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Getting rid of bamboo in tricky spot

Hello, my neighbours bamboo has crept into our garden. We removed the large clumps on our side when I moved in and they have removed all the bamboo on their side, but what do I do with the stuff stuck in the gap.

There are two fences that make the boundary and they are about 20cm apart and it is full of bamboo. I can't dig it out or chop it down, because it's too narrow and I can't remove our fence to get at it because it's our landlords. image... It's starting to migrate back through so I know I need to kill it.

Will the round up gel do the trick, or is their something better out there? Please help before it swamps the garden again.

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Posts

  • Hi pansyface, we don't use weedkillers, but the previous tenant has left some resolva in the shed, will it still be ok to use? Do I need to wait for new growth before I apply and can I try putting some on gloves and then rubbing the leaves, so i know it's not going on any of my plants in front of the fence? (sorry for the million questions)

  • After owning a bamboo - and it was 'confined' with paving stones that went down 2 feet all around - and it still 'escaped' over the top ..... And now my sister is at a house where there is enough bamboo for half of China's pandas - and we have cut it back to the ground repeatedly and read up on 'killing bamboo'.  It's been there for decades so no, waiting for it to flower and die is NOT an option !!!  It was cut down 10 days ago and now has shoots that are over 5 ft tall again.  

    Apparently the likes of Resolva and other weedkillers does VERY little - you can only hack it all down/back every week ... and pray.  Some use several layers of that weed fabric - but personally I don't think that will work as we found even dandeliions could grow through that stuff despite it being very tough. 

    I'd hack back what I could, leaving a lot of leaves - and use the weedkiller - and pray it at least weakens it.  But I think ....unfortunately you have a real problem on your hands.  If you DO find something that works I'd really appreciate an answer for my sister !! 

    Good luck !! 

  • Peanuts3Peanuts3 Posts: 759

    Recently I cut off a load of bamboo and injected SBK stump killer in each stem.  I'm waiting to see if that has any effect.  Will let you know if it does.  Its a nightmare, we have it encroaching our garden too.

  • I really sympathise with your problem bamboo as I had the same problem, fortunately our neighbours wanted to get rid of it too so we spent days digging up the roots, in fact it took weeks but that's because we needed a rest in between marathons! Once you get down to the roots it does pull up relatively easily but any piece left behind will grow again As we have found out. Fortunately we seem to have won the battle except for a piece that keeps appearing from under the water tank which is sat on large concrete flagstones. As soon as I see it again I hit it with neat weed killer ( probably a bit over generously) but I will not be beaten! I'm sorry this is not really going to help is it as you can't get into the roots. Can you cut each piece of and pour a little weed killer straight onto the cut as I believe they start to scar over within 10 seconds. Good luck. I really hope you win!image

  • Thank you for all your replies.

    I can't even see the bottom to get at it because its so narrow and full of stems, so I can't really hack it back. I can probably cut the top leafy growth of and then pour weedkiller in the stems? Is it better to do that, or to put it on new leaf growth?

    Peanuts let me know if your SBK injections work?

    Pansyface, I think I will try the Resolva in the shed first and if it doesn't work I can buy something else, you are right there is no harm in trying. image

    Now I just need to wait for a sunny day. We are thinking of asking our landlord if we can remove the fence slats, because they are rotten and falling apart, so we can get at it easier. Do you think that's a good idea? or will there be boundary issues? we won't gain any more space because there will still be concrete posts every metre and horizontal slats at the top and bottom. Just no vertical slats.

  • Alan4711Alan4711 Posts: 1,657

    Morning i found this on the net,as it seems this subject is often a problem, weedkiller 2U

    Most weedkillers are based on the active ingredient glyphosate, with the exception of Scotts Weedol which is based on the active ingredient didquat. This is a fast acting weed killer, but it will not kill deep rooted perennial weeds such as docks, nettles etc. For this a glyphosate weedkiller is required.

    So for a complete control weed killer, a glyphosate based weedkiller is the one to go for. This covers all the major brands such as Roundup, Pathclear and Bayer Super Strength.  The key is how much active ingredient per Kg does the weedkiller have. For example Roundup has 120g of glyphosate Roundup Ultra 3000 has 360g, but Bayer Superstrength Glyphosate has a massive 680g! This makes this product the ideal tool for treating  extemely tough woody weeds such as Rhododendron or Japanes knotweed, along with usual weedkilling of dandelions, docks and other run of the mill weeds. If you would like to view this product please click on the link below.

    http://www.weedkiller2u.com/homepage-products/super-strength-glyphosate-6-sachet-pack.html  i hope this helps Alan

  • Magical Meerkat - [great name btw!] - I would think if you explained the situation to the landlord he would be overjoyed and come over and help you !!  After all, if you do nothing - that bamboo will fill HIS land and become a huge problem for him  Better he loses a few rotten fence panels and have you do what you can !!!  Good luck !!!! 

  • Susan, glad you like the name image.

    We decided to be brave, and not use the chemicals, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So we carefully removed the fence slats (so we can replace them later) and we chopped/sawed the bamboo down to about 1inch tall. We then carefully poured boiling water on the stumps and roots. Hoping this will work after a few goes.....

    To be honest I don't think the landlord would notice if it was taken over completely by bamboo. When we moved in it was a jungle of Forsythia, Laurel and Snowberry. image

  • I so hope the boiling water works !!!  Great idea to try I would think.  Perhaps ..a daily dose of boling water might really damage it enough to keep it down ??  Please ... keep me informed ... Portugal is being taken over !!!  And if it isn't eucalyptus, acacia/mimosa ... it's bamboo !!! 

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