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latest update in case law - Japanese Knotweed

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Comments

  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    Makes you wonder how there are so many buildings still standing in Japan. ;)
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Red-Squirrel wrote: »
    Makes you wonder how there are so many buildings still standing in Japan.

    In Japan JKW has natural predators that help to keep it under some kind of control. People are working on whether it is safe to release them on the UK JKW crop.

    In Japan it is likely they were aware of the plant's growth abilities and unlike our Victorian gardeners would probably make sure it was growing in the right places ;)
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • Lord_Baltimore
    Lord_Baltimore Posts: 1,348 Forumite
    EachPenny wrote: »
    In Japan JKW has natural predators that help to keep it under some kind of control. People are working on whether it is safe to release them on the UK JKW crop.

    I think that has in fact been done in the UK although the sites of release are being kept under wraps.
    Mornië utulië
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
    Lord_Baltimore wrote: »
    I think that has in fact been done in the UK although the sites of release are being kept under wraps.

    That natural predator has indeed been released into the wild here in Britain and with no unwanted "side effects" noticed from it:). It's having some degree of success - but, as I understand it, is only weakening JK and not killing it.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    daveyjp wrote: »
    Too many people making money out of it and mortgage lenders who don't have a clue so take advice from those making money out of it!
    I don't doubt you're correct, and as someone who can do the treatrment and buy mortgage-free, JK wouldn't bother me, but lenders dictate the conditions for advancing money, so they'll do as they choose.

    The point is, if someone's trying to sell a property blighted by JK, they'll have a very limited pool of buyers without paying a king's ransom to get a certificate.
  • DaftyDuck
    DaftyDuck Posts: 4,609 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    I have asbestos and Japanese Knotweed on my land. I'd rather have the Knotweed every time.

    Sure, JK is a problem, but it has been inflated out of all proportion to the damage done, and the risk of damage. Like asbestos, damp, subsidence, much of the response (not all) is hysterical and unwarranted. That is reflected in mortgage responses to all of the above... They have to reflect the market, and the market reflects the popular opinion.

    "My" JK really belongs to the Council - comes from their gully-cleaning spreading it. Their idea of control is a vague spray near where it is, once a year. One year of intensive treatment has reduced the area to less than a third, and has completely killed (yes, verified professionally) the remaining two-thirds. By the end of next year it will be eradicated from a fifteen metre stand for a cost of less than a fiver, time excluded. No health risk (you can eat it!), no real hassle.

    Admittedly, as a scientist, I find the chemicals and using them less worrying, and the layout of the land isn't difficult (roadside, or mine). It isn't the plant that causes the real problem, it's the legalities of treating it.

    Asbestos kills. It is very difficult to do a clean disposal, and is fraught with legal restrictions. Subsidence is very costly to fix (when it really does exist), and often has the same legal difficulties as both the above. Rising damp is generally solvable with a bit of nous and elbow grease (I've bought a number of older properties with reported serious damp, and sold none with it).

    Sadly, there is money to be made through ignorance of all the above.
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    DaftyDuck wrote: »
    Admittedly, as a scientist, I find the chemicals and using them less worrying, and the layout of the land isn't difficult (roadside, or mine). It isn't the plant that causes the real problem, it's the legalities of treating it.

    This being one of the main areas of geniune concern. Use of herbicides in close proximity to watercourses is fraught with difficulties and if the gully cleaning you mention is associated with some form of ditch or stream then the council's "idea of control is a vague spray near where it is, once a year" is probably unlawful... in fact doing some vague spraying even if there isn't a watercourse nearby is probably pushing their luck.

    For the DIYers - i.e. the people not paying a fortune for professional control of JKW the main weapon is glyphosate-based products. Like neonics, glyphosate is under attack from people who consider it a risk to health and the environment. Anyone who thinks that glyphosate will never be banned (at least for DIY use) should study the case supporting the ban on domestic use of creosote - the most effective product for the job and completely safe to humans and most other life if used in accordance with instructions. If you believe glyphosate will not be banned because there is no suitable alternative then you have little idea of the lack of understanding of scientific issues in our system of democracy.

    So as with asbestos (and creosote) - when the DIYer is banned from using the most effective treatment for JKW then what do you do? There will be no realistic option but to employ an expensive contractor who - in the absence of DIY competition - will be able to jack their prices up even more.

    A ban on glyphosate is by no means certain, but before dismissing concerns about JKW as scaremongering it is important to consider how the situation might change if other external factors come in to play.
    DaftyDuck wrote: »
    Sadly, there is money to be made through ignorance of all the above.

    There's always money to be made through ignorance - that's why the people who make laws on the use of chemicals like glyphosate get paid so much. ;)
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • mysterymurdoch
    mysterymurdoch Posts: 139 Forumite
    I treat it professionally. It's not the demon people think it is.
This discussion has been closed.
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