There was an interesting story on BBC1's Countryfile today, with John Craven looking at alternative methods of controlling Japanese Knotweed in Cornwall. Methods such as 'bio control' eg. introducing diseases to attack Japanese Knotweed.
The programme showed footage of someone cutting knotweed and pouring a herbicide down the stems. What type of herbicide would be suitable for Japanese Knotweed ?
I just started my war with a patch of Knotweed this year (New Jersey, USA). I was trying to remove about 2/3rds of the patch this year, but its obvious I'm going to need to be much more aggressive. I've just been trying to chop it down as it pops up, but it just sprouts all over the place. It even seems to be trying to move further along, maybe to avoid my chopping. If I neglect it for a week its a foot tall!
I'm now starting to yank out the runners, with some light use of roundup after slicing the tops. I hate the idea of having to pull it all out and bag it -- its a pretty large patch.
Its a shame. The left over patch is now in full bloom, and is just crawling with bees. All sorts of bees and flying insects; some that I've never seen elsewhere. Still, its going to have to go. I can see for myself that it can't be controlled.
Swyck
Spray your herbicides late in the evening when bee foraging is at a minimum that way you kill far fewer bees as they mostly have to be directly hit with the herbicide and it's surfactants for it to kill them. This late in the season there is no time for a hive to recover from poisoning. With Japanese Knotweed expect to have to reapply often. If you spray actively foraging bees and kill them you are misapplying.
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