The Japanese knotweed I have personally dealt with in Seattle, beginning in the late 1970's, is nowhere as difficult to control
as this article would suggest. A stand of it exists on the margins of a community garden I was involved with. It was easily
dug up by hand, because the roots/runners do not go very deep. Regular mowing would cause it to weaken and eventually
retreat. The only reason that stand still exists today is that nobody has decided to make the by-no-means-unrealistic effort
to remove it. The knotweed I know never infests tended grounds. I don't know where people get the notion that they can turn their
backs on a piece of land, devoting zero resources to its management, and expect no negative consequences. You can't do that
with your home, or your children, or your equiment either.
