Japanese Knotweed – Exterminate!

A British electrical engineer has come up with an ingenious device which kills all weeds, including the dreaded Japanese knotweed. The device packs a real punch as it delivers 2500 volts straight into the weeds, instantly boiling the water in the plant cells and causing the plant to instantly wither and die. Although this invention is not available to the public, and is likely to never be put on the consumer market, it does show real inventiveness and offers a viable alternative to chemical plant sprays or the physical removal of troublesome weeds such as Japanese knotweed.

Currently, a Japanese knotweed contractor has limited choices when it comes to removing the weeds, and all of the current options are strictly controlled by UK laws. However if further tests are carried out on this device, it could prove to be a god send for any Japanese knotweed consultant or contractor. Currently, the real bug bear with knotweed is that the smallest piece of root or rhizome can quickly sprout into a new weed and spread as quickly as it did before. However if this prototype weed electrocution device proves as effective on weeds with an extensive root base as it is on smaller weeds, the rhizome problem could be completely eradicated making Japanese knotweed removal a much simpler and straight forward task.

Unfortunately, the device is reliant on using a high voltage coupled with a high current and when used incorrectly or inconsiderately, could easily kill a person in much the same way an electric chair does. The inventor has been trialling the device in his Derbyshire garden, but for additional safety he wears rubber gloves and rubber boots to help protect himself from the massive voltages and electrical currents involved. On top of that, the prospect of the device being used by amateur gardeners has already been ruled out, so unfortunately he's not going to be the next Clive Sinclair or Richard Dyson.

Saying that, the device could eventually be manufactured for use under licence which would be perfect for a Japanese knotweed contractor, assuming the warming effects of 2500 volts of high amp electricity does conduct throughout the knotweed's rhizome root base, destroying the plant completely. Licensing a device such as this would be great news for any Japanese knotweed consultant as it would make the control of the dreaded weed far easier, yet would keep its removal and elimination using such a device firmly in their hands.