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Surveyor checking a Runcorn garden for knotweed
Japanese Knotweed Removal · Runcorn

Spotted something odd in your Runcorn garden? Send us a photo and we will say whether it is knotweed.

A photo check costs nothing. If it is knotweed we survey it, treat or dig it out, and write the plan your lender or solicitor will ask for. Surveys from £275.

Free photo ID check Survey from £275 Plans accepted by mortgage lenders
Stands cleared
Stands clearedDug out before extensions, house sales and groundworks.
Early shoots
Early shootsRed-purple tips in a border, a drive or a wall base are the first warning.
All of Runcorn
All of RuncornFrom Weston Point and the Old Town to Palacefields, Norton and Sandymoor.
Look before you pay

Plenty of the calls we get are about plants that turn out to be harmless.

Take a picture of one leaf and one stem and send it over. We reply with what it is, at no charge. A visit is only suggested when it really is knotweed, and the price is in writing before anything is booked.

Why it pays to act

Knotweed only ever gets bigger

The canes die back in winter and people assume it has gone. Below ground the rhizome keeps travelling, and each season the stand covers more of the plot.

Treat it this yearA small stand costs far less to deal with.
£275
Leave it aloneIt reaches the lawn, the drive and the fence next door.
Bigger job
Buyer's surveyor finds itThe lender wants a plan before the sale can go on.
Weeks lost
Cutting it down yourselfAny piece left in the soil can sprout again.
£££££
Survey price shown on this page. Treatment is priced in writing after the visit. Nothing quoted on the doorstep.
£275 · One visit, one price Written quote before any work

✓ What that buys

What the survey covers:

  • Confirmation on site that it is knotweed
  • The stand measured, mapped and photographed
  • Distances to the house, walls, drains and boundary
  • A written report for a lender or solicitor
  • Priced options for spraying or excavation

— What you never get

What you do not pay for:

  • A photo check, even if the plant is harmless
  • Travel anywhere in Runcorn
  • Extras added after you have agreed the price
  • Digging out where spraying would do
  • A copy of your report

Reports follow RICS guidance on knotweed and residential property. Take it to any contractor you like.

Builders, landlords and developers

Knotweed on Runcorn building plots and rental properties

Cleared industrial land, plots beside the canal and older rented terraces are where a stand turns into a cost. We survey, write the method statement and carry out the treatment or excavation.

Having it removed

Knotweed spraying, excavation and barriers in Runcorn

Spraying across several seasons when time allows, excavation when it does not, and a barrier where the stand sits on the far side of a wall. Waste leaves with the correct paperwork.

Why people ring us

Call us if this sounds familiar

These are the situations Runcorn callers usually describe.

It backs onto the canal or a green corridor

It backs onto the canal or a green corridor

Gardens beside the Bridgewater Canal, the ship canal or the open footpaths between estates are the most exposed. A survey shows how far it has crossed the fence.

Red shoots at the wall base

Red shoots at the wall base

Purple-red tips coming up beside a sandstone wall, through gravel or in a border from April onwards.

You are selling

You are selling

The TA6 form asks about knotweed. A plan in hand is far easier than a scramble after the buyer's surveyor flags it.

An extension is planned

An extension is planned

Foundations dug through a stand carry the rhizome around the plot. Deal with it before the builders arrive.

It is coming from next door

It is coming from next door

From an empty house, a rental or open land. You need a dated record of where it is and when you raised it.

A driveway is lifting

A driveway is lifting

Shoots forcing through tarmac or block paving mean rhizome underneath. Have it mapped before anything is relaid.

Also worth a call: shoots at the foot of a sandstone wall, canes along the canal towpath behind the garden, a TA6 enquiry from your solicitor, a mortgage valuer's note.
Japanese knotweed against a garden wall in Runcorn
Knotweed in Runcorn

Canal banks, green corridors and old dock land.

Runcorn is two towns in one: a Victorian old town of red sandstone and terraces beside the Mersey and the ship canal, and the 1960s new town estates of Halton Brook, Palacefields, Murdishaw and Brookvale, threaded with footpaths, green corridors and canal towpaths. The open ground between estates, the canal banks and the old dock land at Weston Point are where knotweed gets a hold and then reaches back gardens.

A survey shows whether it began on your land or arrived from outside the fence.

How it works

From photo to plan

Send a photo.
1

Send a photo.

One leaf and one stem, by message or the contact form. No charge.

We survey it.
2

We survey it.

If it is knotweed we visit, measure the stand and note what is close by.

Treat or dig out.
3

Treat or dig out.

A spraying programme over several seasons, or excavation if the timetable is tight.

Plan and follow-up.
4

Plan and follow-up.

A written plan for your records and your lender, with return visits until it stops.

What to look for

What knotweed looks like around Runcorn

Spring shoots forcing up through block paving.
Spring shoots forcing up through block paving.
Canes standing against a sandstone boundary wall.
Canes standing against a sandstone boundary wall.
Spraying a stand in full summer leaf.
Spraying a stand in full summer leaf.
Excavating a stand ahead of building work.
Excavating a stand ahead of building work.
A root barrier lowered into a trench.
A root barrier lowered into a trench.
Walking a garden to map the size of a stand.
Walking a garden to map the size of a stand.

Not sure it is knotweed?

Use the contact page to send a picture, or ring. We tell you for nothing whether it is knotweed.

Send a photo
Runcorn and the Halton area, from Weston Point to Sandymoor

Runcorn areas we cover

All of Runcorn across the WA7 postcode, plus Halton, Daresbury and Preston Brook nearby. Local to Runcorn, so visits are usually booked in the same week.

Before you ring

Questions we get asked

How do I know if it is Japanese knotweed?
Look at the stem first: hollow like bamboo, speckled with purple, and zig-zagging with a node at each bend. Leaves are broad with a flat base. Small cream flowers appear in late summer and the dead canes stay brown through winter. A photo sent to us is quicker than guessing.
Is it illegal to have knotweed in my garden?
Having it is not an offence. Letting it spread into the wild is, and any cut material counts as controlled waste. If it crosses onto a neighbour's land you could face a claim.
Will knotweed stop me getting a mortgage?
Not on its own. Most lenders will lend against a professional survey, a treatment plan and a guarantee that transfers to the buyer.
How long does treatment take?
Spraying usually runs over three to five growing seasons followed by monitoring. Excavation takes days but costs more.
Can I just dig it out myself?
We advise against it. Tiny pieces of rhizome regrow, and the soil cannot go in a skip or the garden waste bin without proper handling.
Does knotweed damage houses?
It pushes into cracks, drains, walls and lightweight outbuildings. Sound foundations are rarely the issue, but a stand can still affect a valuation or a sale.
What if it is coming from my neighbour?
Have a survey done so the position and direction of spread are on record. That record is what you put in front of the neighbour or their landlord.
Should I cut it back or strim it?
No. Strimming scatters fragments and undermines spraying. Leave it until it has been assessed.
What do I have to declare when I sell?
The TA6 form asks directly. If there is knotweed, say so and attach the management plan. A wrong answer can be used against you after completion.
How much does knotweed removal cost?
A typical garden spraying programme often costs around £1,000 to £3,000 over its life. Excavation costs more because of the soil and disposal. You get a written price after the survey.
Do you cover all of Runcorn?
Yes — All of Runcorn across the WA7 postcode, plus Halton, Daresbury and Preston Brook nearby.

Put the strimmer back in the shed.

Photo check free. The report is yours to keep. Price agreed before work starts.

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