Am I right in thinking there are rather more of these weeds than hitherto?

On my way to work, the verges on the roadside appear covered with the things, and those in my garden bear a striking resemblance to triffids!

Could this be a cunning plan by Homebase? Over the past few days i've spent over £40 on weed and feed and Roundup (don't want to kill the neighbour's cat- just the weeds) and about 10 hours of slog in the garden.

In the old days one got rid of them with salt. Digging them up's useless- you'd need the skills of a dentist to get those roots out.
So what do the orgers do? Answers on this thread please?