The endless battle...

[CompactTractorFan]

There are basically two types of bamboo, spreading and clumping. You must have the spreading kind and you will only get rid of it by digging up the rizomes. That is how it spreads. You can't chop it up with a tiller and get rid of it, that would just spread the roots. If you dig out all the roots that you can find it will thin it out, but you wont find them all and some will inevitible come back.You could spray it with tree killer like 2-4-D (dont know if you can buy that without a special license) you can get rid of it.
If you can lay your hands on some of it, you have to be extremely carefull as it will kill all trees and it only takes a few drops to damage or kill anything it gets on. I would check with a local horticulturist to see if he would spray it for you. Spreading bamboo and switch cane is hard to kill. In the south we also have Johnson's grass that was imported from Africa that spreads the same way and is hard to kill. IT takes many years of spraying to get rid of it. The commonly available without an applicator's license glyphosphate is mostly for grass and weeds and is so diluted as to be practically worthless except for yard grasses. Again, it might be worth your time to hire a professional to spray it with industrial strength material designed for the bamboo especially if you have a large patch of it.

Thanks for the info, but we don't want to use harsh chemicals.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Be careful with herbicides.

A long time ago, my uncle gave me some "brush killer" in a mason jar. I put it on the shelf in garage and forgot about it for years. One day I wanted to kill a stump and I remembered that stuff. I drilled a couple holes in the stump and poured a little of it in. I had a tiny cut on my finger and managed to get a drop on it.

Instantly, I had a nasty metallic taste in my mouth, started spitting, eyes watering, snot running. Then something grabbed me around the chest in a bear hug and I had to work for every breath. It didn't go away and I had to go to Emergency Room and spent a night in the hospital, afraid to go to sleep for fear of quitting breathing. Not a good feeling.

No damage, other than a permanent fear when I walk down the roundup isle. It took a long time before I would even touch Roundup again. Now when I mix it, I use heavy rubber gloves, paper towels, etc.

Yeah...uh...I don't think so...:confused2::confused2:

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Thanks for all the info John!!! :thumbsup:

There isn't an easy way!

That's for sure!!! :confused2:

If you don't intend to use the area for anything else for quite a few years, you can cut it down, spray it with the strongest stuff you can find and knock off every new shoot that emerges. Then you spray again...

We don't want to use chemicals.

A backhoe would make pretty quick work of it. Unfortunately, I don't own a backhoe.

We have one, so that's not a problem.

Good luck in your efforts to get rid of it!

Thanks!

 

[PoorMansCat]

A good friend of mine was able to successfully get rid of it... but not without cost and time.
The house they purchased had it WELL established in the back yard and it had already broken up sidewalks, curbing..etc...
They first cut down every stalk and hauled away. Immediately afterwards, they hired a local concrete guy to bring in his little skid steer with a flail attachment and pulverized the entire back yard several inches deep. (of course all the sidewalks were removed during this process) Afterwards, they brought in a landscaping crew that basically sifted all the soil for roots, bulbs..etc.. and before returning the soil back onto the yard, it was run thru a small portable rotary kiln that was propane fired...
IT took several intense weeks but there hasn't been any trace of it attempting to return.
The landscaping crew that performed this work said it was not the first time they had done battle against bamboo.. and also stated as others have said, simply cutting it down will not work..
Good luck!!!

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Bamboo is generally very invasive. At our first house, the previous owners planted bamboo in the backyard. It couldn't have been there very long, because it was still confined to a fairly small area. No kidding, every year it seemed to double.

For us, it was a three step process to get rid of it:

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Nah, really it was digging. Lots, and lots of digging. Fortunately, it was isolated in a fairly small area, and wasn't near any structures or trees.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I've got several varieties growing around the property. Where I don't want it to grow, I don't water. Where I don't want it to grow/spread and I must water for other plants, I kick the shoots over with my boot. Easy enough for me.

 

[JEH412]

We really didn't use much Roundup -- less than one-half of a small sprayer tank -- and that was on a bank that also had a lot of poison ivy. I prefer to stay away from chemicals, but will make exceptions for anything that has to do with poison!

Dig, dig and dig some more is really the best solution if you intend to plant anything else in the space! Your backhoe is going to be your go-to tool.

John

 

[CompactTractorFan]

A good friend of mine was able to successfully get rid of it... but not without cost and time.
The house they purchased had it WELL established in the back yard and it had already broken up sidewalks, curbing..etc...
They first cut down every stalk and hauled away. Immediately afterwards, they hired a local concrete guy to bring in his little skid steer with a flail attachment and pulverized the entire back yard several inches deep. (of course all the sidewalks were removed during this process) Afterwards, they brought in a landscaping crew that basically sifted all the soil for roots, bulbs..etc.. and before returning the soil back onto the yard, it was run thru a small portable rotary kiln that was propane fired...
IT took several intense weeks but there hasn't been any trace of it attempting to return.
The landscaping crew that performed this work said it was not the first time they had done battle against bamboo.. and also stated as others have said, simply cutting it down will not work..
Good luck!!!

Wow!!! That sounds like a lot of work...:confused2::confused2::confused2:

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Bamboo is generally very invasive. At our first house, the previous owners planted bamboo in the backyard. It couldn't have been there very long, because it was still confined to a fairly small area. No kidding, every year it seemed to double.

For us, it was a three step process to get rid of it:

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Here are some pictures:

 

[JEH412]

Oh, man, do those pics bring back memories ... and not necessarily good ones!

Looks like that grove really isn't all that old. In the pics, at least, I don't see any really thick culms. It takes 4-5 years for most to develop to the point where they have culms that will dry hard enough for trellises or much of anything else. Old or not, though, it is certainly well established and thick. Be thankful for that backhoe!

John

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Well, I've been working at it the last couple of days with the backhoe...Seems to do a pretty good job. I'll get pics at some point.

 

[two_bit_score]

Well, I've been working at it the last couple of days with the backhoe...Seems to do a pretty good job. I'll get pics at some point.

Good luck with your quest. Hope it works out well.

 

[Qapla]

We had some stands like that when we moved here 50 years ago.

My dad tried several things without much success. Then, he cut it down to "mound level" (if you notice, it grows in sort of a mound) and built a large fire on the root system. He burned it this way several times.

That has been nearly 40 years ago and it has not come back since.

You have to remember, bamboo is really a grass, not a tree. Treat it accordingly. And, since it grows and spreads from the roots, trying to just kill the tops will not work.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Good luck with your quest. Hope it works out well.

Thanks!!! I'll need it!!! :thumbsup:

 

[eastexan]

You must have a winter hardy variety. I thought it only grew in the Deep South. I'm surprised it grows up your way.

I've seen a lot of places here in East Texas and Louisiana where it runs rampant, and almost impossible to control. Places where it has grown out into the woods, among the trees.

Does the kind of bamboo you have stay green the year round?

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Yep, it is very green and hearty. Nothing kills it...:confused2:

 

[crazyal]

Around here we have Staghorn Sumac. It sounds like it grows in the same way your bamboo does. The best thing I have found is to use the dozer and uproot it then burn it.

 

[JEH412]

You must have a winter hardy variety. I thought it only grew in the Deep South. I'm surprised it grows up your way.

I've seen a lot of places here in East Texas and Louisiana where it runs rampant, and almost impossible to control. Places where it has grown out into the woods, among the trees.

Does the kind of bamboo you have stay green the year round?

There are several varieties that are winter hardy to at least Zone 5-6, perhaps colder. Phyllostachys and Fargesia are considered top hardy to -10F. Even at those temps, the rhizomes -- at least some of them -- will easily survive.

John