Believe it or not, Japanese knotweed, a type of invasive plant that is ravaging across the United States and Europe costs millions of dollars’ worth of damage in properties and natural habitat.

In fact, both the government and nature conservationists have already laid out all of the methods and ways to eliminate this invasive plant that does nothing but destroying structural integrity and natural habitats for animals and native plants in the area where it is growing.

With the very harsh way to eliminate it, there is also a growing concern about the safety of the different methods of eliminating Japanese knotweed which is why a lot of people are questioning if these methods are safe for the environment knowing that it uses herbicides made from strong chemicals which is likely going to pollute the environment.

However, there is actually a safer and tolerant way to eliminate Japanese knotweed in your property without the use of harmful chemicals and herbicides.

Here are some useful tips in killing Japanese knotweed without harming the environment in a detailed explanation below.

  1. Cut the plant and its stems– The Japanese knotweed will not grow back if you cut the canes. It is very important to cut it down as much as you can and as many, as you can by using loppers in cutting off the canes as short as possible closest to the ground. After cutting the canes, you can remove the cut pieces of it from your lawn or backyard and dump it properly inside a bag in order for it to not regrow its roots back.
  2. Carpet it with dark-colored tarpaulin– Carpeting the entire vegetation of Japanese knotweed with thick tarpaulin enough to cover it from the sun to prevent photosynthesis to set in and prevent the weed from growing rapidly until it slowly dies from not having enough sunlight. Before you cover it with tarpaulin, you should cut off all the sharp canes and twigs to prevent it from puncturing the tarpaulin.
  3. Cut the vegetation more frequent– If you mow it or cut it continually each week, the plant will die by itself. The plant will be weakened and die because of exhaustion for forcing itself to regrow but cut off by your regular mow and cutting. Make sure that you cut off immediately all the regrown parts of the plants in order for it to exhaust itself and die eventually.
  4. Uproot the plant completely– Digging is a surefire way to kill Japanese knotweed. You should carefully dig deep enough to reveal the roots of the knotweed and uproot it completely. You should make sure that everything that comes with the Japanese knotweed is completely removed including the twigs, leaves, and of course the roots and rhizome that is responsible for the fast growth of this weed.