Japanese knot weed continues to ravage across the United Kingdom, secretly destroying properties, natural habitats and destroys the structural integrity of buildings of all sizes.
There has been a lot of effort being put up by the government and private sectors to eradicate this invasive plant, however, the battle is far from over, it already costs a lot of money in terms of damages, wildlife habitats destroyed, and it continues to grow out of nowhere.
If your property is slowly being ravaged by Japanese knot weed, you should take action immediately knowing that not eliminating this invasive plant right away will have you answering to the authorities and could land you a hefty fine knowing that there is a law that requires everyone to get rid of this plant the proper way.
Using herbicides could do more harm than good that is why in this post; let us talk about the best ways of eliminating Japanese knotweed without the use of herbicides and other harmful chemicals.
- Cut the stems– The Japanese knot weed will not grow back if you cut the canes. It is very important to cut it down as much as you can and as many, as you can by using loppers in cutting off the canes as short as possible closest to the ground. After cutting the canes, you can remove the cut pieces of it from your lawn or backyard and dump it properly inside a bag in order for it to not regrow its roots back.
- Cover it with dark-colored plastics– Carpeting the entire vegetation of Japanese knot weed with thick tarpaulin enough to cover it from the sun to prevent photosynthesis to set in and prevent the weed from growing rapidly until it slowly dies from not having enough sunlight. Before you cover it with tarpaulin, you should cut off all the sharp canes and twigs to prevent it from puncturing the tarpaulin.
- Be sure you prevent it to regrow– You should cut the plants more often. You can do that by mowing it continually each week, the plant will die by itself. The plant will be weakened and die because of exhaustion for forcing itself to regrow but cut off by your regular mow and cutting. Make sure that you cut off immediately all the regrown parts of the plants in order for it to exhaust itself and die eventually.
- Completely uproot the plant– Digging is a surefire way to kill Japanese knot weed. You should carefully dig deep enough to reveal the roots of the knot weed and uproot it completely. You should make sure that everything that comes with the Japanese knot weed is completely removed including the twigs, leaves, and of course the roots and rhizome that is responsible for the fast growth of this weed.
- Burn the uprooted plants– One way to make sure that the Japanese knot weed is totally destroyed, you should burn the uprooted plants in a secured area where smoke is contained, the fire is contained that it will not cause harm to the surroundings especially the environment.
