Invasive species

Our contractor Idverde carry out works to manage and eradicate invasive species within London Borough of Bromley (LBB) Land.

Key statistics and achievements

• 60 to 70 per cent of Japanese Knotweed eradicated on Bromley land since 2018.
• Low amounts of pesticides and herbicides are used. We have halved our herbicide every year since 2018, only using under 2 litres in 2024 in all our NNIS treatments.
• Our contractor Idverde are actively pursuing alternatives to pesticides and herbicides, such as tree poppers and winching NNIS tree stumps rather than painting with herbicides.

Friends of Park

Idverde frequently offer non-native invasive species training to the Friends Forum members. Friends of Parks are trained by Idverde to better identify, and best practices for controlling or eradicating non-native invasive species. This helps them identify non-native species within the parks, and Idverde work with Friends of parks and Bromley Countryside volunteers during the group’s weekly workdays.

If you would like to become a friend of park, check out our information page.

What we can do

We can remove invasive species within our parks, green spaces, and verges. However, we cannot remove invasive species from private property. Nevertheless, these pages act as a basic guide to help identify invasive species.

Actions

If you believe you have seen invasive species in our parks or green spaces (and not their native counterparts) please report this through fix my street. Do not try to remove it yourselves, if it is in our parks and open spaces. 

Differences between non-native and invasive species

A non-native species is a species that has been introduced by human intervention either accidentally or deliberately.

Whereas non-native invasive species (NNIS) are species that cause a negative impact to the environment or economy.

The difference is that a non-native species does not have to be invasive and cause harm to the environment or economy. A non-native species found in green spaces does not need to be reported to the council unless it is classified as invasive by the non-native species secretariat.

Street weeds and non-native invasive species

We have a robust weed treatment programme for our street weeds. More information can be found on our weed control webpage. Street weeds do not necessarily have to be non-native invasive species. Please report street weeds through fix my street.

What to do if you have found invasive species on private land

If you are the landowner, you are responsible for stopping invasive non-native species from spreading and causing damage to other land or property. There is advice on management of non-native invasive species on the government’s website.