hi,
the reason there is concern about this plant is two fold
one it casts thousands of seed in and around September time which enables it to spread real fast
the second which is more important is the oil/liquid it produces when broken damaged or rubbed against
it cause severe reaction to skin similar to a burn blister.
my advice is if you see it keep away from it
25 years ago i got some on my thigh and forearm i still have the scars... be warned
f.
with rgards the deer yes they are in the fenced area and the woody tissue has been eaten it is also a place of good quality food ivy bramble willow buds and winter barly so the glasgow roe deer seem to like it.
If the patches of Japenese Knotweed aren't too big then it not really that difficult to remove. It can be sprayed with Glyphosate or Timbrel and, if you are persistant and keep checking it and spraying any new growth several times a year, you will beat it. Get to recognise the plant because you will often see new plants pop up a good way from the initial sites. The problems come when the sites are very large and already unmanageable or they are near watercourses or there is some other reason to prevent effective spraying. As has already been mentioned, it must not be strimmed or mullered with a hedge cutter as this only spreads it far and wide yet many local authorities still do this especially on roadside verges. Foliar application is as effective as injection in my experience. Do not remove the dead foliage just let it die back on site. I have got rid of knotweed on two estates but I hope my sucessors have kept an eye on it or it will be back.
Timbrel is expensive, £100 for 1.5 Ltrs, it is effective though.
you can mix it with Diesel about 50/50 if you want to kill everthing sprayed or painted on, but never mix it with glyphosate as they counteract each other and only one chemical will hav the desired effect
sorry Alex
should of made my post clearer
when added such parts as Diesel the spray or wipe effect is more as a direct application than as an over spray
it makes a huge difference to cost and contamination
infact if you look at it a different angle
contamination from certain petrolchemicals does no more damage to soils of a established crop than a tri yearly dose of Glyphosate/mix
after about 3-5 years the ground flora starts to renew and you would never know the difference except in the pocket