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Anyone here ever had to deal with bamboo?

Ancient Gray

Ancient Gray

Member
I bought a foreclosure a few months back I've been slowly restoring it. The house is coming along nicely, but I have to admit that I've hit a huge challenge in the backyard that I'm looking to take on by myself with a few friends. I wanted to see if anyone has ever dealt with bamboo before.

wP7gtsg.jpg


This is a fraction of the work I have. The foreclosure came with a second parcel of land that's almost entirely covered in bamboo twice my height. I'm looking to clear it all and then expand the backyard. From what I know, bamboo is resilient, and it'll keep sprouting up out of the ground if the underground network isn't also gutted. I'm prepared to do the work, but before I begin, I wanted to see if anyone had a similar horror story with bamboo they'd like to share and how they handled it. Pesticides? Rototiller? Call a professional?

I just need some advice and maybe someone will come up with an efficient way to get this jungle under control.
 
I_D

I_D

Member
That looks about the same as what I dealt with two years ago.

My buddy and I used a weed-wacker with a chainsaw attachment at first, but the bamboo ripped the chain straight off the machine after about 20 minutes of use.

We then used a proper chainsaw, which had no trouble taking everything down. You want to leave the 'stems' about a foot long, just to avoid constant bending over later.

Once you have nothing left but the chutes, use a drill/knife/etc. to poke holes vertically down the middle of them, to expose the pith center. In each whole, pour some weed-killer. They'll be dead within a few days, and then they can be cut down to the ground.

The whole process, especially the hole-poking part, took absolutely forever, but they haven't grown back since.

Also make sure to diligently rake up anything you've cut down, or else you'll have to start all over the next season. We ended up using leave-blowers on full-blast, taking out the grass and a fair amount of soil with it. We burned everything we'd cut, but if you have another way to dispose of it, have at it. Just don't leave them in a pile in the corner of your yard, because otherwise you'll just have a new bamboo forest the following year.
 
Ancient Gray

Ancient Gray

Member
I was actually worried about that because I started piling everything up when I was chopping it with the machete. Is disposal straightforward? Just take it to the dump? Or do you have to find a special place to dump it? And is it going to be ok over the winter months or should I start removing it immediately from my property?

Edit: Sorry just saw the part where you said you burned it.
 
I_D

I_D

Member
Mine kept growing all through the winter. Even with sub-freezing temperatures for a month straight, it grew at least a foot. The sooner you can start, the better, I'd say.


I don't know about disposal. I assume dumps are different in various areas. We just burned everything.


I can't recommend a chainsaw enough, though. It'll turn a whole-day ordeal into an hour-long job.
 
H

Heath V

Member
That looks like quite the task, good luck to you! I must make special note of your machete, Jason Voorhees would be proud!
 
jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Yes had to dig up some in the garden.

The fucking roots. Shieeeeeeeet

On the other side we got an excavator.
Needed a massive skip and six people taking five hours to clear the mess up.
 
Ancient Gray

Ancient Gray

Member
jufonuk said:
Yes had to dig up some in the garden.

The fucking roots. Shieeeeeeeet

On the other side we got an excavator.
Needed a massive skip and six people taking five hours to clear the mess up.
Click to expand...

What did it cost you and how large was the affected area?

My one problem I have is the bamboo is coming from an uninhabited lot that I don't own. So once I get rid of it I'll probably have to trench around the property to keep it from sneaking back in.
 
T.v

T.v

Member
I was in the same boat a few years ago. Back yard was full of the stuf. I eventually got through it with a lot of work, shovels and axes but my god, the roots. The roots just formed a lattice that went everywhere, connecting everything. My approach was isolating chunks of bamboo from the rest of the roots and getting it out piece by piece but it took a lot of work. If you have as much as you say, I'd seriously consider renting some hardware.
 
Ancient Gray

Ancient Gray

Member
It's a lot. Basically the entire second parcel of land is bamboo. There's a ruined cottage back there that I can uncover if if I'm able to get it to go away. But I may have to do what I can and then get a consultation on what remains. It's definitely a big project.
 
J

judhudson

Member
Oh god yes. Most of my backyard was covered in it when I bought my house. It took months to clear away. Chopping and cutting the stalks first, then I went in with a shovel and axe and dug out the roots to fully eliminate the problem. It was a pain in the ass. Oddest part is, it was started in my backyard, and expanded to my neighbors place. But once I got rid of mine, theirs died out as well.

I took my stalks and roots and just dumped them by the curb for the trash to come and pick them up. Also, people will come get the stalks if they are good enough to carve / make things out of.
 
U

Ubername

Banned
Yeah this stuff invades burbs every now and then. I remember cutting a pipe out of a bamboo patch by the train tracks to smoke pot with.
 
Mohonky

Mohonky

Member
Immortal_Daemon said:
That looks about the same as what I dealt with two years ago.

My buddy and I used a weed-wacker with a chainsaw attachment at first, but the bamboo ripped the chain straight off the machine after about 20 minutes of use.

We then used a proper chainsaw, which had no trouble taking everything down. You want to leave the 'stems' about a foot long, just to avoid constant bending over later.

Once you have nothing left but the chutes, use a drill/knife/etc. to poke holes vertically down the middle of them, to expose the pith center. In each whole, pour some weed-killer. They'll be dead within a few days, and then they can be cut down to the ground.

The whole process, especially the hole-poking part, took absolutely forever, but they haven't grown back since.

Also make sure to diligently rake up anything you've cut down, or else you'll have to start all over the next season. We ended up using leave-blowers on full-blast, taking out the grass and a fair amount of soil with it. We burned everything we'd cut, but if you have another way to dispose of it, have at it. Just don't leave them in a pile in the corner of your yard, because otherwise you'll just have a new bamboo forest the following year.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the most effective means short of getting in some heavy equipment
 
hunchback

hunchback

Member
Patrick S. said:
I'd hire a Bobcat and dig that shit out.

Bobcat_328_large.jpg
Click to expand...

We had 1 acre that was completely covered. We rented the mini excavator and a mini bulldozer. It made the job so much easier. The roots are a bitch. The total cost was at least 2k but we had soil brought in after we got rid of the root system.

The roots do vary by the type of bamboo. You can find out by taking a stalk with leaves to your local plant nursery. There is an actual bamboo store in my area.
 
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