Just moved into our house in the last month and we have 2 different types of Bamboo in our garden. One is a very large cluster that was flagged in our survey, which we’ve already organised a landscaping company to come and remove and then just found out this is another type of bamboo which wasn’t flagged but appears to be coming from next doors garden. He has not long moved in too and we’ve both inherited a ton of bamboo from previous owners. Can’t afford landscaper to remove this as well and because it’s a much smaller area I was hoping to try and sort this out myself. Can anyone recommend the best weed killer to start to kill this off so that I can dig when the ground is a bit softer and hopefully be easier to remove?
Also need to consider a way to stop it from coming back from next door and wasn’t sure if the trench method or a barrier is best? Because I read the barrier has to be angled, wouldn’t that mean that the angle allows it to still grow upwards into my garden to stop the main spread?
(Last pic is the huge clump landscapers have already done test dig on.)
Thanks for reading this essay!
by Ffs132705
14 Comments
Either dig it all out or spray with roundup or similar, probably take a few doses to kill it completely though.
I recently used Glyphosate to deal with my neighbours overgrown bamboo (with consent) that was doing its best to work its way under my block paving. However it also killed everything else in the area so use with caution. Luckily for us it was just nettles and weeds caught in the crossfire.
Worked really well to kill it off so we could get in there and get it all out, there’s been a few shoots since but much easier to handle as and when they came back up.
Maybe your neighbour wants rid too. See if yous can cooperate. Best bet is to spray it. Be sure to do it on a dry dull day and give it a good 2 weeks to work before cutting the dead stuff out. Then just be vigilant for returning shoots and spray those too. Look for it coming back next year.
Alternatively, dig as much out as possible by the roots and then spray whatever survives and puts out shoots.
Definitely speak to the neighbour about it first and see if they want it gone. If it’s growing from their side then they really should foot the bill of getting it properly removed. If they still want it there, then they firstly may need to be better informed about what it’s brewing up for the future. This is worth a read: [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/11/big-british-bamboo-crisis-invaded-my-beautiful-home](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/11/big-british-bamboo-crisis-invaded-my-beautiful-home)
And then if they still want it there, the best bet is to dig it out on your side of the fence and put a barrier in. Using chemicals is a temporary solution with many other downsides, as someone here said they used glyphosphate and there have been new shoots coming up. Unless it’s removed from next door completely it will keep coming back and unless you put in a really good barrier, it’ll keep coming back. Do it once, do it right.
Just sleep in a bed inside your house?
That bamboo doesn’t look like it will ever be very comfortable to sleep on…
But seriously best bet is to dig it out, and then keep a close eye on the area for any new growth from bits you’ve missed.
Hard work but a good workout.
If you start feeling tired and sore just remember that some idiots pay for gym membership to exercise and you are getting to do it for free in the comfort of your own garden 😆
Digging it out on your side and putting a physical barrier in place underground will be only way to stop incursions , any bits you miss you could hit with weedkiller but given the environmental damage be thorough when removing it.
HDPE sheet on a roll at least 20″ deep depending on species of bamboo works we doubled it up thickness wise on a job many years back and when I went past last month bamboo was still destroying nextdoors but their garden was clear.
Buy a panda? That’ll help surely, and then you can watch all the normal shenanigans that pandas get up to.
Borrow a panda?
Napalm!!!
I had to remove the root structure from a bamboo years ago- was a massive hole with lots of blood, sweat and tears utilising hatchets, axes, saws, scaffold poles as leverage, and a divorce lawyer!
Roundup worked for us on a 30 year old bamboo that was really aggressive. The tip that I read here was to cut down first and spray on the new growth.
Digging out the roots at my age is a non-starter, had to borrow my son to do that. The y roots had gone down over 18 inches and took several days digging.
Get a Panda.
Fire?
(Please don’t use fire!)
I’ve got bamboo AND pampas grass in my new garden I need gone. I’m sure they looked like an exotic idea at the time but if you are going to plant it, control it instead of leaving it 20 years without any attention whatsoever.
I did consider the alternatives, buying a panda, get into the swinger scene etc, but in the end I’ve just bought a subscription to Roundup.
Just bought a new house recently and there were two large bamboos right against the back of the house. Not a sensible place to plant bamboo and I was worried the roots could have or would penetrate the foundations. So dug it out last week. Very hard work but doable on your own. Used a pick axe with mattock, crow bar and strong loppers. Cut all the bamboo shoots to the base then just ripped up the roots, crow bar helpful for separating clumps. The rhizomes stay mostly close to the surface as they spread. Took a few hours of hard labour to remove each one but all gone now and there was no damage to the house but had to lift all the patio as had creeped under that! I would speak to your neighbour and get them to do the same thing on their side. If they won’t, just dig out and then add a barrier on your side. They should add a barrier around there’s too to contain it if they won’t dig out. I know people like to use glyphosate as a quick approach but it will destroy everything it touches and if you grow food etc in the garden you don’t want to be eating that.