City of Prince Rupert updates the Battle on Knotweed

The battle over Japanese knotweed
continues as the City outlines its
ongoing efforts

The battle agains the scourge of invasive plant Japanese knotweed continues with the City of Prince Rupert providing an update today on their efforts to remove the problem weed from City property and a suggestion on who local residents may wish to contact to remove the weed from their own property.

The spraying project was launched over the Victoria Day weekend when the City hired a private contractor to tackle the job at hand, with a spraying program introduced in areas where the weed had been spotted.

As part of their notification on the topic the City has taken the path of highly encouraging local residents and businesses to do the same on private property, providing the name of Spectrum Resource Group as who to call when it comes to knotweed management.  

The media advisory notes that the average sized area or property would cost approximately fifty dollars to treat.

The City is also seeking the assistance of the public in reporting any discoveries of the Japanese knotweed infestation, by making use of the community online form set up for the process.

The battle against the weed may be a long term affair however,  according to the latest update, the timeline of eradication is somewhere between two to five years to eliminate the weed, which sprouts further when cut back or its clippings are moved.

While the city advises that it currently is working with the contractor to address the issue on city lands, the latest information update does not note any kind of spraying schedule for residents to take note of at this time.  

The cost of the spraying program was not disclosed as part of today's update.

We featured some background on the Victoria Day spraying program last month, it was a concern first raised through the Coastal Garden talks program with Transition Prince Rupert.

The full media release from the City can be found here.

More notes related to the City of Prince Rupert operations can be found on our archive page.