[Maysie]

The garden on our (recently purchased) small farm has a huge area of bamboo which has got way out of control and needs to be removed/killed. 

So far it has all been cut as low to the ground as I can get with a brushcutter (Sept last year) and cleared away, but I am getting ready to start finding new shoots appearing everywhere. Unfortunately the damned stuff has also spread onto the treeline/hedge boundary around the property too, which makes digging it out very awkward/virtually impossible.  Hacking out the rhizomes with a mattock is just about possible in the clear areas, but tacking the hedge/treeline areas is far more of a problem. 

Has anyone got any words of wisdom regarding getting this stuff rid permanently, as I completely loath the invasive stuff! 

TIA

 

[Penninehillbilly]

I have to admit I love bamboo, maybe because it doesnt seem to 'get away' up here in the pennines, it's a good windbreak, the goats love it so it gives them a bit of green in winter, and I plan on weaving some into hurdles/windbreak this year.
But if you really hate it so much, the only thing I could suggest on the hedge line is brushwood killer, taking care not to get it onto plants you want to keep.

[Backinwellies]

We too use it to feed goats greens in the winter when there is nothing else .... and OH trying to buy a new one with very thick stems so he can 'construct' with it.   

I guess some types can be very invasive though?

[Maysie]

Thanks for the tip with Brushwood Weed Killer.  I hadn't heard of that before, so will do some more research to see if I can get it to work so close to my trees. 

The bamboo that I have is the VERY invasive type, it is also over 3m tall and totally out of control!

[Penninehillbilly]

I was thinking about RBS, but I would check with manufacturers if using near shrubs,
There seems to be a 'Round up' version. Depends on how desperate/ what you think of weedkillers :-).
I don't like using them but but sometimes I have to :-(.


RBS should be SBK

[Maysie]

I really dont want to use weedkillers if I can avoid doing so.  I am going to try to mattock the whole area to try and remove as much of the rhizome clump as possible, following which I will see what grows and take it from there. 

Some local treatment may be unavoidable, but have decided not to start from that point without trying other things first. 

[Penninehillbilly]

Just thought I'd mention, not long after the previous posts, I went to get some stems for the goats, it was dark, luckily before I got near my head torch picked out a Goldfinch sheltering on a stem.
Obviously i veered off and found a clump with no feathered residents  .
So glad I have bamboo     

[Fleecewife]

I'm wondering if some Tamworth weaners would do the job for you, and fill your freezer afterwards too.  I doubt they would clear it in a single year.  I have seen pigs being used for Japanese knotweed fairly successfully and they eat anything they root up.  I would expect that attacking bamboo with a mattock is just going to spread all those little bits everywhere and would make the situation worse.

[Womble]

Panda? 

[Maysie]

I'm wondering if some Tamworth weaners would do the job for you, and fill your freezer afterwards too.  I doubt they would clear it in a single year.  I have seen pigs being used for Japanese knotweed fairly successfully and they eat anything they root up.  I would expect that attacking bamboo with a mattock is just going to spread all those little bits everywhere and would make the situation worse.

Oooh, now I like that idea! 
We plan to get some weaners soon to go into our woods, but are waiting for better weather to get the fencing done (without chewing up our paddocks with the tractor).  There is no reason why a few piggies couldn't grub up a few bamboo roots in the garden first though! 

[Terry T]

Brushwood killer won’t work on bamboo as it’s a grass and the herbicides designed for broad leaved plants.
We looked at a place once that controlled bamboo as a hedge by rotavating annually - risky though as there will be llts of small bits to then get out.
Good luck

[JackandJill]

Hi are you sure its bamboo and not Japanese knotweed?

[Maysie]

Hi are you sure its bamboo and not Japanese knotweed?

Absolutely sure. 

[arobwk]

For the areas where mattocks and/or pigs cannot do their stuff: 
W/killer will work better on new bamboo growth than old so cut back and wait for regrowth. 
Some folk suggest, for "woodier" weeds, cutting the stem and immediately applying w/killer to the stump, but I'm not sure whether effective for bamboo:  however, if you wish to try, using a weed-wiper (a bristle or foam brush will do) or an off-the-shelf spot-applicator will further minimise herbicide use (and risk to other plants).   

[cloddopper]

I really dont want to use weedkillers if I can avoid doing so.  I am going to try to mattock the whole area to try and remove as much of the rhizome clump as possible, following which I will see what grows and take it from there. 

Some local treatment may be unavoidable, but have decided not to start from that point without trying other things first.

 Read up on your bamboo , it can send out runners underground that emerge many yards away up to seven years after the main plant has taken root .

 Use a petrol powered brush cutter to hack it down to about 2 inches tall , clear the ground of everything & burn it as soon as it becomes dry enough .
Then weed kill it with agri strength round up  as it reemerges showing new four inch long shoots ,
You'll also have to do it several times cut as soon as it gets to the four inch height again cut it , clear it off , burn it & repeat the weed killing exercise till you get a year without any new growth showing .
Allowing it to part regrow to four inches high is thought to put the plant into a more,  " Susceptible to being weakened by frequent cutting &  Round Up kill mode" .

 It's the only effective way I know of killing it off entirely

 Most places that sell the half inch plus thicker bamboo  recommend you put down a  heavy duty polythene sheet /civil engineering barrier 1.5 to 2 mtr wide & just as deep , some 3 mm thick & make sure you overlap & seal up the joint by a couple of feet .
 

 Re using a mattock .. that's fatal ..... a sliver with a growth node on it will regrow into a new plant , it's like couch grass or comfrey  in this respect.