Weeds
To prevent damage to the highway infrastructure and help keep our towns clean and tidy, we carry out a targeted weed treatment on roads and pavements twice a year:
- between mid-April and mid-June
- between mid-August and mid-October.
The timing depends on weather conditions. Plans can alter daily due to changeable weather, so we are unable to accurately forecast when teams may be working on your road or local area.
It takes 2 to 6 weeks to treat roads in one district. Some roads will be treated at the end of the programme, and therefore could have more weed growth by the time they are treated.
Treating weeds
We spot treat weeds where we find them along the kerb-line and pavements. We will not treat where there are no weeds, as the herbicide only works on the green leaf of a growing weed. We will still pass along a road where there are no weeds, as they check for weeds and move to the next road.
We do not treat weeds such as dandelions that grow in grass verges, or on shrub beds, or use neonicotinoids.
The herbicide we use is glyphosate diluted with water. It is the most commonly used weedkiller for public areas and is widely available from retail outlets.
It is approved for use by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as safe to its users and the public, and for use on the public highway, amenity areas, private properties and gardens.
Find out more about the safe use of glyphosate on the HSE website.
What happens after treatment
When treated, weeds do not die straight away. It can take several weeks for the weeds to die back and turn brown. The herbicide will only treat green weeds that are growing at the time of the treatment. New weeds will germinate and grow following the treatment and will be unaffected by the herbicide.
Once treated, the dead weeds will dry out, break up and be cleared up by the district council as part of their street cleansing programmes.
Harmful or invasive weeds
We use specialist treatment methods for harmful weeds, such as ragwort, giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed.
If you notice any of these harmful weeds on the highway then please report it online. If the weeds are located on private property then these are the responsibility of the landowner.
For Japanese knotweed located in the highway we have a planned treatment programme. We will visit these sites during September to apply herbicide.
More information on harmful and invasive weeds can be found on the GOV.UK website.
How you can help us
If it is safe to do so, pulling, hoeing and sweeping up weeds outside your property will help prevent weeds and may save us from using herbicide.
We recommend wearing gloves when touching any plant you are not familiar with, in case you have a reaction to sap or prickles. Leave recently treated weeds in place, as this will allow the herbicide to reach their roots and cause dieback on the weed.
We are unable to collect removed weeds or dirt from you, so carefully and safely dispose of them at a green waste recycling facility.
The highway can be a hazardous place. Always make sure you carry out any maintenance safely, wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and are aware of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicle traffic.
Report dead weeds to your district council.