It has been proven in Australia that the invasive cane toads are taking a more direct approach to conquering the continent.

Rick Shine of the University of Sydney and his colleagues have managed to analyse 10 years of tracking data as the cane toads invaded the Northern territories.

The data showed that the first toads to arrive travelled in straight lines covering the ground quicker. The slower toads hopped randomly all over the place and got there three years later. The team then bred the speedy toads together* (nb* it was a quick process as they got straight down to it) and showed that the progeny of these faster toads followed more direct paths than the offspring of the slower parents.

Shine suggests that this inheritable trait could explain the accelerated invasion….

So if toads can have traits that enable them to invade quicker and more efficiently… are the various Japanese knotweeds at large in the UK showing variable speeds of ‘invasiveness*’ …?

Well the first thing to say is that the toads have sexually reproduced with a variable DNA base meaning that successive generations could breed in a particular benefit – whereas Japanese Knotweed has all been cloned from the original plant brought over to Kew in 1850 by Phillipp Von Siebold. Cloning means that each successive generation will have identical characteristics to its parent meaning that there would be no selection, improvement or variation in character.

What can be suggested by the data available is that Japanese Knotweed is moving its way further Northward in the UK and that it continues to grow both later in the season and start to produce buds earlier each year. This could be a symptom of milder winters, earlier Spring or even global warming?…

Watching Countryfile on TV a couple of weeks ago I noticed an article on ground dwelling bees which had become newly resident on the South coast – these bees had come over from Europe and were now making their way Northward.

What should be noted with all these cases is the adaptability of invasive non-native species. It bodes caution and awareness in all of us that if we see something ‘unusual’ then we should check and identify what it is you have seen – whether it be a plant or an animal.

….and watch out for those toads – they’re coming straight at you!

Mike C

*Invasiveness – NOT A REAL WORD!

Have you ever sworn at a waiter whilst complaining about the food in a restaurant? Do you get impatient when waiting to check in/check out of the hotel? Do you get agitated if someone cuts past you on the motorway when its goes from two lanes into one…or are you the type who just calmly accepts life’s little challenges and doesn’t rise to any of these issues?

My brother and I are totally different he’s calm and collected, he analyses everything and takes ages to decide on anything. Dave’s been looking to get a new kitchen for years and goes into the minutiae of every part of the potential purchase – often taking so long that the manufacturers of the item he wanted have ceased trading and retired…

I tend to be a bit more emotive in my decision making process – if it feels right I just buy it and get on with things. I used to say that I used my… ‘gut feeling’ …when making decisions until someone told me that ‘gut’ stands for ‘gave up thinking’…!

In the past my brother and I have fallen out over our different approaches to life and my testosterone levels have dictated that we end up not speaking for weeks/months. In my head I used to just be convinced that I was right and he was wrong…simple.

However, over the years I’ve seen my brother flourish with his approach and have been trying to adopt his calm and relaxed demeanour into my life. So now when my wife keeps me waiting to pick her up whilst she has one more coffee with her sister…it’s not a problem. When my car is being serviced and it’s not ready when they said it would be…it’s not a problem. People now push past me in queues at the supermarket and if I let a car in front of me whilst driving, I now find another twenty following suit and ignoring me…

So… either my testosterone has sunk to an all-time low or I’m mellowing…

But which approach is best when managing Japanese Knotweed?…

Our clients tend to fall into the categories I’ve described above – client number one is very relaxed and wants a longer term management strategy putting into place where over a number of years the infestation is gradually depleted and eventually eradicated. Client number two has an instant knee jerk reaction and wants every trace of knotweed removed from his site instantly…

There is mileage in each of these approaches and it very much depends on the end use of the site and the timings of the building or development works planned.

Personally I’ve always been a ‘get in and clear it’ type of guy…this is nothing to do with my ‘gut’ feelings, but more to do with my experience of what can happen to sprayed and treated areas of sites that aren’t managed correctly. If some unknowing machine operator drives through an area of Japanese Knotweed that is undergoing treatment and spreads the viable rhizome all over your development site – your costs can increase massively. So whilst the longer term approach may appear cheaper on paper, you must add back in to your equation the possible risks associated with having a still viable knotweed stand on your land.

It’s all down to ‘risk management’ at the end of the day – every site is different.

We will always discuss your site requirements and will always tailor our strategies to fit both your budget and your development programme – and we will always advise you of the risks to enable you to make the best and most cost effective decisions.

So no matter which character type you fit into, we will ensure that you get the best results.

Mike C – the ‘C‘ stands for ‘calm’

I’m always interested in finding out who actually introduced our various invasive non-native species to the United Kingdom? It is often difficult to put a specific name against a particular plant and say – ‘so and so’ was the person responsible for the introduction of ‘x’ plant on ‘insert date’. The name most associated with Japanese Knotweed would be Phillip F Von Siebold who reputedly sent samples of Fallopia Japonica to the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew in 1849 – starting an invasion that is still causing problems today.

More often these invasions take place gradually over a number of years – perhaps an accidental introduction then a gradual slow incremental spread – followed by a huge growth phase. Often these plants aren’t particularly on anybody’s ‘radar’ and it is only when someone takes notice that a problem is recognised. Himalayan balsam for example was first discovered in the wild in 1855 yet it took till 2006 for the first paper showing its negative impacts.

The example of the ruddy duck in Europe is a good example of what happens without early detection and response. First introduced to Britain from America it was allowed to escape and establish a breeding population as it was believed to have little local impact. With interbreeding and competition however it has become the biggest threat to the white headed duck in Spain. Failure to act and the consequences led to huge expenses being incurred with costs in excess of £5 million being spent in Britain alone where it had become widespread.

Many of our problem plant species in the UK were introduced by the Victorian gardeners who were intent on creating fantastic gardens full of exotic species from around the world.

King Louis XIV was known for his interest in botany, his legacy included more than thirteen hundred new species. Among this huge list was Rhododendron  ponticum first seen near the Turkish town of Pontus. This evergreen shrub appears to have been first brought to Britain from south western Spain in 1763 and was welcomed into all the best gardens.

The Victorian gardeners liberally planted R.ponticum as a rootstock on which to graft less vigorous and more exotic Rhododendron species. Rootstock suckered and spread and the prolific tiny seeds it produced helped it travel the length and breadth of Britain along railway embankments and taking up residence in woodlands.

There were originally two limiting factors in the spread of this evergreen invader;

It could not abide lime rich soils

It could not survive very cold winters
Whilst it still does not pose a problem in areas of calcareous soils …it has now naturalised up into the far north of Britain and has evolved a cold tolerance. Recent research has discovered that populations of R.ponticum in eastern Scotland contain genes from more cold tolerant species, Rhododendron catawbiense- this species was introduced from North America and can tolerate temperatures much colder than anything ever recorded in Britain.

Somewhere along the line R. ponticum evidently hybradized with R. catawbiense and has acquired genes from this source.This points to a further problem with invasive non-native species in their ability to become genetically modified.

Bad enough that invasions can happen and can be very serious – but even worse still, when genes move between species allowing plants to invade new habitats in which previously they were unable to survive.

This makes ‘naming’ the culprit who introduced a problem plant even more difficult as multiple factors have been involved…perhaps I could become an alien plant detective….???

Mike C

Ref Jonathon Silverton – Demons in Eden / ref The Royal Society of Edinburgh Discussion Forum Dr Niall Moore / Prof Chris Thomas

When I have read about genetically modified (GM) plants I have been under the misconception that these were simply plants given a boost to speed up growth and increase crop production. I then filed the thought of GM crops under a label of …’there must be a catch’. I didn’t really think through what was actually being offered.

The more sceptical amongst us worry more about the details of GM food;

Potential threats to human health from consuming food from GM crops

Possibilities that GM crops could have adverse environmental effects including the risk that some might become invasive weeds

Contamination of non-GM by genes carried in pollen or seeds
One area that I have never understood is the confusion in where the risk lies? Is it in the GM technology itself or from the genes that the technology has been used to transfer?

Supporters of the GM debate tend to argue that the methods used are simply a better way of achieving what plant breeders have been doing for millennia – and just speeding up what has naturally happened in nature throughout the history of life.

At a conference in Atlanta Toby Bradshaw a plant biotechnologist stated … ‘it’s a myth to think that humans invented the transfer of genes into plants. It has been done for millions and millions of years by soil bacteria, and it is possible to convince those bacteria to transfer any bit of DNA that you would like moved into a plant.’ Earlier in the year a group calling itself the ‘Earth Liberation Front’ had burned Bradshaw’s lab to the ground citing the fact that his work … ‘unleashes mutant genes into the environment…’

However the genes that the scientists trick the soil bacteria into transferring are not the genes that these bacteria naturally transfer – even if the process is natural, the product is not.

Proponents of GM focus on the safety of the tools for the gene transfer – and tend to consider that the problems are only associated with particular genes – ie it’s not the GM tool – but what you do with it that matters. Those against GM ignore this distinction taking the stance that exotic genes couldn’t be transferred and become a problem without the GM technology.

Conventional plant breeding can produce odd products – but these hazards receive no attention because they never get to the market place.

One of the earliest ‘rumours’ around GM crops was the suspicion that they had a resistance to antibiotics. The gene was there as a by-product of the genetic engineering process – not because it served any useful function. The idea persisted that the GM food might contain something that might inactivate antibiotics – and the fear that this could spread from GM crops caused understandable alarm.

Current fears concern genes for herbicide tolerance and a gene that produces a toxin that kills caterpillars. Obviously farmers are in a continual battle against weeds and insect pests – any advantageous method that reduces damage done by these two scourges would help them…if…they can still sell the crop. The ‘if’ is crucial – if consumers are suspicious of GM crops then supermarket chains and food producers will simply refuse to buy the crops.

From the farmer’s viewpoint, a perfect herbicide is one that will kill problem weeds without doing any damage to the crop. The big herbicide manufacturers like Monsanto have produced GM crop varieties that are tolerant of their proprietary brand herbicides – thus by sowing these GM seeds and applying the proprietary herbicide… a farmer can in theory grow a weed free crop.

But what happens if these plants cross pollinate with other species producing plants that are tolerant of herbicides ….

No competent plant scientist would ever claim to be ignorant of the possibilities when adjacent herbicide tolerant plants that are insect pollinated are put into the general cycle of food production. Herbicide tolerance could well spread form these fields into the wild causing irreversible harm …

Imagine a herbicide tolerant, fertile Japanese Knotweed plant and you have a major issue on your hands …with very few weapons to tackle it with.

Mike C

Ref: ‘Demons in Eden’ Jonathon Silverman

Is it just me or are we all too busy to ever actually have the time to enjoy what we are doing at any particular moment? We are so busy moving on to the next thing that we are doing, that we lose track of the simpler pleasure of enjoying the moment that you are actually ‘in’…

This isn’t just in our private lives but this has also become a problem in the businesses that we run. We chase all over the country for the next project that we are going to do, we push for the order, we push to get on site, we push to get the job done, we push to get the invoice out …then we push for payment…whilst all the time looking for the next project that we are going to get involved with.

Note : When I say ‘we’ here I don’t mean Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd – I mean ‘we’ as in all of us!

But why is this? Wouldn’t we all be better off slowing down a bit? Make sure the job is done correctly? …maybe have some time to ensure the job ends with a quality finish and an aftercare package in place?

What is it that prevents this approach…?

It’s a simple answer – in this very complex world that we live in – it’s all down to MONEY.

Mobile phones have a lot to answer for, e-mails, social networking sites, Skype – all great inventions – but what they actually achieved is a climate of quick responses, quick turn around and very little time to think and plan ahead.

Maybe the ‘economic downturn’ has an equal amount of the blame – many people I know have stated that over the last couple of years they have been working twice as hard – just to achieve the same income level as they had in previous years. We are all concerned that with the banks squeezing every penny, we have to bill more, we have to turn over more and we can never relax for a minute…once you relax, you’re dead. Margins have come down, profit has become a dirty word …therefore you have to turn over more, just to be able to reach the same profit levels that you did when turning over half what you do now…

I started to think about this last week when looking at our management figures for the month. I then looked at what we billed in a typical week and it set me to thinking that our weekly turnover is now greater than what my entire first year in business was…

But… am I any happier?…am I any wealthier?…am I more stressed?

The answer would be a resounding ‘NO’ to the first two questions and a ‘YES’ to the third.

So maybe we need to ALL slow down, let’s ALL put our prices up…let’s ALL do fewer jobs…

Any jobs that we do – let’s do them really well and make some money ENJOYING what we do…let’s look up and smell the roses, let’s stop and enjoy the view, lets finish early on a Friday and go fishing, let’s enjoy being in a Great country…

We are all only here once…so let’s enjoy it a bit more whilst were here?

Anyway – must go – 68 emails have come in whilst I’ve been writing this and my mobile just hasn’t stopped ringing.

Mike C

Built in obsolescence’, is this a phrase that you want to hear about something you’ve recently bought….I think not.

I was talking recently with my youngest daughter about ‘craftsmen’ – those purveyors of quality within whatever field or product it is that they produce. One of Meg’s heroes from the world of prosthetic make-up had recently passed away and she said .. ‘you know what dad, there will never be another Dick Smith…the world no longer produces people like that …’

I’ve been thinking a lot about what she said and I’m beginning to wonder if she’s right?

I like my cars, I do a lot of miles (35,000 plus per annum), I change cars every two years – so I consider myself a fairly good judge of where cars have gone over the last twenty years, and my considered opinion that the majority of vehicles are NOT as well made as they once were. My first Porsche was built like a brick shit house – it was solid, the doors shut with a real clunk and you knew you were in a quality vehicle. My most recent Porsche had door trim falling off within a month and the rear hydraulic hinges on the boot were rusty within six months…not what you expect on a ‘premium’ vehicle.

There are reasons for this – (or are they ‘excuses’ ) – cars need to be lighter, cars need to be more easily re-cycled, cars need to be more fuel efficient, cars need to collapse in an accident …blah, blah,blah…what we end up with is something that feels cheap and crappy. What I actually want from a car is something that feels well-made and is something that I can cherish and look after ….and enjoy the experience of driving.

I like my gadgets as well, i-phone 5 ‘S’ currently my favoured model (I have two, one in black and one in white) – wonderful technology, incredibly quick and incredibly useful…but two years into ownership and the on/off button has stopped working…and it keeps losing power for no obvious reason….and low and behold just as this starts to happen…the new i-phone 6 raises its head…

Perhaps this inherent ’built in obsolescence’ is a symptom of a society which doesn’t appreciate quality? We want things cheap and we want them now…

Cars have to go faster and faster and be more and more fuel efficient whilst prices come down and quality theoretically goes up…

I’m sure you are all wondering how I can get this back to the world of invasive weed management. Well where I’m going with this is that Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd are at the quality end of the scale – we came into this field with the express intention of making a difference, not just making a quick profit.

‘Other’ companies have looked to ‘expand their portfolio’ to ‘create new income streams’ to increase ‘revenue’ during the ‘economic downturn’ ….

It is possible to do a quick treatment of invasive species that looks pretty damn dramatic. You can hit the surface growth of any plant and make it look dead, all browned off and looking very poorly. But what about the beneath ground growth?… what about the seed bank?… what about other species?… what’s going to grow where you have killed an invasive species?…

These are not questions a damp proof company are going to be able to answer…or even think about to be honest – all they are after is a bit of extra dosh to help them through the recession.

So who would you prefer working on your invasive weed problems? Someone who is looking to ‘increase revenue’ ….or somebody who genuinely has a passion for resolving problems with invasive species?

Pick a craftsman not a cowboy.

Mike C

I’m weird, I know this, many of you that know me – know this too. I do many weird things and have an overriding hate of cheap crap and tacky stuff. I hate cheap unpalatable food – I’d rather not eat than eat rubbish (…and haven’t had a McDonalds or Burger King meal for over 20 years). If someone tries to sell me something and uses the phrase ‘you can save ‘x’ amount’ or ‘this is a bargain’ – I immediately switch off and don’t want it.

I hate sales, I hate end of season bargains and I’ve never bought anything that was ‘last year’s model’…

I therefore struggle with working with the type of person that looks for a bargain or a cheap offer – I know I’m going to dislike them before we’ve even started a working relationship. I have a way of detecting ‘assholes’ – if I arrive at a meeting in my car and the client says ‘I must be paying you too much’ or ‘I’ve paid for that car’ …what I should do instead of smiling politely and laughing is tell them to go f**k themselves and just get back in my car. It’s the same with people that go through the bill in a restaurant arguing that they only had ‘one poppadum’ or that they ‘didn’t have a starter’ …cheapskates …should all be shot…

So why is it that people always want to have the cheapest price? What do they think they are gaining? I’ve got to be honest with the majority of my clients using me on a repeat basis – I’m not going to over-charge them, and I certainly won’t be ‘ripping’ anybody off – yet they just won’t believe me – they have to get three or more prices before they can give me an instruction.

Is this really cost effective?

When I get work done on my house I never ask for three prices – ever.

I get a recommendation from someone I know then I ask for the builder/plumber/electrician to give me a price for the works and providing the price is ‘reasonable’ then he gets the job. But…I hear you ask …how do you know what’s ‘reasonable’…

Well…you look at the day rate for what he is doing, you look at the materials costs, the you look at what profit he is making and decide whether you would be happy to get paid what he gets paid…least ways that’s what I do. Most of the time you will get a little variation in what people charge as a day rate but most people are ‘reasonable’.

What magical formulae do clients think that people are going to produce to make them do a job cheaper then the next contractor? Either the materials that they provider are shoddy and sub-standard or the labour rate is based on fewer days? There is no other way to save money on a job. Yes you can work harder, more efficiently, maybe some companies own machinery, others rent or hire it in – but there isn’t a huge difference. Maybe company one is nearer to you therefore they might save a few quid on travelling costs…but in the scheme of things its pennies.

Wouldn’t you prefer to work with a company that you know and trust rather than going with a cheaper alternative that you know nothing about? ….

So let’s just cut all this nonsense, just come to Japanese Knotweed Solutions, you know we are the best…and stop being a cheapskate…

Mike C

I’m weird, I know this, many of you that know me – know this too. I do many weird things and have an overriding hate of cheap crap and tacky stuff. I hate cheap unpalatable food – I’d rather not eat than eat rubbish (…and haven’t had a McDonalds or Burger King meal for over 20 years). If someone tries to sell me something and uses the phrase ‘you can save ‘x’ amount’ or ‘this is a bargain’ – I immediately switch off and don’t want it.

I hate sales, I hate end of season bargains and I’ve never bought anything that was ‘last year’s model’…

I therefore struggle with working with the type of person that looks for a bargain or a cheap offer – I know I’m going to dislike them before we’ve even started a working relationship. I have a way of detecting ‘assholes’ – if I arrive at a meeting in my car and the client says ‘I must be paying you too much’ or ‘I’ve paid for that car’ …what I should do instead of smiling politely and laughing is tell them to go f**k themselves and just get back in my car. It’s the same with people that go through the bill in a restaurant arguing that they only had ‘one poppadum’ or that they ‘didn’t have a starter’ …cheapskates …should all be shot…

So why is it that people always want to have the cheapest price? What do they think they are gaining? I’ve got to be honest with the majority of my clients using me on a repeat basis – I’m not going to over-charge them, and I certainly won’t be ‘ripping’ anybody off – yet they just won’t believe me – they have to get three or more prices before they can give me an instruction.

Is this really cost effective?

When I get work done on my house I never ask for three prices – ever.

I get a recommendation from someone I know then I ask for the builder/plumber/electrician to give me a price for the works and providing the price is ‘reasonable’ then he gets the job. But…I hear you ask …how do you know what’s ‘reasonable’…

Well…you look at the day rate for what he is doing, you look at the materials costs, the you look at what profit he is making and decide whether you would be happy to get paid what he gets paid…least ways that’s what I do. Most of the time you will get a little variation in what people charge as a day rate but most people are ‘reasonable’.

What magical formulae do clients think that people are going to produce to make them do a job cheaper then the next contractor? Either the materials that they provider are shoddy and sub-standard or the labour rate is based on fewer days? There is no other way to save money on a job. Yes you can work harder, more efficiently, maybe some companies own machinery, others rent or hire it in – but there isn’t a huge difference. Maybe company one is nearer to you therefore they might save a few quid on travelling costs…but in the scheme of things its pennies.

Wouldn’t you prefer to work with a company that you know and trust rather than going with a cheaper alternative that you know nothing about? ….

So let’s just cut all this nonsense, just come to Japanese Knotweed Solutions, you know we are the best…and stop being a cheapskate…

Mike C

I’m weird, I know this, many of you that know me – know this too. I do many weird things and have an overriding hate of cheap crap and tacky stuff. I hate cheap unpalatable food – I’d rather not eat than eat rubbish (…and haven’t had a McDonalds or Burger King meal for over 20 years). If someone tries to sell me something and uses the phrase ‘you can save ‘x’ amount’ or ‘this is a bargain’ – I immediately switch off and don’t want it.

I hate sales, I hate end of season bargains and I’ve never bought anything that was ‘last year’s model’…

I therefore struggle with working with the type of person that looks for a bargain or a cheap offer – I know I’m going to dislike them before we’ve even started a working relationship. I have a way of detecting ‘assholes’ – if I arrive at a meeting in my car and the client says ‘I must be paying you too much’ or ‘I’ve paid for that car’ …what I should do instead of smiling politely and laughing is tell them to go f**k themselves and just get back in my car. It’s the same with people that go through the bill in a restaurant arguing that they only had ‘one poppadum’ or that they ‘didn’t have a starter’ …cheapskates …should all be shot…

So why is it that people always want to have the cheapest price? What do they think they are gaining? I’ve got to be honest with the majority of my clients using me on a repeat basis – I’m not going to over-charge them, and I certainly won’t be ‘ripping’ anybody off – yet they just won’t believe me – they have to get three or more prices before they can give me an instruction.

Is this really cost effective?

When I get work done on my house I never ask for three prices – ever.

I get a recommendation from someone I know then I ask for the builder/plumber/electrician to give me a price for the works and providing the price is ‘reasonable’ then he gets the job. But…I hear you ask …how do you know what’s ‘reasonable’…

Well…you look at the day rate for what he is doing, you look at the materials costs, the you look at what profit he is making and decide whether you would be happy to get paid what he gets paid…least ways that’s what I do. Most of the time you will get a little variation in what people charge as a day rate but most people are ‘reasonable’.

What magical formulae do clients think that people are going to produce to make them do a job cheaper then the next contractor? Either the materials that they provider are shoddy and sub-standard or the labour rate is based on fewer days? There is no other way to save money on a job. Yes you can work harder, more efficiently, maybe some companies own machinery, others rent or hire it in – but there isn’t a huge difference. Maybe company one is nearer to you therefore they might save a few quid on travelling costs…but in the scheme of things its pennies.

Wouldn’t you prefer to work with a company that you know and trust rather than going with a cheaper alternative that you know nothing about? ….

So let’s just cut all this nonsense, just come to Japanese Knotweed Solutions, you know we are the best…and stop being a cheapskate…

Mike C

I’m weird, I know this, many of you that know me – know this too. I do many weird things and have an overriding hate of cheap crap and tacky stuff. I hate cheap unpalatable food – I’d rather not eat than eat rubbish (…and haven’t had a McDonalds or Burger King meal for over 20 years). If someone tries to sell me something and uses the phrase ‘you can save ‘x’ amount’ or ‘this is a bargain’ – I immediately switch off and don’t want it.

I hate sales, I hate end of season bargains and I’ve never bought anything that was ‘last year’s model’…

I therefore struggle with working with the type of person that looks for a bargain or a cheap offer – I know I’m going to dislike them before we’ve even started a working relationship. I have a way of detecting ‘assholes’ – if I arrive at a meeting in my car and the client says ‘I must be paying you too much’ or ‘I’ve paid for that car’ …what I should do instead of smiling politely and laughing is tell them to go f**k themselves and just get back in my car. It’s the same with people that go through the bill in a restaurant arguing that they only had ‘one poppadum’ or that they ‘didn’t have a starter’ …cheapskates …should all be shot…

So why is it that people always want to have the cheapest price? What do they think they are gaining? I’ve got to be honest with the majority of my clients using me on a repeat basis – I’m not going to over-charge them, and I certainly won’t be ‘ripping’ anybody off – yet they just won’t believe me – they have to get three or more prices before they can give me an instruction.

Is this really cost effective?

When I get work done on my house I never ask for three prices – ever.

I get a recommendation from someone I know then I ask for the builder/plumber/electrician to give me a price for the works and providing the price is ‘reasonable’ then he gets the job. But…I hear you ask …how do you know what’s ‘reasonable’…

Well…you look at the day rate for what he is doing, you look at the materials costs, the you look at what profit he is making and decide whether you would be happy to get paid what he gets paid…least ways that’s what I do. Most of the time you will get a little variation in what people charge as a day rate but most people are ‘reasonable’.

What magical formulae do clients think that people are going to produce to make them do a job cheaper then the next contractor? Either the materials that they provider are shoddy and sub-standard or the labour rate is based on fewer days? There is no other way to save money on a job. Yes you can work harder, more efficiently, maybe some companies own machinery, others rent or hire it in – but there isn’t a huge difference. Maybe company one is nearer to you therefore they might save a few quid on travelling costs…but in the scheme of things its pennies.

Wouldn’t you prefer to work with a company that you know and trust rather than going with a cheaper alternative that you know nothing about? ….

So let’s just cut all this nonsense, just come to Japanese Knotweed Solutions, you know we are the best…and stop being a cheapskate…

Mike C