Japanese Knotweed Bradley Stoke Treatment and Control by Experts- Green Leaf Remediation

Knotweed Bradley Stoke, are you worried?

Have you read on the internet how it is likely to set you back £1,000’s?

Have you been told how it can affect your mortgage or the potential to sell your home?

Green Leaf Remediation & Removal offers services for the treatment and control of Knotweed and we would like to assure you it won’t cost as much as you think it will.  Give us a call on 0117 321 7799 or 07531142316 if you think you may have Japanese Knotweed Bradley Stoke and one of our experts can answer any questions you may have.

Our Qualifications & Accreditations:

• • City & Guilds NPTC Level 2
  • Principles of Safe Handling & Application of Pesticides (PA1/ PA6)
  • Principles of Safe Handling & Application of Pesticides near water (PA6AW)
  • Herbicide Stem-Injection
  • Members of The Property Care Association
  • The Control & Eradication of Japanese Knotweed Surveyor’s Training Course
  • Qualified Technician (PCAQT) in Japanese Knotweed
  • Accredited Surveyor in Japanese Knotweed

What is Japanese Knotweed?

Japanese Knotweed is a perennial weed that grows and advances quickly if not treated and managed by a qualified specialist. As a weed, it will suppress other plant life growing close to it and its crown and rhizomes (root system) spread extensively underground. The shoots die out above ground in winter and re-emerge above ground once more at the end of spring, early summer. Any effectively established shoots can grow in excess of 9ft high and may colonize the soil within a few years and sometimes months. There are plenty of articles that say you can eliminate the roots with chemical substances, however, you will need an NPTC qualified company to use any chemical substances due to new legislation which covers the control, and removal of Japanese Knotweed.

Removing Knotweed Bradley Stoke

There are plenty of misconceptions that say you can remove Knotweed by hand, however, it is an extremely hard and intricate process and usually not successful unless you use a Japanese Knotweed specialist like Green Leaf Remediation & Removal. In the height of the growing season, 60% of the Knotweed plant is its roots below ground so this makes removal very challenging and it spreads wildly from one tiny fragment of crown or rhizome. Removing Knotweed material without significant knowledge has a very high chance of dispersing the weed to other areas of the soil which were previously unaffected.

How do you eradicate Knotweed Bradey Stoke?

There are different recognised methods of removing Knotweed and a Knotweed Specialist will be able to advise you of the best and most effective approach depending on your property. Green Leaf Remediation & Removal has years of experience in the Knotweed industry and will advise you of the best approach. Our Japanese Knotweed treatment methods are all endorsed by the Environment Agency Codes of Practice and the industry trade body (The Property Care Association) which we are members of. We tailor our treatment methods to suit you as the client and the property or land where the Knotweed is growing. We will consider a staggered payment schedule for any work that does not involve a 3rd party as they may require evidence of pre-payment in full from the outset (mortgage lenders as an example).

We provide Japanese Knotweed Management Plans (JKMP’s) for residential properties, building plots that are subject to housing development and larger-scale development projects. A JKMP is normally required if you are applying for a mortgage on a property where there is evidence of Japanese Knotweed before an agreement is made to lend the funds for the property purchase.

Our JKMP’s are supplemented with a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG). The JKMP ‘stays’ with the property, so if there is any future property transfer the JKMP becomes the possession of the new owner, irrespective of how many times the property exchanges hands.

---

Control and Treatment Methods

Stem-Injection is a low impact approach to removal and there is little potential for disturbing or killing the plants and flowers growing around it. The stem injection method is normally used for smaller areas of Knotweed where it has established itself amongst plants and vegetation that you might want to keep. It’s also frequently used when Knotweed is in close proximity to a watercourse as there is little risk of polluting the water. The stem injection approach can be used in dry or inclement weather conditions so is a flexible treatment method. The soil cannot be disturbed following treatment and it can only be used on more established weeds as the stems are thick enough to inject.

Foliar Spray Application is often employed and is amongst the most favourable control methods along with stem injection and the technique is used to treat the Knotweed over several growing seasons. Determined by how big the area of Knotweed is it is frequently sprayed 2-3 times in the first year and once in the subsequent years. The chemical used is an Environment Agency approved herbicide and needs dry weather and the soil to remain undisturbed in the following years in order to work.

Weed Wiping is when the leaves of the plant are wiped with a sponge that is soaked with the required herbicide. It is a low impact treatment and does not kill or disturb the foliage adjoining it, even so, its use depends upon the size of the area of knotweed as it’s not a great option for larger areas. It is a method that can be used on newer weeds as long as there are big enough leaves.

Bund/Stockpiling is a combination treatment using stem-injection or foliar application, followed by removal of the soil to a different location on site that is not being developed and when new shoots emerge it is treated to further herbicide applications. This method is used on sites where the removal of the knotweed needs to be fast and not done over several seasons so is therefore used a lot and beneficial to building plots and development sites as work can proceed without delay.

Cell Burial/Root Barrier Method is a treatment applied when there is adequate space on a site to create a cell burial or to make use of a root barrier system and this avoids the substantial expenses of transporting the Knotweed soil and waste to landfill. Cell burial buries the Knotweed waste to a minimum depth, or if encapsulated inside 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 risk of cross-boundary contamination. Again, it is a method often used on development sites when building work needs to start promptly.

Excavation & Removal Off-Site is a quick control option that has its advantages for development sites if performed correctly and by a Knotweed specialist with experience. There is however a great deal of Knotweeds Professionals who are not advocates of it as it raises significant logistical challenges. The problem is the extremely high risk of the Knotweed spreading as it is dug up and transported, as well as the cost to safely transport it to a designated landfill site. There is also the duty of care requirements under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 when transporting Knotweed. This method of removal should only be used as a last resort.

Is Knotweed Poisonous?

Essentially, Japanese Knotweed is not poisonous and harmful to humans or animals like some other very invasive plants. It’s not harmful to touch, however, you should always use extreme care when near it to avoid inadvertently allowing it to spread.

Japanese Knotweed would probably be referred to as ‘poisonous’ by developers and homeowners due to its very invasive growth, its capability to spread from a tiny particle and how difficult it is to eliminate fully without a Knotweed Specialist.

Common Knotweed Myths

(a few of which are exploited by a few 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

Knotweed Facts

• • If walls or concrete are solid, Knotweed will not grow through them
  • If foundations are sound, Knotweed will not destabilise them
  • If pipework is solid with no cracks, Knotweed will not grow and damage them any further
  • If any of the above are not solid or have cracks or fractures then Knotweed will certainly make use of any weak point in its quest for light and water and will swiftly establish itself, whilst exacerbating the original crack and cause further damage.

About Green Leaf Remediation & Removal

Green Leaf Remediation & Removal Specialists cover the whole of South West including Bradley Stoke and the surrounding areas.  We also carry out contracts in the West Country, as far North as Shropshire and into the Midlands & Birmingham areas.

We are a fully qualified Japanese Knotweed Certificated Surveyor (JKCS) and a family run business We specialise in managing Japanese Knotweed, other invasive plant species and ‘general nuisance weeds’ that are found in the UK for both 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 practical experience within the forestry industry.

Always ensure the contractor/business who undertake the control programme is qualified to do so and that they adhere to the knotweed industry codes as well as having the right qualifications and insurances to protect you in the future.

How do you find a qualified Japanese Knotweed Specialist?

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has worked with the Property Care Association (PCA) to establish the PCA Invasive Weed Control Group (IWCG) trade body for Japanese knotweed specialists, which provides a register of vetted consultants and contractors which can be found here.

Invasive Non-native Specialists Association (INNSA) maintains a membership list of contractors and consultants which can be found here.

The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has a directory of members offering invasive weed control which can be found here.

Trustmark Government Endorsed Standards has a ‘Find a Tradesman’ scheme including invasive weed controllers which can be found here.

Professional Japanese Knotweed Removal and Control Companies like Green Leaf Remediation & Removal will report on the risk of any Japanese Knotweed found for mortgage purposes offering suggested treatment plans and insurance-backed guarantees where it is needed.

Give us a call on 0117 321 7799 or 07531142316 and one of our experts can answer any queries you may have and also arrange a site visit to assess if you have Japanese Knotweed Bradley Stoke.