How to Get Rid of Bamboo

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How to Get Rid of Bamboo

Some varieties of bamboo are used in landscaping and beautifying lawns. However, this plant can multiply its growth at a rather fast pace, resulting to unwanted or uncontrolled overgrowths. When bamboo shoots start to take-over the garden, they can deplete the nutrient supply on the ground and leave the other plants unhealthy. There are many ways on how to get rid of bamboo in your yard, and they are effective with diligent follow-up.

Physical and chemical methods of eliminating bamboo can kill it permanently, but they have to be done properly and in a consistent manner. It could take a year or two to totally eliminate bamboo roots in your yard. Patience and diligence are two important values to have when dealing with bamboo overgrowths.

Needed Tools for Bamboo Eradication

Having proper garden tools are necessary to kill bamboo plants. Your safety and the method’s effectiveness depend on the tools you use for the job. The following are the most important things for the task:

1. Garden gloves – Using a pair of gloves that will protect your hands from harsh chemicals in herbicides or from getting scratches from sharp bamboo roots is important. Use gloves made of thick and non-absorbent materials such as plastic or rubber.
2. Lawn mowers – Using the lawn mower consistently to cut the growing bamboo shoots is an important part of how to get rid of bamboo plants.
3. Shovel or spade – Digging for the roots is another essential part of working in your yard. Make sure that they are in good shape and pointed enough to do the job efficiently.
4. Herbicide sprayer – A sprayer is used to apply the chemicals to kill bamboo. Use one that sprays consistent amounts of herbicide to ensure success.
5. Herbicide – Choose a strong herbicide that contains Glyphosate or Imazapyr because other types may not be concentrated enough to stop the spread of bamboo roots.
6. Tape measure – Digging deep enough is important to make sure that all roots underground have been cut-off.

Physical Method of Eliminating Bamboo

Manually stopping the growth of bamboo shoots is one way of getting rid of them for good. To do this, observe for creeping roots and rhizomes that eventually develop into new shoots. Removing these clumps of growth will help prevent the growth of new bamboo plants. The chances of bamboo plants growing above ground are minimized when their roots are removed. However, some roots may still survive and develop into plants. This is where the lawn mower becomes useful. Any growth on the ground should be cut and prevented from growing. Mowing bamboo plants should be regularly scheduled, together with caring for other garden plants.

Another non-chemical method of dealing with bamboo spread is by pouring hot water on the shoots. This is said to restrict the growth and eventually kill bamboo if done regularly, for a long time. As for digging the roots, it should be done regularly for a year or so in order to totally eradicate new signs of growth. The roots may be fast to spread horizontally, but they can be easily removed as they seldom go deeper than one foot underground.

Lastly, putting barriers around the area where bamboos are spreading is another way of keeping them from affecting other garden plants. The barriers should be made of concrete and metal in order for it to be impenetrable. They should be buried at least 2 feet deep underground and 6 inches over the ground, as roots normally only go as deep as one foot.

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Chemical Method of Bamboo Eradicaton

Using an herbicide is one of the most common ways to get rid of unwanted plants in your lawn. In the case of bamboo, most people use herbicides with Glyphosate or Imazapyr. This type of chemical is effective in killing most weeds and mostly has minimal to no harmful effects to human beings.

The use of chemicals to kill bamboo can either be done on its own or in combination with manual methods. In general, herbicides are applied or sprayed to the leaves so that would require letting the bamboo grow big enough to develop leaves.

According to the directions in using Glyphosate herbicide, one should wait until the bamboo shoots are three feet tall and with leaves coming out. The chemical should be applied on the leaves in a way that the liquid will trail back to its body or shoot and not on the ground. This is because the chemical may kill other garden plants nearby if it falls and is absorbed by the ground. The herbicide should be continuously applied whenever a new bamboo shoot grows and its leaves expand. The treated plants should be observed for at least a year to determine the success of the chemical.

Judging from the different methods available on how to get rid of bamboo overgrowth in your yard, it is best apply one that has most potential for success. Manual digging of roots should be done as the first aid of dealing with spreading bamboo shoots. Continuously mowing the ones that were able to get through the digging phase will eventually lead to the withering and dying of the bamboo plants because they will no longer have enough resources for growth. This method requires time and consistency.

On the other hand, some may have not much time to regularly observe new growths and dig the clumps of roots. The chemical method is ideal for these people, as the plants should be allowed to grow until they have leaves where herbicides can be sprayed on.

Depending on which method you choose to permanently get rid of bamboo overgrowth in your yard, you should really follow through with the task. Bamboos are persistent, so you should be more persistent in eradicating them. Recent news confirms that some weeds have developed tolerance in herbicides with Glyphosate. Further studies are being done to the chemical in order to figure out how it lost its potency and how to improve its components to be effective again. Because of this, using the combination of chemical and physical methods of eradicating bamboo from the garden is the best way to succeed on the task.