Bamboo, how do you get rid of this plant? (growing, grass, trees)

[piyf]

I guess the owners before me thought it would be a good idea to plant them. They are worse than elephant ears. New ones sprout everyday and grow dang near a foot a day it seems like. I just recently cut about 100 of them and 2 weeks later had to pull up 30 baby ones.

I'm assuming just pulling all of them will not end them growing back. Can you put something down that will go through the entire plant that will kill it, FOREVER?

[Bulldogdad]

You can't cut your way our of this situation. Instead of cutting the new shoots I suggest spraying with a concentrated dose of roundup and let die. Everytime week or two repeat the procedure. You really need to let the roundup drill down as far as possible into the root system. This could take a year or more depending on how extensive the root system has become. Leave the dead shoots for a week before removing. If they are popping up in a neighbors yard you need to hit those as well. If you are worried about affecting other plants paint the roundup on with a brush. since you have been cutting all the new growth it is going to be easy to target any new growth. You need a schedule and stick to it. It's the only way.

[HWTechGuy]

The suggestion above is excellent. Concentrated Roundup. I achieved success with that as well.

I was at war with bamboo for years at my old house up north. My old neighbor, who was an absolute moron for many reasons in addition to planting bamboo all over his yard for privacy, simply didn't care that it was spreading onto my property from his.

I just kept cutting at it for a few years until I realized it wasn't really accomplishing anything. Since bamboo spreads underground and the root system is all connected, I employed a new strategy. I bought a metal brush blade for my trimmer and cut it all down to about 4" high.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. You can buy a generic version at Tractor Supply, it's much cheaper than buying the brand name stuff at Lowes/Home Depot.

I filled all of the freshly-cut stalks with the glyphosate and left them in the ground. Any new growth got the same treatment. I kept at it until there was snow on the ground. The following spring I got no new growth and some of the bamboo on the other side of the fence in my neighbor's yard was brown and dead. It took a few years before I got invaded with anymore growth. I then repeated the process.

[Bulldogdad]

^^^Yup.

By all means dont pay full price for Roundup.

You can find lots of deals if you just look a little.

[no kudzu]

I had a belly full of the stuff on some investment property so I had a back hoe come in and rip it all up. Cleaned out the ditch they were planted to hide by original owner some 60 years ago. It still pops up from time to time and I try to stay on it. I'm keeping this thread ready for the next time somebody wants to know if they should plant bamboo for a "good and fast growing privacy screen". It is the DEVIL CHILD of the plant world along with siblings Kudzu and mimosa trees.

[Meyerland]

Do the above to kill it, and put in metal or hard plastic sheets into the ground to isolate the bamboo. I have heard that this can work, so I am not sure how long they should be. Maybe 2-3 feet deep. I have heard it is incredibly hard to get rid of. Sorry about that!

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

I had a belly full of the stuff on some investment property so I had a back hoe come in and rip it all up. Cleaned out the ditch they were planted to hide by original owner some 60 years ago. It still pops up from time to time and I try to stay on it. I'm keeping this thread ready for the next time somebody wants to know if they should plant bamboo for a "good and fast growing privacy screen". It is the DEVIL CHILD of the plant world along with siblings Kudzu and mimosa trees.

Dalis grass.

[no kudzu]

Bulldogdad. I agree but people don't really plant dallis grass thinking they are doing a good think like they do with bamboo and mimosa trees ("But oh dear- they have such pretty little fluffy pink flowers".)

[PAhippo]

I think that stuff is taking over NE PA. Going to write this down and put it in my little 'stuff I don't want to forget' notebook!

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Bulldogdad. I agree but people don't really plant dallis grass thinking they are doing a good think like they do with bamboo and mimosa trees ("But oh dear- they have such pretty little fluffy pink flowers".)

I know, I was just getting a dig in at my nemesis.