Japanese Knotweed Guarantees - Myths, Truths and Lies
Our Management Plan Guarantee
Residential customers who sign up for a 5 year herbicidal treatment plan with us can rest assured that the infestation will be bought under control for the duration of this period. This is conditional on any knotweed on neighbouring land being treated as well. A professional survey and treatment by a specialist company is what is required by banks and building societies when considering mortgage risk.
Where Japanese Knotweed is concerned, there can be NO absolute guarantees or warranties because of the nature of the plant. However, there are contractors who would have you believe in their 100% Guaranteed Eradication Services - read the comments below for more information.
Myths, Truths and Lies about Knotweed Guarantees and Warranties
There are many knotweed businesses who claim 100% Guaranteed Eradication, sometimes with just one treatment. These claims, are at best misleading, but in many cases, wilful misrepresentation of the facts (otherwise known as lies).
Misleading Guarantee and Warranty Claims include
- 5, 10, 25 year Insurance Backed Guarantees
- Stem Injection - One Treatment 100% Guaranteed Eradication
- Construction Site Excavation & Soil Sifting - INSTANT Eradication
- Guaranteed by Professional Indemnity & Public Liability Insurance
5, 10, 25 year Insurance Backed Guarantees
The contractor treats the infestation and you pay him £100's if not £1000's for the work. Having seen their website offering guarentees, you assume that their work is covered for the next 25 years against reinfestation. This is not the case.
The contractors 'Guarantee' consists of selling you an expensive 25 year insurance policy for which you pay yearly. No doubt the contractor earns commission for recommending this policy to you. Reading the small print in the insurance policy, you will discover that you are covered only for repairing damage to your house caused by a reinfestation of Knotweed. (not driveways, patios, paths and boundary walls).
You will not be covered for the expense of treating the new knotweed infestation. You will also find that you can only claim if the Knotweed has sneaked up and ambushed your house without warning. You cannot claim if there was an exisitng Knotweed Infestation in the garden and you did nothing about. Under these circumstances, making a claim on such a policy is extremely unlikely.
Herbicidal Stem Injection - One Treatment - 100% Effective
Stem Injection is a highly effective treatment when the right amount of herbicide is applied at the right time of year, to a flourishing plant. We know, we cut our teeth on this removal method while working with Camden Council.
Any herbicidal treatment needs to be monitored over 5 years to ensure non-viability of the rhizome system. Businesses claiming miracle, one treatment, 100% guaranteed results are misleading, unscrupulous and simply after some fast money.
Construction Site Excavation followed by Soil Sifting or Screening
We have come across companies offering this service to property developers claiming INSTANT, one treatment eradication with 100% results. Sorry chaps, no such thing exists. If you are a property developer and you believe such an unscrupulous claim, think of the catastrophic damage it could cause to new buildings on your development. Soil Sifting is a viable method of removal and should be used in combination with other removal techniques with a 3-5 year herbicidal treatment and monitoring plan on the finished site.
Guaranteed by Professional Indemnity or Public Liability Insurance - This is such nonsense it doesn't even deserve a comment
