Hi,
I'm working with a community that is very excited to work on Japanese Knotweed problems; they're sending letters out to landowners advising them of problems with the plant and a list of contractors they can contact to treat it. They want my help developing that list, and want to make sure the contractors on the list know what they're doing (they're suspicious, as am I, that your average lawn chemical company won't be knowledgeable about the right timing, chemicals, etc.). I know the Stewardship Network has a list that's a good starting place (https://www.stewardshipnetwork.org/resources/southern-michigan-restoration-contractors), but we've had some discussion about sending out a questionnaire to potential contractors to gauge their familiarity with this species, or trying to come up with a way to "certify" contractors that we trust for treating JK. Has anyone else done this? Or anything similar?
Thanks! Erin