Japanese knotweed is not liked by mortgage companies, with valuers often valuing properties at 50% of their market value. The reason for this is that Japanese knotweed can easily break through concrete foundations, drains, tarmac drives and lift concrete flags.

With this much destruction it is easy to see why this young couple in Long Eaton asked, “How do I get rid of Japanese knotweed?”

We use a number of herbicides  to eradicate the Japanese knotweed with one being 300x stronger than what is available on the shelf to the general public. The other herbicide is not available to the public whatsoever! As the herbicides are very powerful we would never recommend customers use these herbicides personally.

They sometimes want to dig it out but there are a number of problems with this solution. Firstly, the roots that are called rhizomes can be up to 3m deep and grow in any direction for up to 7m. That means you may have to dig out over 100 tons of contaminated soil to get rid of one square metre of Japanese knotweed. The problem then arises as to what you do with the soil? We say this is a problem as the soil is classed as “Hazardous waste” by the Environment agency, so if you were to put it into a skip and not send it to a specially licenced landfill site then you could be fined and even sent to prison. Therefore, getting rid of Japanese Knotweed in Long Eaton, needs assistance from the expert!