Japanese Knotweed

Lou1973

Hi all,

I’m hoping for some advice regarding the treatment of Japanese Knotweed.

Last year, we discovered Japanese Knotweed in our garden (a single stem, only a few inches tall). Our arborist treated it for us at the time, but he has since stopped doing garden work. He also pointed out that it appeared to be spreading from the neighbouring garden, which was — and still is — very overgrown and has a large clump of knotweed.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed it growing back in the same spot, which I understand is fairly normal after only one treatment.

I’ve since contacted a specialist company, and they want to carry out a survey, with the survey fee payable upfront. They’ve advised that treatment would need to cover both our garden and our neighbour’s, with the cost split 50/50 (assuming our neighbour agrees).

Does this sound reasonable? We only have a single stem, whereas next door appears to have dozens, if not hundreds. It seems the cost of treating their infestation could be significantly higher than ours, potentially by thousands.

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences anyone can share.

Thanks in advance.

fatbelly

It sounds like you are offering to help them with what is mostly their problem. But it will continue to be a problem for you if they do not engage. Have you talked to them?

Lou1973

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81981690#Comment_81981690

We have tried, but they are never in when we call around. Because of this, we put a friendly note through the door with some information printed from the government website.

ladruid

Maybe your neighbour doesn't know, you should inform them that it is spreading to your property and tell them to sort it out. You should not be paying anything, in fact knotweed on your property can decrease your property value significantly. (Can be as much as 5-15%), and you could claim redress through legal means. So if you ask them to address the issue they have caused and they don't, its on them really.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Section 114(2) (WCA 1981), Japanese knotweed is classified as a controlled plant. It is not illegal to have knotweed on your property, but it is against the law and a criminal offence to cause or allow the plant to spread into the wild or onto someone else’s property.

This explains it in more detail:- https://anthonygold.co.uk/insight/japanese-knotweed-has-spread-from-my-neighbour-s-garden-to-mine-what-can-i-do/

elsien

My neighbour had knotweed spreading into their garden from the one next to them.

The investor landlord of the property really doesn’t care and has no plans to do anything about it. He also has a very deep pocket that he is willing to use when it comes to legal disputes, and my neighbour simply cannot afford to take him to court for any sort of enforcement action.

The local council did get in touch with the landlord and sprayed it once as a goodwill gesture, but as it’s on private land they are not planning to do anything else. Allowing to knotweed to spread into the wild is a criminal offence; letting it spread to a neighbours garden is more a civil matter. Having legal rights and being able to enforce them are not always the same thing.

So I treated it for them. Waited till the autumn once the stems have got bigger got hold of some heavy duty weed killer and squirted it into the stems. I did that two years in a row and there’s been no sign of it for the last two years. Because the landlord is leaving it alone, it’s not actually spreading anymore. It’s when people try and dig it up and do silly things that it becomes more of a problem.