getting rid of bamboo

[luc]

How do you kill it , It is impossible to remove / dig out ...

[socal10b]

dig it out if you want to remove them completely.

[ricshaw]

I was thinking Roundup.
http://www.roundup.com/smg/goART2/contentArticle/how-to-get-rid-of-bamboo/27800029

That is what this guy uses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGkjwAGfRi8

Bamboo Sourcery does not like to use Roundup.
http://bamboosourcery.com/cat_frame.cfm?sec=77&row=18

[Finca La Isla]

It depends on the type of bamboo.  I have actually, to my surprise, killed a large clump by simply hacking them off at ground level.  They never came back!  At least you could try this and keep cutting anything that popped up until it gives up.  This could be a project that weakens the sepa over time but at least they'll stop shading out your fruit trees, damaging your buildings, etc.
Peter

[ScottR]

Yes, it greatly depends on what type of bamboo you have clumper or runner. Even though clumper bamboos are or can be some of the biggest culm varieties on earth, they can with constant care be killed. I killed a huge patch of Olhami bamboo with 3" plus culms by cutting down to ground then let start to regrow then spray with round-up. It took about two years and now no growth so with constant care it can be done. Best way find someone with backhoe to dig out clump. Runners are a whole different ball game you have to get out every little piece or it will grow back but can be done same way as above only also digging out as much as possible. Good luck Luc :

[BMc]

The real weedy stuff needs manual removal. My grandparent have 5 acres on a creek with beautiful soil, but the flood zone is infested with running bamboo. It can run 20m into his lychee patch in a few months. A tractor hoe helps pull up most of the runners. Glypho works for a while, but we found the bamboo just mutated into a more vigorous running but stunted above ground deal. Just get on top of it before it bolts.

[cos]

A friend, a bamboo grower, was @ a fair trying to sell bamboo & that was the most asked question he got. His answer was pour gasoline on it! He said it did a real good job & was fast [ no he did not say lite it  ]
good luck

[LEOOEL]

It looks like you have 'running' bamboo, so, "say goodnight Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye bye." (coudn't resist)

Something tells me that removing it will require lots of intensive specific, and detailed labor, I'm sorry to say. Perhaps this is a good question for a bamboo specialist/expert, best of luck in finding a practical solution.

[davidgarcia899]

Have you tried hedging it? Ive seen people in Miami chop bamboo off at like 4-5 feet and then with a hedger square the sides. And then you just have to cut back new shoots to the correct height as they come up.

Won't get rid of it, buts its a easier way of controlling it

[EvilFruit]

You can try White vinegar (5% Acetic acid), since it's a natural herbicide Or Sulfuric acid* if you are a hardcore.   

*Note you need to be careful with handling Sulfuric acid.

[organik]

surprised nobody mentioned HOT F'NG WATER. it'll kill the roots. people mention chemicals but blazing hot water will make sure the plant dies for sure.

[luc]

A friend, a bamboo grower, was @ a fair trying to sell bamboo & that was the most asked question he got. His answer was pour gasoline on it! He said it did a real good job & was fast [ no he did not say lite it  ]
good luck

Leaded or unleaded ...LOL....
Somebody suggested Tordon picloram + 2,4 D but after Googling this I decided not to use it since it is right next to a small brook .
Impossible to remove by hand ( I'll post a pic later ) It's one of these that when you cut it the next day it is 3 feet high again . I am afraid it may take a wall down.

[LEOOEL]

While not an expert, I somewhat doubt that White vinegar (5% Acetic Acid) will work with the 'Alien' bamboo that Luc seems to have growing/devouring his yard, but who knows, it may work. What I like about this great idea is that it's a natural solution.

My favorite solution is the boiling "HOT ... WATER" mentioned by 'organik. This is the most natural solution, although a very dangerous one. Again, not sure if it'll work with Luc's 'Alien' running bamboo, but if done carefully, may be worth a try.

Before trying the insane gasoline solution method I would prefer a slightly more nature friendly, yet still insane solution, dynamite. By the way, what the hell is dynamite made of?

(just couldn't resist; just kidding of course)

[fruitlovers]

The best way to get rid of bamboo is to never plant it in the first place.    Clumping bamboos are ok to plant, but the runner types you could spend the rest of your life trying to manually remove it. Roots can be quite deep, so doubt hot water on surface is going to phase it much. I think best (non poison) way to remove runner type would be to use backhoe or bulldozer to scrape it out. If its a clumping bamboo one nice push by a D9 will get out whole clump. If you do that you can even transplant it to another spot.
If you google "how to get rid of bamboo" you will get lots of hits as a lot of people are in your same predicament Luc.

[mangomike]

Bamboo is actually not that hard to get rid of. The new shoots, while still about a foot tall, can be snapped off at ground level and will die back to the root. Each 'cane' (called a culm) only lives 3 to 5 years and then dies; they are constantly replaced by new shoots that usually emerge once or twice a year. If these shoots are snapped off, the whole plant is starved of food and denied new replacement culms, and will eventually die out.

As has been mention, the clumping types can be "shocked" and often killed outright, simply by cutting all the culms in a clump to ground level. Any weak sprouts can be treated by the method above above.

Also, the leaves and shoots are like candy to cows, sheep and goats; if you are able to turn any of these critters loose on it they will graze it out pretty quickly.

[KarenRei]

Only use gasoline if you're totally into contaminating the water table.  :Þ

Just use Roundup or similar. You know, a chemical that actually is targeted at killing plants, so you can use as little of it as possible, and it's non-bioaccumulative. Gasoline is carcinogenic; glyphosphate is not. Gasoline is genotoxic; glyphosphate is not. Gasoline inhalation causes neurological damage; glyphosphate does not. The EPA concluded that even lifetime exposure of eating only glyphosphate-sprayed crops at their maximum permitted levels would have no detectable health consequences; you'd be a moron to eat gasoline-sprayed plants even once. Etc. It's just all-around worse stuff.

BTW, from the bamboo management sites I've read, bamboo doesn't like abrupt changes in soil height - its roots spread out shallowly, so if there's a small trench in the way, they have trouble getting past it. It's a way to stop bamboo from taking over in the first place.

[fruitlovers]

Bamboo is actually not that hard to get rid of. The new shoots, while still about a foot tall, can be snapped off at ground level and will die back to the root. Each 'cane' (called a culm) only lives 3 to 5 years and then dies; they are constantly replaced by new shoots that usually emerge once or twice a year. If these shoots are snapped off, the whole plant is starved of food and denied new replacement culms, and will eventually die out.

As has been mention, the clumping types can be "shocked" and often killed outright, simply by cutting all the culms in a clump to ground level. Any weak sprouts can be treated by the method above above.

Also, the leaves and shoots are like candy to cows, sheep and goats; if you are able to turn any of these critters loose on it they will graze it out pretty quickly.

Luc never said what he has is a clumping type, so what you say makes a very big assumption. Even with clumping types, what you say is not true of many. Remember there are hundreds of types of bamboos. Ditto is true about next poster stating that bamboo can easily be stopped by a trench.

[Pancrazio]

I had a running tipe. I have tried to dig it by hand but i have been forced to use a backhoe. There's no way that stuff can be removed by hand in any soil where it has grown for 10+ years, especially if the soil has even some stones. Oh, and don't even think that once you have removed it with a backhoe you are done! You have to watch for any piece that may have survived the treatment because it can (and will) grow back.

[goosteen]

For a good no poison method, You can cover it with black plastic for a year. 

[Waterfall]

My problem here is with the running type, some is on my neighbors side and some on my side so even if I kill it on my side it will just come back again.

[KarenRei]

My problem here is with the running type, some is on my neighbors side and some on my side so even if I kill it on my side it will just come back again.

Dig a trench.

https://www.google.is/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=bamboo+trench&btnG=Leita+eftir+mynd

[From the sea]

you can also cut and eat the shoots

[BigIslandGrower]

Depends on whether it's running or clumping and what the plan for area will be after removing it.    In any case, I don't envy you.  I've planted several clumping bamboos at my place, but would never plant a runner. 

[gnappi]

And I thought getting rid of bananas was a PITA.

[fruitlovers]

you can also cut and eat the shoots

Not all bamboos have edible shoots.