Things You Should Do
Address this problem as soon as you see signs of knotweed. The longer you wait, the tougher it will be to eradicate it, and the more harm it can do to areas around it.
Contain the growth as best you can so it will not keep growing further out. Eradicating this weed takes specialized procedures and equipment, and there are experts who are trained to deal with Japanese knotweed like Environet. Contact one of them to get rid of the weed effectively and for good.
If you plan to use chemicals and herbicides, be sure to use ones that are specially licensed for this purpose. Remember to wear personal protective gear and follow instructions carefully when handling these agents. If you need advice on how to get rid of this weed and on how to dispose of the debris properly, contact your local regulatory agencies on the proper procedures.
After you remove the weed from your property, secure the yard waste so none of it spills out and contaminates other areas. Get rid of it at appropriate disposal sites.
After you are done, wash the clothing and shoes that you wore during the task so you do not inadvertently spread this weed to other areas of your property.
For the next two to three years, keep an eye on the areas that were cleaned of this weed to make sure that it does not grow back.
Things That You Should Not Do
Don’t try to dig out the weed. You might unintentionally stimulate the growth and make it grow faster into the surrounding areas.
Don’t just yank the weeds out of the soil. This can spread the growth by exposing part of the crown and spreading the contamination.
Don’t cut the knotweed with a hedge trimmer or lawnmower. This can spread the weed to a bigger area and make its eradication more complicated.
Don’t use inappropriate chemicals near any areas with wildlife, helpful plants, or sources of water because you can hurt the environment.
Don’t compost the weed in any way. The knotweed is stubborn and resilient, and composting it can trigger the spread of the weed.
Don’t dump it with your regular yard waste because this will just transfer the contamination to another place. It is best to let it dry out where it was destroyed, then burn the remains. If that is not possible, contain it and take it to a facility that has special procedures for disposing knotweed.
Don’t reuse any soil that was infested with the rhizomes. Any part of the root can regenerate due to the plant’s resiliency. Anything that is within a radius of seven to eight yards might have residuals of the Japanese knotweed’s root system.
