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by Lib Dem team on 9 March, 2010
Something in the national news to give us some hope in Cheadle & Gatley: the BBC reports an insect is being released which kills knotweek.
A tiny Japanese insect that could help the fight against an aggressive superweed has been given the go-ahead for a trial release in England.
Since Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK it has rapidly spread, and the plant currently costs over £150m a year to control and clear.
But scientists say a natural predator in the weed’s native home of Japan could also help to control it here.
Wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: “These tiny insects, which naturally prey on Japanese Knotweed, will help free local authorities and industry from the huge cost of treating and killing this devastating plant.”
Knotweed is currently holding up (and inflating the price) for adopting Ashfield Road and putting proper parking restrictions in place, and it’s an ongoing issue elsewhere in Gatley and Cheadle.
Because it grows so vigorously, from a piece as small as a fingernail, and can push through concrete, clearing it away is time consuming and expensive.
3 Comments
Hi Iain, I saw this on the telly recently, what could we do about a trial in Gatley?.The banks of the stream at the entance to Gatley Rec are overwhelmed with knott weed and the grounds of Gatley hill have large areas where it has really taken hold, completely destroying the natural vegetation.
Gatley Carrs Conservation Group have been following the developments of this, hopefully, very useful insect. As users of the Carrs know only too well we have a super abundance of the stuff and, apart from using it in place of rhubarb for pies and crumbles are driven demented by the stuff. The Council cleared a lot of it away with poison a couple of years ago but it is coming back as bad as ever as nothing was done last year and we understood that it would take at least three years concentrated effort to even hope of making headway.
Are the Council going to buy some bugs soon? We look forward to a reply! A few years ago we had complains from neighbours of the Carrs who found their gardens acquiring some uninvited plants and who were none too pleased.
As I understand it, the Council can’t buy bugs – the idea is that if it’s successful, they’ll naturally spread across the country.
I suppose it’s possible Stockport is already one of the secret locations they’ve released the bug – if so, it’s certainly a secret that’s been kept from me too.