How to Kill Japanese Knotweed

For reasons discussed in our DIY Japanese Knotweed Removal blog post, we DO NOT RECOMMEND attempting to get rid of Japanese knotweed on your own. Instead, get in touch with a specialist contractor who knows how to deal with this invasive species and ensure that it does not spread elsewhere.

Photo by dankogreen (Flickr)

If you're found your way to this blog, you're likely wondering how to kill Japanese knotweed. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to kill Japanese knotweed:

• Herbicides - spraying the plant with glyphosate weed killer
  
  
• Excavation - digging the plant up and either burying it or safely disposing of it at an approved landfill site

We at Taylor Total Weed Control mostly use herbicides to kill Japanese knotweed. However, we can arrange excavation in special circumstances - this method is more costly, but it gets fairly quick results (whereas herbicides have to be applied repeatedly over a longer period).

What kills Japanese knotweed?

Japanese knotweed is a very resilient plant, and supermarket weed killers aren't always sufficient to destroy it. The Taylor Total Weed Control team use specialist herbicides to kill Japanese knotweed - these products are not available to the general public and can only be applied by qualified personnel.

Japanese knotweed is susceptible to a number of different chemicals, including glyphosates, picloram and triclopyr. When selecting a herbicide, it is enormously important to consider the effect that the chosen chemical(s) may have on the surrounding environment; for example, some weed killers are less selective than others and may damage neighbouring plants if not applied carefully.

It is also crucial to ensure that harmful chemicals are not allowed to contaminate any nearby water supplies.

Professional Japanese knotweed clearance

You may be prosecuted if there is Japanese knotweed on your property and you allow it to spread into the wild (or onto someone else's property).

Don't risk breaking the law - call Taylor Total Weed Control on 029 2039 7554 and our experienced technicians will get your Japanese knotweed safely under control.

Contact us to book a free Japanese knotweed survey

Useful links:

• What is Japanese knotweed?
• What does Japanese knotweed look like?
• Our Japanese knotweed removal service
• Japanese knotweed treatment plans