Transport for London (TfL) has been carrying out a trial of a method of killing Japanese Knotweed infestations using electricity instead of chemicals.
Japanese knotweed is an invasive species introduced to the UK in the 19th-century and has been a problem ever since. It is extremely hardy, grows incredibly fast, damages buildings, oh and is very difficult to remove, so it’s now covered by legislation to try and control its spread. If you found any on your property, you would usually need to call in specialists to remove it, and it can even affect mortgage applications if found during a sale.
While the plants can cause damage by spreading within TfL property, if not dealt with and the plant spreads to a neighbouring site, then TfL could be held liable for the cost of removing it from there as well. So dealing with it is a serious issue. The common method of dealing with Japanese Knotweed is to inject chemicals like glyphosate into the plants, but it often takes several years of repeated applications to fully kill the plants right down to the roots.
The electric wands, developed by Warwickshire based Rootwave instead applies a high current charge to the plants as it is waved over them, and that causes the water in the plant to boil, damaging the plant’s cellular structure, above and below the ground, and it’s the damage done below ground that is critical in stopping the plant from regrowing.
