A snake in the grass

There’s an old saying that some politicians can hear the grass grow.  Perhaps that might be a slight exaggeration. However, when it comes to Japanese Knotweed they mightn’t be too far wide of the mark. While it’s not widespread, when it comes to reproducing, it has the potential to do a lot of harm.

And there’s a more than a bit of it about. I’ve come across it on the Rosslare Rd where it has been sprayed to oblivion by the council. But it’s on a bank of land to the rear of a terrace on Distillery Rd where it has come across to the grounds of the CBS. I saw it in Barntown this week where it is close to the weighbridge.  There’s more in Killinick. Further afield as you drive into Enniscorthy, you’ll find it on the side of the road on the left hand side.  Indeed the council has put warning notices up to tell the public not to pick or cut the weed.

Why? Because it is extremely resilient and will not only survive but thrive. As the name suggests it’s not native to Ireland. It’s an escapee from domestic gardens.  It spreads underground and uses stems called rhizomes to pop up to develop a stem. The stem can even drive through tarmac. Nothing is safe from this stuff when it gets going.

Japanese Knotweed on your property can have implications for your home insurance in the event of a claim for structural damage.  You’ll pick it out at this time of year with its small white flowers. For some reason the plants in Ireland are all female and there are no male plants. If males were found here then the numbers would be significantly higher as the plant could reproduce in 2 different ways.

The weed is invasive, that means it is foreign and rapidly growing and damaging native plants and habitats.  The only way to wipe it out is by spraying in August and September.  It sounds simple but here’s the rub.

The council will give information on its website but after that it’s a matter for the property owner. If the property owner is the council then they’ll spray to protect their property however if the weed is part of a population that spreads over onto private land then the council won’t spray anywhere other than the land they own.

In time the weed will return to invade the council land so the cycle of spraying will start all over again. This week the media carried reports of Pacific Salmon being found in Ireland’s rivers. Presumably it’s swimming up the Slaney and may in time colonise the tributaries and breed there.

My point is this, if we’re not prepared to root out invasive species when they first arrive, how can we do it when they’re well settled here?

It’s time for the Department of Heritage to take the lead to protect habitats and to survey where the weed is found and then put in place a spraying program to wipe it out in conjunction with property owners.

Anything else is a waste of money.  If heritage week is to mean anything then it’s long past the time to eradicate this pest.  Let us not allow the grass to grow under our feet on this one.