knotweed Goddammit!!!!!
Discussion
Well we have the first bit of good weather and there haven't been any new shoots for a while. I've decide to carefully excavate around the furthermost stand to determine the size and depth of the rhizome system.
Thankfully my hunch about clay soils proved to be a blessing - the lateral rhizome roots appear to be no deeper than 6 inches, a major one is just sitting under the surface earth. Of course, by the time I get to the parent plant this is unlike to be the case. For now it seems that the weed has been happily fed by all the surface water sitting on the clay. I'm going to keep the area well irrigated to sit stays happy where it is.
The idea is to these the roots out to the outermost point and then follow them all the back to the origin before I dig down. The roots have been painted with conc glyphosate and some other stuff mentioned on this thread....
Thankfully my hunch about clay soils proved to be a blessing - the lateral rhizome roots appear to be no deeper than 6 inches, a major one is just sitting under the surface earth. Of course, by the time I get to the parent plant this is unlike to be the case. For now it seems that the weed has been happily fed by all the surface water sitting on the clay. I'm going to keep the area well irrigated to sit stays happy where it is.
The idea is to these the roots out to the outermost point and then follow them all the back to the origin before I dig down. The roots have been painted with conc glyphosate and some other stuff mentioned on this thread....
Thankfully the rhizome is chunky and easy to identify and excavate. I reckon I'll get 99% out by digging and murder any surviving bits with some potent contact herbicide like triclopyr.
You will note that it likes to form thick lateral roots. New shoots form by budding off and migrating to the surface. Be careful to look for these white shoots as they are easily broken off. I've painted any exposed root at the end of the day with neat roundup.
Any bits that I have broken off are kept in a bucket with conc mic of sulphamate to break it down.
I decided to remove this sycamore sapling that's going to be in the way. In the absence of appropriate tooling I decided to deadlift it out!!!!
You will note that it likes to form thick lateral roots. New shoots form by budding off and migrating to the surface. Be careful to look for these white shoots as they are easily broken off. I've painted any exposed root at the end of the day with neat roundup.
Any bits that I have broken off are kept in a bucket with conc mic of sulphamate to break it down.
I decided to remove this sycamore sapling that's going to be in the way. In the absence of appropriate tooling I decided to deadlift it out!!!!
Edited by stanwan on Monday 28th May 22:44
blueg33 said:
I have just seen a site today that I will exchange contracts on this friday. It has a lovely clump of 10ft tall knotweed at the back that the owner says "I know nothing about that!". Well he does now and it will cost him 
Plus its come from the railway line behind, so Network Rail will be picking up the tab once my vulture (oops I mean lawyer) has had a quiet word.
Dig or herbicide?Plus its come from the railway line behind, so Network Rail will be picking up the tab once my vulture (oops I mean lawyer) has had a quiet word.
Observations so far:
Enviroment agency guidelines stipulate excavating 3m deep and 7 radius from the outermost plant. I guess this is the way to do it if you are excavating blindly.
So far each small shoot tends to have a large single rhizome root that dives down around 10cm and then dives laterally when it hits the clay. Stems produce little white tusk-like shoots which snap off easily -it's important not to miss these.
Tracing knotweed roots has been fairly easy - its the sycamore and ivy roots that are a nightmare!!
I do have 1 rhizome which dives v deep - I f I cannot get to it I'm gong to fill up a condom with glyphosate pop it over the root.
Enviroment agency guidelines stipulate excavating 3m deep and 7 radius from the outermost plant. I guess this is the way to do it if you are excavating blindly.
So far each small shoot tends to have a large single rhizome root that dives down around 10cm and then dives laterally when it hits the clay. Stems produce little white tusk-like shoots which snap off easily -it's important not to miss these.
Tracing knotweed roots has been fairly easy - its the sycamore and ivy roots that are a nightmare!!
I do have 1 rhizome which dives v deep - I f I cannot get to it I'm gong to fill up a condom with glyphosate pop it over the root.
I'm ready to throw in the towel.
I've been digging for a solid 3 hours today. I'm 60cm down by the side of the house and there is a thick 2cm diameter stem that is diving down...
I've now reached the top of the foundation bricks and the enormity of my task is now quite apparent - by the time I've chased out the rhizomes at that depth I'm going to have a round 10 tonnes of soil to dispose of.
Part of me wants to carry on - I've been done over by my vendors and refuse to be beat. I am however concerned that given how close I am to the foundation that I am literally our of my depth right now (sorry for the pun).
The top layer of topsoil is completely infested with dead knotweed rhizomes - someones has a had a thorough go at poisoning and hiding this infestation. The vendors have screwed us over - and I am feeling v raw about it right now
I've been digging for a solid 3 hours today. I'm 60cm down by the side of the house and there is a thick 2cm diameter stem that is diving down...
I've now reached the top of the foundation bricks and the enormity of my task is now quite apparent - by the time I've chased out the rhizomes at that depth I'm going to have a round 10 tonnes of soil to dispose of.
Part of me wants to carry on - I've been done over by my vendors and refuse to be beat. I am however concerned that given how close I am to the foundation that I am literally our of my depth right now (sorry for the pun).
The top layer of topsoil is completely infested with dead knotweed rhizomes - someones has a had a thorough go at poisoning and hiding this infestation. The vendors have screwed us over - and I am feeling v raw about it right now
BigTom85 said:
Any pics to help me get my head round it?
You've definitely been shafted, but stick at it, you WILL beat it!
Are you looking to peruse the vendor? I'd say the evidence was pretty conclusive.
You've definitely been shafted, but stick at it, you WILL beat it!
Are you looking to peruse the vendor? I'd say the evidence was pretty conclusive.
Oh and if things couldn't get worse today, I've just discovered this:
It can't be repaired and its going to be £300 to replace it. A bit annoying since there is plenty of tread left. Oh and I have to get to a wedding 50 miles away on Tuesday. I swear someone has got it in for me....
MY knowledge of building practices is sketchy at best. The above excavation has been achieved with little more than a hand trowel!!!!
Now that I'm getting to a significant depth by the foundations I am beginning to get concerned about inadvertently causing structural issues. A builder I spoke to advised me to dig in sections and avoid digging a trench all the way across.
I [probably need to be guided by a building inspector/ experienced ground worker to tackle this problem properly. The garden is big enough to tore a skip/ hippo bags to contain the soil, but I still need to import fresh backfill and have it done correctly.
Now that I'm getting to a significant depth by the foundations I am beginning to get concerned about inadvertently causing structural issues. A builder I spoke to advised me to dig in sections and avoid digging a trench all the way across.
I [probably need to be guided by a building inspector/ experienced ground worker to tackle this problem properly. The garden is big enough to tore a skip/ hippo bags to contain the soil, but I still need to import fresh backfill and have it done correctly.
dickymint said:
I don't get it, I just don't get it. This thing has taken over your life! Kill it man... f
king kill it! How hard can it be? It's not an alien, it doesn't have supernatural powers it's organic it will die!!!!
I've followed this tragedy of a thread, i've probably done as much research as you have. It's totally possessed you Stan. Just get on with the job and kill it FFS. I bet you any money 5 gallons of diesel poured in that hole will sort it.
Yup it's ruining what should be our delightful migration out from London to Herts. We've worked our butts off for this and we are reeling from being fking kill it! How hard can it be? It's not an alien, it doesn't have supernatural powers it's organic it will die!!!!I've followed this tragedy of a thread, i've probably done as much research as you have. It's totally possessed you Stan. Just get on with the job and kill it FFS. I bet you any money 5 gallons of diesel poured in that hole will sort it.
ked over by the vendors. Aside from my wife, daughter and Aston
, this is my most valuable asset and future nest egg. I want to get rid of this problem ASAP so I can put it behind us and get on with enjoying life in Stortford. I hope the vendors never cross my path again....
blueg33 said:
You really need to speak to your lawyer about answers to enquiries and whther the seller misled you.
SAdly we've looked at the correspondence and standard forms - no mention of knotweed or contaminated land. I guess the searches were clear too. Radon, subsidence etc. Not sure if we could claim this is a structural defect - it technically is of course....blueg33 said:
This is the knotweed on part of the site I have just bought (Thanks Network Rail for the contamination)
Its about 10ft tall at the moment and will push over the stone wall at some point. Method statement reckons 18 months to kill the stuff by the wall with regular treatment. Small patch at the front will be dig and dump.
Total area front for dig and dump = 8sqm
Rear as photos, treat = 50sqm
Total cost £10k with warranties
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/1Y9QRXVH.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/RkBGVRPr" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/RkBGVRPr.jpg)
\Its about 10ft tall at the moment and will push over the stone wall at some point. Method statement reckons 18 months to kill the stuff by the wall with regular treatment. Small patch at the front will be dig and dump.
Total area front for dig and dump = 8sqm
Rear as photos, treat = 50sqm
Total cost £10k with warranties
Holy crap! That is bad. I hope the landowner didn't try any dirty tricks!
My stand is minicule in comparison. problem is that the wall makes the rhizome dive down. It's not spread over a wide area in my case - Knotweed really hates clay. PRoblem is that the house builders themselves dumped loads of bricks and waste to bulk up the infill and this has given the knotweed an easier time beside the buiding.
I'm hoping a persistent herbicide used liberally around the remaining root will keep it at bay
We hav almost removed all of it. A small bit of root is diving below the foundations - THew hole area has been sprayed extensively and the remaining bit is v small - It's unlikely to surface again. If it does I'll be waiting topside with a mattock....
If only the vendors had bothered to do this years ago - would have made life a lot easier.
If only the vendors had bothered to do this years ago - would have made life a lot easier.
Egbert Nobacon said:
OP still chasing that last root ...
My advice to anyone is that for knotweed near property, it's best to get it out as quickly as possible before it gets properly established. Glyphosate works well but takes ages and you rally don't want it to invade masonry walls...
Zyp said:
RApologies for reserecting a year old thread (almost to the day), but could someone tell me for definite if this is Japanese knotweed please?
Because if it is, I think my neighbour (and possibly me) may have a problem....this tree is covered in it
Ok. Get a picture of the stem at ground level and a flat picture of a leaf, then I will be able to tell - I recognise the stuff easily now!!Because if it is, I think my neighbour (and possibly me) may have a problem....this tree is covered in it
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