Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant that can cause some serious damage to your garden and property if it goes undetected. To make sure that you don't have a Japanese knotweed problem, you should check your garden regularly. Japanese knotweed starts to make its presence known during the spring months, so this is a particularly important time for you to survey your garden.

We have a whole page that will help you identify Japanese Knotweed in your garden, but if you suspect you have Japanese knotweed and find yourself asking "do I have Japanese knotweed?" Here are a few things to look out for! 

Spotting Knotweed in the Garden

When knotweed emerges in the spring, it looks like reddish-purple shoots (the thickness of asparagus). Often, as the stems develop they begin to take on a more dense, hollow appearance like bamboo. As you look along the length of the zig-zag stem you will see the iconic love-heart shaped leaves. During the warmer periods you might even see some pretty little white flowers, but don't be fooled! they're not a pretty garden feature to be enjoyed! You can see close up images of all these knotweed features over on our identification page.

There are a handful of plants that are often mistaken for Japanese knotweed, so this is worth bearing in mind too as you determine whether or not you have Japanese knotweed. 

• Bindweed
• Russian Vine
• Bamboo
• Broadleaf Dock

All of these are knotweed impersonators, so keep your eyes peeled for these as you survey your garden.

Spotting Knotweed Damage

Knotweed is a quick-growing plant and can grow up to 10cm in a single day during the height of the growing season! It's capable of causing damage to buildings and structures as it targets weak points and forces its way into foundations and up drainpipes. Within a matter of weeks, it can ravage a garden, rip its way through a brick wall or destroy a wooden fence. It usually has a vast network of underground rhizomes that shoot off smaller plants all over your garden, so if you suspect you have knotweed, it's likely it will pop up in more places than one.

What to do if you think you have knotweed?

So, if you think you've spotted this ravenous Japanese plant in your garden, don't hesitate to give us a call! We specialise in identifying, treating and eradicating Japanese knotweed. 

If you think that a neighbour has Japanese knotweed that might encroach on your property and cause damage, then we can also help you through your legal case. We offer a professional expert witness service that will help protect you and your home in the worst-case scenario. 

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So, if you are asking "do I have Japanese knotweed", we hope that this blog has helped to make things a little clearer for you and provided you with the information that you need to sort out your potential infestation! 

We all know that dogs are capable of some remarkable things, they can lead the blind, aid police officers and provide therapy for sick patients. Well, the talents of the canine don't stop there! Did you know they can also detect Japanese knotweed?

A Start-Up Company in Ireland

Helga Heylen founded her start-up company back in 2018 and has been training dogs to detect Japanese knotweed with incredible accuracy. Heylen claims that one of her sniffer dogs is able to detect the Japanese knotweed rhizomes even if they haven't broken the surface of the soil yet!

Using their powerful noses, the dogs are able to identify the exact location of a developing knotweed problem. Heylen currently has three knotweed detecting dogs working for her, one is a purebred labrador and the others are labrador-beagle crosses. 

These amazing sniffer dogs can really transform the way that Japanese knotweed is detected and treated. Rhizomes as small as a fingernail can be laid dormant under the soil for a number of years before developing into a fully-fledged knotweed nightmare! If dogs can help commercial property developers, home and business owners to quickly find and treat the problem, it could prevent a huge amount of structural damage later down the line. 

How Do These Dogs Work?

Unlike humans, dogs don't need to be able to see the knotweed to know it's there! They have a keen sense of smell that can identify rhizomes several metres under the ground. They can quickly move through over-grown terrain and don't need bright lights to work. This means they can quickly survey abandoned areas of land that humans simply couldn't access on foot. 

Doggy Danger

While these dogs might sound like miracle workers to those of you with a knotweed problem, there are some people who do not feel so positively about them. While working in Belgium, one of Heylen's dogs was given poisoned food after it detected knotweed at the site of an upcoming commercial development. The discovery of the knotweed by the talented pooch delayed the development project, which was a source of frustration for investors. 

Since then, security for the dogs has been tightened to make sure nothing like this happens again. They sleep under security cameras and are kept indoors near to the handlers. Hopefully, they can continue to carry out their work unharmed from now on! Heylen said: "You know it's a good thing when it excites like-minded people, which is certainly the majority and really scares others".

If you think you could have a Japanese knotweed problem on your hands, we can't provide sniffer dogs, but we can provide a FREE expert survey and Japanese knotweed treatment plan.

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If you have spotted Japanese knotweed on or near your property and are wondering if you need a licence to remove it – in short, no you don't.

The legal standing surrounding Japanese knotweed across the UK varies. In England and Wales, the primary legislation relating to knotweed is ‘Section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981’. In Scotland, this is still the predominant piece of legislation but in effect has been superseded by the changes which came into force with the ‘Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2012’. The law surrounding the management and control of knotweed across the UK, however, is practically the same.

Japanese knotweed is categorised as an invasive species, and it is the responsibility of the owner of the land where it appears to prevent it from spreading into neighbouring properties or into the wild. The removal of Japanese knotweed must also be performed with extreme due care and attention due to the sensitivity regarding its ability to spread. Currently, there is no legal obligation to remove or treat knotweed, just as long as you’re not encouraging or allow it to grow.

Guidelines set out by the government state that anyone wanting to use chemicals to treat an infestation of knotweed must do the some or all of the following:

• Make sure anyone spraying holds a certificate of competence for herbicide use or works under the direct supervision of a certificate holder
  
  
• Carry out a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health assessment
  
  
• Get permission from Natural England if the area is protected, for example, sites of special scientific interest
  
  
• Get permission from the Environment Agency if the plants are near water

The use of pesticides and chemicals in treating Japanese knotweed is governed by ‘The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986’ and required any person who uses a pesticide to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health of human beings, creatures and plants. Once knotweed has been treated with chemicals, it will have to be disposed of in the correct way. Off-site disposals fall under the ‘Environmental Protection Act 1990’, which states disposing of Japanese knotweed must be conducted by a licensed waste carrier as stated in ‘Waste Regulations 2011’ and disposed of within a licensed facility. Relevant transfer notes must be completed and stored. If knotweed has not been treated before off-side disposal and simply removed, then it is not classed as hazardous waste. If certain pesticides have been used, however, then the waste moves into the hazardous category requiring a consignment note as set out in the ‘Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005’.

In 2013, the UK government stated that any person that fails to control Japanese knotweed along with other invasive weed could receive an anti-social behaviour order. On-the-spot fines of £100 can also be issued, potentially rising to £2500 if prosecuted. Companies also face fines of up to £20,000 if prosecuted

Professional Knotweed Removal

It is highly recommended that, if you have Japanese knotweed on or near your property, you use experienced professionals who know what they’re doing. If not, you risk allowing the knotweed’s rhizomes spreading even further, causing not only potential increases in damage later on in time but prosecution for facilitating the spread of knotweed. So, to avoid any of these issues, be sure to get in touch with the team here at Taylor Total Weed Control! Our Japanese knotweed specialist can identify and confirm the presence of knotweed on your property and devise a relevant plan of removal to ensure it is properly eradicated. You can learn more about our knotweed removal services below.

Japanese Knotweed Removal >

If you have any questions regarding our Japanese knotweed treatment or removal, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today!

With so many types of weed killer available on the market, it can become quite confusing when comes a time when you have to pick the right one. A range and variety of herbicides will more than likely have you scratching your head whilst looking at a wall of products standing in aisle six. To make things a little easier for you, we try to break down the main types of weed killer that you can buy, their characteristics and when they are suitable to use.

The types of weed killer include contact, systemic, residual, selective and non-selective. It’s important to note that before buying any type of weed killer, selecting and using the wrong type on your lawn or affected area can cause serious harm. Also, the most popular herbicide, ‘Roundup’, is a contact, systemic and non-selective weed killer.

Contact Weed Killers

As its name suggests, this type of weed killer kills weeds as soon as they come into contact with it. Here, the herbicide is consumed by the stomata (tiny openings) of the plant’s leaf. However, in order for the weed killer to be effective, the stomata need to be open. These are only open when the plant is actively growing and throughout the day whilst the process of photosynthesis is taking place. Therefore, contact weed killers need to be applied to the target plants during the growing season, to green, living foliage and early in the day. This gives the herbicide the whole duration of the day to work its way into the stomata.

Contact weed killers are used by many homeowners and lawn care enthusiasts as they have no impact on the garden soil surrounding the target plants. A popular type of contact herbicide is glyphosate, when applied, becomes locked inside soil particles, making it unavailable to plant root, resulting in it becoming redundant in the soil. Contact weed killers take approximately two weeks to take full effect and are a superb choice for tackling and controlling annual weeds. To manage perennial weeds, however, two or maybe three applications of contact herbicide are required.

Systemic Weed Killers

The majority of herbicides fall under the category of systemic weed killers. This means that on entry into the plant, the herbicide works its way through the plant’s transport system to target and kill all of its areas. An example of a systemic week killer in action would see it entering a plant through its foliage and working its way all the way down the plant until it reaches the roots, where it eventually kills the weed completely.

Residual Weed Killers

These type of weed killers are also referred to as soil acting weed killers. Careful consideration must be taken when selecting and using these herbicides as their application will poison the soil surrounding the target plant, rendering it inactive and useless for growing any further plants, weeds or flowers. The majority of residual weed killers sit in the soil for months, preventing any form of growth from taking place. However, lesser plants such as algae and lichens are not affected by these herbicides. The ideal areas to use residual week killers are hard-standing areas such as paths, driveways and patios and not areas where you may grow plants or vegetables in the near future.

Selective Weed Killers

These herbicides work to kill a particular plant whilst leaving surrounding soil and plants unharmed. For example, certain selective weed killers aim to only target broad-leaved plants such as buttercup, dandelion and daisy, whilst having zero effect on narrow-leaved plants such as grass. As the two types of plants are two early evolutionary divisions within the plant kingdom, they have two very different vascular and transport systems. Meaning selective herbicides can be created to target one of these two plant types.

Non-Selective Weed Killers

As you may have already guessed, non-selective weed killers are herbicides which work to kill everything that they come into contact with, similar to contact weed killers. Unlike contact herbicides, however, non-selective weed killers will kill or severely damage any and every plant that they touch. It is therefore extremely important to take extra care when using and applying this type of herbicide. Be sure to never spray during windy conditions, never walk over areas that may have been sprayed previously, cover plants that are near the target weed and handle chemicals and knapsacks sprayers with care.

Here at Taylor Total Weed Control, you’ll be glad to hear that we use appropriate weed killers whenever necessary. Matching both the weed type and the result that you’re looking to get. Our team of weed control specialists have years of training and experience in the use and application of herbicides, so you can rest assured knowing that your lawn or effected area will be in safe, professional hands.

To learn more about our weed control services, simply click below. You can also get in touch with a member of our team if you would like to enquire about weed control treatment on your property.

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Japanese knotweed is one of the most - if not the most - invasive plant in Britain. As its name suggests, Japanese knotweed is native to Japan, where it is known as “itadori”. One interpretation of this name is ‘remove pain’ which alludes to the plant’s painkilling properties and use in various medicines to treat a variety of ailments ranging from cardiovascular diseases, fungal infections and skin inflammations.

Knotweed can also be found in other parts of Asia, such as China, Taiwan, and areas of Korea. In Japan, knotweed grows freely on mountainsides, volcanoes, and open spaces, which is a little different compared to the UK. In Japan, knotweed has natural predators that come in the form of invertebrates, fungi, ash deposits from volcanoes, and an erratic climate. In Britain, however, there are no natural predators to limit the spread of knotweed.

The history of Japanese knotweed is not as simple as you may think. How did it get here in the first place? Why did it spread so vigorously? And why is it such a problem today? 

In this blog post, we take a deep dive into the history of Japanese knotweed to find some answers to the many questions surrounding this pesky plant.

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