Weeds damage homes as the climate warms

Paul Kelbie
The Observer, Sunday 7 June 2009

A combination of a warmer climate, increased rainfall and a ban on the use of chemicals has created an epidemic of weeds causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to homes and public buildings.
Homeowners are facing large bills due to weeds damaging pipes and buildings as climate change produces an explosion in plant life.
According to Peter Brownless, horticulturalist at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, long periods of warm and wet weather combined with increasing volumes of detritus in gutters and drains is encouraging plants to grow out of control at a faster rate than ever before.
"A recent change in European legislation means there are far less herbicides available for local authorities and home gardeners to use to control weeds," he said.
According to Brownless many problems are caused by alien species which are thriving in Scotland's increasingly mild climate. "One plant that's causing quite a bit of concern at the moment is the New Zealand waterweed which established itself on Duddingston Loch in Edinburgh a few years ago and has out-competed many of the native plants.
"It only takes a few more degrees of warmth for some plants to self-seed and survive through the winter."
Michael Dymock, who works for Dyno-Rod drain services in Glasgow, said: "A lot of the damage can't be seen until it's too late. In the west of Scotland particularly there are thousands of miles of old clay and cast-iron pipes underground.
"These old, often Victorian, pipes are now starting to break as the roots of trees and plants find their way into the cracks and cause major blockages which result in waste water and sewage backing up into houses."