Sunday, February 5, 2012

How to kill Bamboo?

My neighbor planted random spots of bamboo on the property line now it is running rampant through my yard, any suggestions on how to kill and keep it from overtaking my yard?

How to kill Bamboo?
Bamboo is in the grass family, and as such, many varieties of bamboo spread through underground rhizomes, underground shoots that they send out much like the Bluegrass that is in many lawns. To avoid their spread, you need to prevent the rhizomes from getting onto your property.



I would suggest you dig a 2'-3' deep trench along your side of the line and install a barrier to prevent them from spreading your way. Most of the rhizomes will be fairly shallow, just below sod depth, but some may be deeper, so to be safe, 2'-3' is suggested. Concrete works probably the best, since the rhizomes can be pretty tough and may penetrate through the HDPE barriers that are sometimes used.



Installing a 6"-8" wide by 2'-3' deep concrete mowstrip that is sloped at an angle should work well to contain this invasive pest. It should slope in towards your property at the top, and towards the neighbors at the bottom. The slope causes the rhizomes to grow up to the surface (or they will go down and can go under the barrier), and should contain them on the far side of the mowstrip. I suggest running it along the entire property line, since bamboo spreads so much and will eventually spread along the whole distance.



Don't us an herbicide on them until they are cut off from the parent plants, or you will kill the whole thing, and your neighbor might get pissed. After any rhizomes that have crossed the line have been cut off, any plants growing on your side should be sprayed with a good herbicide (Roundup should do the trick since it is a good grass killer and bamboo is a grass). It will suck the poison down into the root system and kill off the roots on your side. Multiple application may be necessary, and it will probably take 1-2 months for it to completely take effect. There is another product called "Aqua Master" that you inject directly into either the rhizomes or the stalks of the bamboo. Drill a hole and squirt it in, and let the plant do it's thing in spreading it to all connected roots and stalks. It will likewise take 1-2 months for a complete kill off. If you don't want to use a weed killer, you can try removing all of the rhizomes on your property, but you will likely miss some since they have quite a network. Another option would be to remove any growth as soon as it appears. It will continue to come back until the roots have exhausted all of their energy, so you will have to be really vigilant on removing any new growth as soon as it appears, or the roots will receive more food and be revitilized. Good luck!



Here is the experience of someone else in a similar situation, and what has worked for them. http://www.killingbamboo.org/component/o...
Reply:I agree with Karl except for one thing. The top of the barrier should slope towards the neighbors yard so the roots will be pushed back into their yard. Good luck. Bamboo is tough.
Reply:That is tough stuff, need to dig the roots up and then may even have to put chemical killer on it. Oh, I hope someone has a better idea, because I hate to use chemical weed killers.



Good Luck - (or you could let it over take and then you wouldn't even have to mow......;-)
Reply:Once you have installed a root barrier as described above; just keep mowing the area as usual. Once the rhizomes are cut from the main plant, they will have to live on thier own..... and they can't do that when you are mowing them down every week.
Reply:I'm not an expert on Bamboo stuff, but I do know that you need a type of "needle" to kill it because if you try cutting it, you are going to have a hard time on it, and it will grow again. You should ask a gardener or an expert on bamboos.
Reply:Round-Up weed killer.
Reply:DIG ENTIRE ROOT SYSTEM UP. I MEAN ALL ROOTS!! WEED KILLER AND ROUND UP WILL NOT KILL THE PLANT BECAUSE IT HAS A WOOD BASE. REMOVE ALL ROOTS AND DIRT, RAKE ALL LEAVES AND SEEDS UP. REPLACE WITH NEW FILL DIRT


No comments:

Post a Comment