Aberdeen among Scotland's worst hotspots for destructive Japanese knotweed

Ben Borland & Gareth Edwards

14 June 2024 at 6:35 am·2-min read

Aberdeen has been flagged as a hotspot for one of the most destructive invasive species in Scotland.

The explosion of Japanese knotweed across Scotland has seen it become the bane of gardeners in the country.

Now experts have used existing reports and new sightings to try and map out just how big the problem has become.

Native to East Asia, Japanese knotweed was first brought to the UK in the 1800s and since then has spread to every corner of Britain, with several areas in Scotland now seeing dense growth, the Scottish Daily Express reports.

The plant, which has a striking red stem and bamboo-like appearance, is not to be taken lightly - it can grow through concrete, causing damage to roads and pavements as well as some buildings, making it a nightmare for homeowners.

In the right conditions it can shoot up at a rate of four inches a day, reaching heights of eight feet, while it’s roots go even deeper with some measured at up to 28 feet

This can make dealing with a knotweed problem very expensive - it reportedly cost more than £70 million to clear the plant from 10 acres of the London Olympics site ahead of the games.

Invasive plant specialists Environet estimate approximately 5% of homes across the UK are currently affected by Japanese knotweed, either directly or by neighbouring an affected property.

The firm has now created a heat map from over 57,000 known infestations, to help identify trouble areas - and Aberdeen has some of the worst in the country, while other hotspots are located around Glasgow and Lanarkshire, as well as West Lothian, and Edinburgh Aberdeen.

In recent years, Japanese knotweed has spread along the A82 south of Fort William and has blocked views of Loch Linnhe with offenders on community payback orders called in to try and stop the advance.

One member of an online farming forum posted a few years ago: "All the knotweed around Fort William is growing along the loch side and gets spread by the high tides. I have a shorefront field about 4 miles down the loch and get patches growing just along the highest tide mark most years. I try to round them up them on a regular basis but seems to be a bit of a losing battle."

However, Dundee seems relatively unscathed (1-5 occurrences across all city postcodes) as do Dunfermline (7), Inverness (6) and Kirkcaldy (5).

Japanese Knotweed Hotspots

Fort William - 154 infestations within 4km

Rutherglen - 148

Central Aberdeen - 146

Bearsden - 141

Bishopbriggs - 133

South Glasgow - 131

North Aberdeen - 125

Hamilton - 124

Uddingston - 119

East Calder - 98

The Argus
Thousands cool off in Brighton during scorching mini-heatwave hotter than Majorca
Thousands flocked to Brighton beach today to cool off in the heat.
FTW Outdoors
Watch: Rattlesnakes flee hail storm, return to sip melting ice
Trail cameras captured the rarely observed phenomenon at a rattlesnake rookery Monday in Northern Colorado.
The Telegraph
‘Why I ditched my Tesla for a 12-year-old petrol car’
Owners of electric cars are ditching battery power and returning to petrol as demand for greener vehicles drops across Britain.
CNN
Scientists identify new Antarctic ice sheet ‘tipping point,’ warning future sea level rise may be underestimated
The Antarctic ice sheet is melting in a new, worrying way not taken into account by current models of future sea level rise, according to a new study.
The Independent
Mapped: Heatwave in your area as temperatures set to hit 31C in UK
Temperatures across the UK are expected to get higher still on Wednesday
Storyful
Wolf Shows Playful Interest in Grizzly Bear's Meal
A wolf seemed super keen to get a piece of a bison carcass from a grizzly bear, footage by a nature photographer in Yellowstone National Park shows, but the bear seemed unimpressed by its antics as it bounced around.Trevor LaClair said he filmed the scene in April 2023, when the bear pulled the carcass from a frozen pond.“Two of the wolves approached the grizzly. One of the wolves got too close and the bear lunged at it as a warning. However, the wolf viewed it as an opportunity to potentially lure the bear away and began play bowing and bouncing around,” LaClair wrote on Instagram.“After a while, the grey wolf gave up and laid down nearby, waiting patiently for a piece of meat,” LaClair added. The grizzly eventually left and the wolves were able to get their turn.According to the National Wildlife Federation, a wolf will dance and bow if it is feeling playful. Credit: Trevor LaClair via Storyful
Storyful
Tiger Cub Plays 'Su-paw-visor' for Window Cleaner at Zoo
A Sumatran tiger cub named Zara has demonstrated keen “su-paw-visor” skills, closely observing the work of a window cleaner at Nashville Zoo.The adorable clip shows the tiger cub following the cleaner’s squeegee along the glass, and occasionally pouncing at it.Zara and her siblings Bulan and Kirana were the first Sumatran tiger cubs to be born at Nashville Zoo. Credit: Nashville Zoo via Storyful
Manchester Evening News
Sixth tourist dies on Greek islands this month as UK holidaymakers issued warning
Several tourists have died in the country as it experiences a heatwave with temperatures reaching 40C in some areas
People
Woman 'Seriously Injured' After Being Mauled by Wolves at Zoo in France
A Paris woman was attacked by Arctic wolves while out for a run at the Thoiry ZooSafari in France and sustained bites to her neck, leg and back
Daily Echo
Marwell Zoo announce death of 'lovable, goofy and cheeky' Amur tiger
Marwell Zoo has announced the death of one of its biggest characters, endangered male Amur tiger Bagai.
Associated Press
South Sudan says its 6M antelope make up world’s largest land mammal migration, but poaching on rise
Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope racing across the vast grasslands of South Sudan in what conservationists say is the world's largest land mammal migration. The country's first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey, released Tuesday, found about 6 million antelope. The estimate from the nonprofit African Parks, which conducted the work along with the government, far surpasses other large migratory herds such as the estimated 1.36 million wildebeests surveyed last year in the Serengeti straddling Tanzania and Kenya.
CNN
At least 2 are dead from catastrophic Midwest flooding and a Minnesota dam is at risk of failing
At least two people are dead after severe storms and major flooding hit the Midwest, according to officials, and a dam in southern Minnesota built in the early 1900s is at risk of collapse.
CBC
Petting zoo animals at London Pride event die after Ontario farm receives anonymous anti-2SLGBTQ+ email
This story has been updated since it was first published to include new details from the London Police Service.London police are investigating the deaths of two animals and the illness of a third after they were on display at a petting zoo for children, part of a weekend Pride event in the southwestern Ontario city.Two rodents — a Patagonian cavy named Bean and Cashew the guinea pig — died, and Apollo the goat is being monitored for symptoms at the farm, said Bethany Tout, owner of Little Hobby
CNN
The ‘world’s largest mammal migration’ happens here every year. War means no one knows about it
New research shows that more than 5 million antelope cross South Sudan each year – blowing the world-famous Serengeti migration out of the water.
Associated Press
At least 24 killed by flooding, landslides after days of heavy rains in Ivory Coast’s largest city
Flooding and landslides in Ivory Coast’s largest city of Abidjan have left at least 24 people dead following a week of heavy rains, four times the usual volume in some cases, authorities said Tuesday. The flooding and landslides have also caused “significant” damage across the city, flooding houses and roads, said the Ivory Coast National Office for Civil Protection. Officials last year demolished houses built along a lagoon in Abidjan as a measure to prevent deadly floods.
KameraOne
Hidden crisis: Diver's shocking encounter with plastic pollution beneath pristine waters
While swimming in El Poris, Spain, a diver recorded the moment she came across a disheartening sight on April 15, 2023. From the surface, the water of Tenerife island looks perfect, but after taking a dip below, the diver found a harsh reality of plastic pollution in the sea.
Storyful
Hailstones Splash Into Utah's Lake Powell During Storm
Hailstones pelted southern Utah during a severe thunderstorm on Friday, June 21.Footage taken by J Bart Mills shows large hailstones splashing into Ice Cream Canyon and Lake Powell in southern Utah on Friday, as a severe thunderstorm brought heavy rain and wind to the region.The National Weather Service forecast winds up to 60 miles per hour and ping-pong-ball-sized hail. Credit: J Bart Mills via Storyful
The Independent
Sunspot that caused intense solar storms makes dramatic comeback
Solar storm could bring extreme auroras, as well as ‘complete collapse’ of electrical grids and blackouts, NOAA warns
Associated Press
Swiss inspect the damage after sudden storms flood roads, halt air traffic in Geneva
Clean-up crews and business owners were inspecting the damage Wednesday after sudden storms lashed southwestern Switzerland the previous night, sending torrents of water through roads and temporarily halting air traffic at Geneva's airport. In the lakeside town of Morges, a creek overflowed, inundating downtown streets with tan-colored floodwater. The town said no one was injured but that water flows hit 43 cubic meters (1,518 cubic feet) per second, well above the 100-year record of 34 cubic meters (1,200 cubic feet) per second.
Euronews
Hybrid vehicles have proven to be the right choice for decarbonisation
Instead of considering EVs and hybrids as competing solutions, we should recognise that they are complementary solutions for different problems, Patrice Haettel writes.

Latest stories