October so this is our first summer here.

The house was in a bit of a state and chunks of plaster did come off that wall as I removed wallpaper.

Anyway, I'm worried about moisture all inside the walls now or any structural issues.

I've no idea really.

Reported it to the repair team to see what they say.

I'm no expert so other people will be along shortly but I'm part of a few gardening groups on Facebook and that looks similar to posts I've seen on Bindweed.

I hope you get some resolution soon from your HA.

I think that is ivy. It can be very vigorous and often climbs up buildings and can get into roof spaces. It is also used for ground cover but can be quite invasive as it seems to have been here.
Have a look outside to see how it might be getting into the house but I think you should let the repair team sort it out.

I've just been googling (no nothing about plants!).

It would seem we have bindweed all over the garden.

It's a huge garden with decking at one end that sprouted all this stuff in warmer weather.

It looks like ivy but with white flowers.
It's all over that wall too so must be that which has come in.

It was my DS that noticed it..."err...why have we got a tree growing in the house?" 😀

Put a large piece of plastic behind it, or make a hole in the bottom of a carrier bag (to prevent overspray around it) and spray it with a glyphosate weedkiller. This is absorbed into the leaves and travels down the stem to kill the plant.

Go outside and treat the external growth as well. It has probably got in through a crack or hole in the wall.

The weedkiller is safe once it has dried.

Do not cut the leaves off because it gets in through them.

Thank you so much @PigletJohn.

I'll get that sorted.

Been outside to investigate.

I'm convinced it's actually in the wall!!

My reasoning for this is that there is an air brick at one end of the building (the wall spans my kitchen and living room), the airbrick is beneath my kitchen window....

The bindweed is actually growing from the inside out.....

Also at the opposite end (the site of where the shoot is coming through my skirting board into my living room)...there is no sign of a root taking hold. Nothing coming up from the ground or into the wall.

The property is also rendered so no possibility of a crack in pointing work if you see what I mean.

Photos attached.

My concern is that there must be a lot of damp to allow the growth within the wall....plus will the structure be compromised by such a weed growing in there? Or am I worrying over nothing?

We had exactly this in our house. Get yourself to B&Q and buy a weed killer that kills bindweed and travels down into the root. Spray it on. Wait for it to die. You might need to monitor it and keep spraying any new growth.

You’ll never eradicate bindweed completely - it can regenerate from even a tiny bit of root - but if you keep pulling it up and killing any that you see in and around the house you’ll get on top of it.

We don’t have any in the house anymore .

That stuff is bindweed... you have to pull the roots out to kill it and do it over and over again it's tough stuff. I've had my garden 15 years and only just getting on top of it now, I pull it all up at least twice a week

Don’t be alarmed about it. It’s not going to damage the structure of your house. The bit that’s growing out of the air brick will be an independent plant that has taken root in a bit of dirt in the cavity wall. Just spray it and wait for it to die.

My neighbours let bindweed grow everywhere - or their gardener does. I've spent seven years keeping on top of it. It used to just be in the front garden but is now out the back as well. I used to sieve the soil and spend hours on it and it still came back. Now I just pull it out/cut it to ground level the moment it comes up. In our front garden, we have a row of large shrubs along the fence and the neighbours similarly have a row of shrubs on their side. Theirs are covered in bindweed, as is their side of the fence. It's so invasive but they like it apparently.

You will just need to make a hobby of it. I have come to despise it and its mate Ground Elder.

Thanks for the replies.

Panic over about the structure lol!

Oh my days....looks like I've got my work cut out!

Never had a big garden before. We are very fortunate to be homed by the HA and have a big garden too.

But oh my god its everywhere....destroyed a patch of decking too.

I know absolutely nothing about gardening or plants. I best get learning and get busy.