Mention biocontrol and people think of the cane toad catastrophe. But a sap-sucking bug could be the only way to win the war against the world's worst weed
WE ARE under attack. An alien is overrunning our gardens and breaking into our homes – cracking concrete foundations, smashing through brickwork and rearing up between floorboards. The invader is Japanese knotweed, and it is no ordinary weed. This plant, it's fair to say, is one of the most hated in the world.
And the headline-grabbing horror stories of infested homes and plummeting property prices are just part of it. Out in the wild, knotweed is choking waterways, undermining flood defences and smothering native habitats across large swathes of Europe and North America. The plant has even found its way to Australia and New Zealand. "Outside ...
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