MeshTech Experiment in Knotweed Removal

Visit the parcel and you will see some hardware cloth spread out on the dirt, held by rocks and pegs. This is our experiment with a low cost and low effort method of knotweed removal called MeshTech that uses girdling.

The below is from Vermont Invasives. The photos are of our work throughout September.

This method involves selecting a patch of knotweed and clearing out the surface growth from previous growing seasons. The cleared-out section is then covered with a wire fence mesh with ½ inch x ½ inch openings. The fencing material will have to be fastened down in some method so it will stay put throughout the growing season. And that’s all you do. Simple. 

The theory is that the knotweed stems will emerge from buds on the underground rhizome in early spring and will grow through the steel mesh. As the stems continue to grow, they will expand in diameter. At a certain point, the stems will push against the steel mesh and girdle themselves. The surface growth (stems and leaves) of the plant wilts and will eventually die, but the rhizome will continue to push new stems up through the ground (and wire mesh). This will continually kill the stems and will lead to the depletion of rhizome carbohydrate stores, which are required by the stems for growth. This cycle will repeat until the end of the growing season, when the plant enters a period of dormancy. Normally, the knotweed will have a plentiful store of carbohydrates stored in its rhizome to begin growing again in the spring. However, after a season of trying to outsmart the steel mesh on top of it, the knotweed will not have any energy stored up to continue growing in the next season. 

Japanese Knotweed Control, Ltd indicates that there will be a noticeable difference in the vigor and growth of the plant after the first year of trying the MeshTech method, but total control of the plant will still take over 5 years. Other control methods have similar timelines to see semi-permanent results, but this method could have potential to make a difference in knotweed infestations where other methods such as chemical or mechanical treatments are not appropriate.