Client: local farmer.

Location: Heywood, Manchester.

Area under treatment: approx. 500 sq. metres.

Technique: spraying by herbicide.

Status: in progress.

The client planned to eventually sell the land, so he implemented a management plan to eradicate the Japanese knotweed.

Survey results

During the survey in September 2017, a relatively large and dense Japanese knotweed stand was present along the busy road.

The general appearance of the stand from the farmer’s field is shown in the picture below.

The Knotweed was flowering during the site inspection; individual plants reached three metres high.

Treatment

Before the treatment, the client was advised to refrain from disturbing the area to succeed in our treatment programme. The first treatment was carried out about a week later, in September. A spraying herbicide was applied over the knotweed.

The knotweed was resprayed several times in 2018, from June to September. As the knotweed stand was dense and well-established, some minor regrowth remained evident during the last visit (pictured below).

Additional treatment is scheduled for June to September 2019. Once no regrowth is observed, we will start the monitoring phase of our programme.

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Client: private property owner.

Location: Warrington.

Area under treatment: approx. 20 sq. metres.

Technique: injection of herbicide.

Status: completed.

The client planned to sell the property, and providing a management plan for the eradication of Japanese knotweed put in place by a reputable company was the requirement of the mortgage lender. Once our programme on eradicating the knotweed on the property land was agreed upon with the client, the property was sold successfully.

Survey results

The Japanese knotweed stand, which occupied an area of approximately 20 sq. metres, was present at the end of the property’s back garden at the boundary with the neighbouring farm. The survey was carried out in April 2016, and dead canes were generally evident in the area.

However, close-up observations revealed new, emerging shoots of pink in front of dead canes.

The general appearance of the stand from the farmer’s field is shown in the picture below.

As the Knotweed-occupied area was adjacent to the carefully maintained lawn, we suggested treating the plant with herbicide by injection. The injection into the stems would affect only the knotweed, leaving the grass intact.

Treatment

Before the treatment, the client was advised to refrain from disturbing the area to succeed in our treatment programme. Further, we erected a temporary fence at the boundary with the farm, thus preventing farmer’s horses from accessing the area. During the visit in June, the plant reached the adult stage, as shown in the following photograph. Most of the stems were about or over an inch wide, thus allowing the injection technique. The herbicide was injected into all individual stems according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Small plants were treated by wiping the herbicide over the leaves.

The second treatment was applied in September.

No regrowth was observed throughout 2017

And 2018.

In accordance with the Property Care Association’s Code of Practice, no regrowth has been observed within two full growing seasons. This allowed for the consideration that herbicide treatment has been effective or that the site is clear of Japanese Knotweed. The Certificate of Completion was issued and forwarded to the client.

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Client: private property owner.

Location: Cheshire.

Area under treatment: approx. 500 sq. metres.

Technique: spraying of herbicide.

Status: in progress.

Eradication of Japanese knotweed was a part of massive program on landscaping in the garden around the listed house that was built in 17th century.

Herbicide treatment of Japanese knotweed on land belonging to a listed building

Survey results

The Japanese knotweed was present in several locations in the garden. Photographs below show the appearance of the areas occupied by the knotweed.

A three-year treatment programme by spraying of herbicide followed by two-year monitoring was offered to solve the problem. Once the contract with us was agreed the 10-year insurance backed guarantee provided by Peacock Insurance Services Limited was arranged.

Treatment

Prior to the start of our treatment/monitoring course, the client was advised to refrain from disturbing the area by any means as any disturbance may stimulate more intense growth of the plant. The areas with the knotweed were spayed several times for two consecutive  years. In some affected areas, no regrowth occurred. A minor regrowth observed in other areas will be treated during this growing season as scheduled. The next photos show the appearance of the treated areas.

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General information

Client: private property owner.

Location: Reddish, Stockport.

The area under treatment is below 20 sq. metres.

Technique: spraying of herbicide.

Status: completed.

The client planned to sell the property. The mortgage lender required a management plan for the eradication of Japanese knotweed put in place by a reputable company to sell the property. Once our programme for eradication of the knotweed was agreed upon with the client, the property was sold successfully.

Survey results

The Japanese knotweed was present in the property’s front garden within a 7-metre radius of the habitable space (the house). Thus, treatment was formally required. The next photo shows the appearance of the area occupied by the knotweed.

We lifted the weed membrane during the survey to investigate the problem in more detail. The rhizomes were found beneath the membrane.

To solve the problem, we offered a two-year treatment programme by spraying herbicide followed by two-year monitoring. Prior to the start of our treatment/monitoring course, the client was advised to refrain from disturbing the area by any means, as any disturbance may stimulate more intense plant growth.

Treatment

During the first visit in year 1, we lifted the weed membrane and scattered fertiliser to stimulate the knotweed’s unrestricted growth.

The plant was sprayed later that growing season when it reached adulthood.

No treatment was applied during the year 2.

No treatment was also required during the year 3.

In accordance with the Property Care Association’s Code of Practice, no regrowth has been observed within two full growing seasons. This allowed for the consideration that herbicide treatment has been effective or that the site is clear of Japanese Knotweed. The Certificate of Completion was issued and forwarded to the client.

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Client: commercial.

Location:Stretford, Manchester.

Area under treatment: over 200 sq. metres.

Technique: control of dug-out soil and cleaning off the equipment before leaving the site.

Status: completed.

Excavation of the trench was required to lay the pipes in the area occupied by Japanese knotweed. The Environment Agency recommends that a specialist company supervise all excavation works to prevent the spread of knotweed-containing material off-site. We supervision an excavation on a transport site with Japanese knotweed

Survey results

Japanese knotweed was scattered sporadically across the site. The height of the canes varied from 1 to 1.5 m.

Further, small, a couple of inches-long shoots were visible within 0.5 m from the edge of the proposed trench.

A 1 m deep by 1 m wide trench was to be dug on the site. Ten pipes 100 mm in diameter were to be laid to provide services.

Our Actions

Our surveyor in Japanese knotweed observed the area throughout all excavation work to make sure Japanese knotweed was appropriately treated and did not leave the site.

After the trench was dug out, the surveyor scrutinised it. It should be noted that the exterior of Japanese knotweed rhizomes is carrot-coloured, pale orange to light yellow. During the digging, the underground parts of the plants were hardly damaged; these features could be seen at the edges of the trench. However, features resembling Japanese knotweed rhizomes have not been found in the trench. Thus, the Japanese knotweed on site slightly affected the location of the trench.

After inspecting the trench, the pipes were laid inside. Our surveyor assisted in cleaning the workers’ shoes prior to leaving the site when required to minimise the probability of spreading Japanese knotweed off-site.

When excavation was completed cleaning of the digger was carried out by our surveyor. Cleaning the equipment involved in works on sites infested with Japanese knotweed prior to leaving the site is the requirement of the Environment Agency. Photograph of the digger shows that there is a lot of soil in the track system and on the track pads that potentially may be contaminated with Japanese knotweed material.

The client provided a pressure washer. The digger was moved to a distance of about two metres from the fence bordering the site. This distance is far enough to prevent splashing washed-out soil off-site and sufficiently short to leave the site safely, e.g., with a reasonably low risk of being re-contaminated. The digger was risen, thus leaving a gap between the trackpads and ground level of about one foot. The appearance of the fragments of track pads and track system after completion of washing are illustrated below. It can be seen that the soil was carefully removed. Other external parts of the digger, e.g. bucket, cabin, etc., have also been cleaned.

After washing, the plywood was deployed under the tracks to minimise contamination while leaving the site.

The final set of photographs displays the cleaned digger before safely leaving the site through the plywood paths. That concluded the Supervision of an excavation on a transport site with Japanese knotweed.

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Client: commercial.

Location: Oldham.

Area under treatment: over 100 sq. metres.

Technique: spraying of herbicide.

Status: in progress.

The client’s property is a disused pub that is being converted into residential flats. Japanese knotweed grows at the back of the client’s land and on the side and back of neighbouring properties. The client decided to put a management plan in place to eradicate Japanese knotweed to facilitate the sale of the flats in the future.

Survey results

Japanese knotweed stands over 2 metres tall and densely populated on top of the retaining wall in front of the building.

Japanese knotweed was also present on the land of the privately owned neighbouring property.

As the knotweed was located within a distance of 7 metres from the habitable space (the disused pub building), a management plan to treat Japanese knotweed was formally required. A three-year treatment plan followed by two-year monitoring was agreed with the client.

Treatment

A weed-killer was applied by spraying during year one behind the client’s building.

And near the neighbour’s house.

As revealed during the site visit in year 2, shown in the next two photographs, most of the area was successfully affected by treatment in year 1.

As the knotweed stand was relatively dense during the survey, some minor regrowth was observed at the end of the growing season of year 2.

The treatment will be continued later this year as scheduled.

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Client: commercial.

Location: Manchester.

The area under treatment: over 1000 sq. metres.

Technique: combining mechanical and chemical treatment.

Status: in progress.

Problem: Several areas in the park are densely infested with giant hogweed. The plant’s sap contains a photoactive toxic glucoside called furocoumarin, which can be found in the leaves, stems, and seeds. Contact with the sap on human skin, followed by exposure to the sun’s UV light, can cause serious burning and can be lethal to children if the exposed area is sufficiently large.

Objective:

Control actions on giant hogweed in easily accessible areas need to be implemented to protect the general public from the risk of injury from the plant. Stop the plants from regenerating through seed growth.

Survey results

One of the areas infested with giant hogweed was on the hill a short distance from the footpath. The plant was flowering during the survey at the end of June.

The largest infested area was situated around the swamp in the park’s centre. It is quite close to the footpath and relatively easy for the public, e.g., children.

Individual giant hogweed plants were located near the footpath, which may put people at high risk.

As the plant has started producing seeds, we proposed to undertake actions in the next couple of weeks. These included cutting hogweed stems mechanically and disposing of the seeds. The proposed actions will prevent seeds from falling into the soil and germinating in the next growing season. Each plant may produce up to 12000 seeds, and up to 2000 of them may potentially germinate.

Treatment

Giant hogweed is at the end of June to the first half of July, reaches 10-15 ft tall, and produces flowers. The flowers form large, umbrella-shaped flowers, up to 5 ft in diameter. These comprise many smaller umbrella-like clusters, each containing over 50 stalked flower clusters. In most plants, the central umbrellas have already produced seeds. Further, the seeds have already been formed in the umbrellas around the central one.

In general,

our strategy to treat the plant in the first year included the following steps:

1. Cutting the plant to the ground level.
2. Cutting the umbrellas that have already produced seeds.
3. Destroying the seeds.
4. (iv) Visit the site a few months after mechanical treatment and apply herbicide where regrowth occurs.

The plants were cut to the ground level with a machete. During the operation, our staff wore protective equipment to avoid contact with the toxic sap of the plants.

The umbrellas with seeds were cut from each plant and carefully collected.

Each umbrella was individually boiled in brine to kill the seeds. The umbrellas with dead seeds were then left on-site for composting.

It was roughly estimated that the total number of destroyed seeds was around 2.7 million.

The site was re-visited at the end of August.

Giant hogweed dies back at this time of the year. The seeds fall to the ground and spread away from the parent plant. They may produce new plants during the following several growing seasons. Large plants were successfully killed mechanically in July. However, due to the mild weather, the tiny plants up to 4 ft tall have regrown sporadically across the infested areas; no plants that have produced seeds since the last treatment were found. Herbicide was sprayed over a new regrowth.

The site was visited regularly in the second year, from April to September. The visits aimed to treat the giant hogweed before it started to flower. To avoid the plant producing seeds. The plant was mainly treated by spraying a weed killer when it reached a height of 0.5 meters.

It was concluded in September of the second year that the area is generally clear of the giant hogweed, thus suggesting that the previous treatments had been successful. Below are several photographs showing the areas that were treated cleared of Giant hogweed.

In the area around the footpath, no giant hogweed is evident.

In the area around the pound, no giant hogweed is evident.

We will visit the site once a month from April to September 2019 to control the hogweed in the area.

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