Japanese Knotweed map shows high numbers of sightings in Nottinghamshire

A heatmap, created by Environet, shows areas which have been worse affected in the UK, and Nottinghamshire is one of the worst affected.

Japanese knotweed is the most common of 4 invasive knotweed plant species in the UK.

These are Japanese knotweed, Dwarf knotweed, Giant knotweed and Bohemian (hybrid) knotweed.

Knotweed can grow in most soil conditions found in the UK, particularly in man-made habitats, such as roadsides, waste ground, railway embankments and cuttings and spoil tips that are made up of waste material from mining or quarrying. It’s also commonly found along rivers and streams.

Knotweed spreads through direct rhizome (root) growth or new plant growth from the parent plant’s stem and rhizome fragments, a new plant can grow from pieces of rhizome as small as 1cm.

The Japanese Knotweed Heatmap is an interactive online heatmap of Japanese knotweed sightings across the UK.

Designed to inform homeowners and homebuyers of the local presence of knotweed and the potential risk to their property, the data is generated from over 50,000 known infestations, with new sightings added daily.

You must stop Japanese knotweed on your land from spreading off your property. Soil or plant material contaminated with non-native and invasive plants like Japanese knotweed can cause ecological damage and may be classified as controlled waste.

You do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land unless it’s causing a nuisance, but you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild.

Do not treat knotweed yourself unless you have the appropriate skills and experience. You can find companies that specialise in treating knotweed.

You can contact the Environment Agency for help if you have more questions about how to handle waste containing Japanese knotweed, want to find out more about when you need a licence to dispose of Japanese knotweed or want to complain about waste producers who are not telling people they employ how to transfer Japanese knotweed, this is breaking the rules on their waste duty of care.