Recent Findings

The Common Furniture Beetle (CFB)

• Adult beetle; 3-5 mm long.

• Larvae; up to 6mm long

• Flight holes 1-2 mm diameter.

Recently cut holes would exhibit sharp edges and you would see the lighter inner sides of the hole. Eventually this light hole interior would darken from oxidisation.

You will very easily insert a screwdriver into damaged timber. Timber will typically be quite crumbly where badly affected.

• Damage is restricted mainly to sapwood, except where rot is present.

• Bore dust-frass: usually collects in cobwebs under attacked timber, light in colour and lemon-shaped pellets, gritty.

Unfortunately, the sight of old exit holes, the absence of bore dust or beetles is no indication that activity has ceased and that no infestation is present. Once the beetles have emerged, they will be looking around for somewhere to lay their eggs.

The nearest and most convenient timber for this purpose is right to hand and, accordingly, re-infestation is a very common phenomena. For this reason it is never possible for a surveyor to say that activity has ceased.

An infestation by woodworm is a natural hazard for dwellings and if there is visible evidence of exit holes the surveyor has done his duty by reporting on their presence.

It is up to the new owner to decide whether he is prepared to wait for further evidence of activity later on deduced from regular inspections, before ordering treatment, recognising that this could be more disruptive once the dwelling is occupied.

Japanese Knotweed

A recent finding of a large area of Japanese Knotweed next to a property I was surveying for a first time investor. After inspecting the 1970's building which needs updating but structurally sound I carried on to survey the garden, garage and surrounding areas. There was a public walkway to the rear of this row of buildings for access to the back gardens which was well and truly over grown.

Taking a closer look I recognised a plant that I don't come across very often which had taken over the whole area of this walk way. I was 99.9% sure that I knew what this plant was, but to make sure I took some samples of the leaf and stalks. I take many photos of my site inspections and certainly of something that will need further investigations. I took advantage of viewing this area from a first floor bedroom window and with a pair of binoculars and a good camera, I was able to see that this plant had spread into the gardens and beyond either side of the public walk way. After the site visit I had my samples confirmed by an expert so I could advise my client correctly.

What is Japanese knotweed?

Japanese knotweed is a tall, vigorous ornamental plant that escaped from cultivation in the late nineteenth century to become an aggressive invader in the urban and rural environment.

What does Japanese knotweed look like?

Japanese knotweed, scientific names Fallopia japonica (Houtt. Ronse Decraene), Reynoutria japonica (Houtt.) or Polygonum cuspidatum (Siebold & Zuccarini) is a member of the dock family (Polygonaceae).

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It is a rhizomatous (produces underground stems) perennial plant with distinctive, branching, hollow, bamboo-like stems, covered in purple speckles, often reaching 2-3 m high. The

leaves of the mature plant are up to 120 mm in length with a flattened base and pointed tip and are arranged on arching stems in a zig-zag pattern.

The plant flowers late in the season, August to October, with small creamy-white flowers hanging in clusters from the leaf axils (point at which the leaf joins with the stem). The underground rhizomes are thick and woody with a knotty appearance and when broken reveal a bright orange-coloured centre. The rhizome system may extend to, and beyond, a depth of at least 2m and extend 7m laterally from a parent plant.

During winter, the leaves die back to reveal orange/brown coloured woody stems which may stay erect for several years. Stem and leaf material decomposes slowly, leaving a deep layer of plant

litter. During March to April, the plant sends up new shoots, red/purple in colour with rolled back leaves. These shoots grow rapidly due to stored nutrients in the extensive rhizome system. Growth rates of up to 40 mm a day have been recorded.

Dispersal

The spread and high regeneration rates of the plant have serious implications for dispersal by both natural and human means. In river catchments, fragments of rhizomes or cut stems that are washed into watercourses under high water flows can form new plants downstream.

Fly-tipping garden waste that contains stem or rhizome fragments, using contaminated topsoil and transporting soil from infested sites during construction works are the main ways that people spread the plant. Small fragments of stem and rhizome may also be transferred from an infested site to other sites on machinery, for example for building works or for maintaining road verges.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA 1981):

Section14(2) states that “if any person plants or otherwise causes to grow in the wild any plant which is included in Part II of Schedule 9, he shall be guilty of an offence.” Japanese knotweed is one of the plants listed in the Schedule.

You could be taken to court if it spreads onto a neighbour’s land,

Causing it to spread into the wild is an offence, All parts of the plant are controlled waste and must disposed of correctly by experts who will have to then put in place a controlled program to try and eliminate the invasion of this plant.

This is a serious matter (Condition rating 3) which is reported in my Home Condition Surveys to show that this will be a costly, time consuming and legal problem.