Bamboo is evil :) (or atleast hard to eradicate, if at all possible).

If you have read my posts before pertaining to bamboo, you probably know by now it is like a weed. For some ungodly reason it's classified as a grass, but it's the hardest wood I've ever had to cut down. (well, I am lying, mostly Doug cuts it with a machete).
(Below photos are from our yard):








I on the other hand? I mow them over as they pop up. They are pretty much impossible to get rid of. No herbicide kills them, no amount of cutting down kills the rhizomes, burning doesn't do a thing, NOTHING HELPS. Of course the bamboo society recommended cutting down all the mother plants (good luck finding that when we have thousands behind our yard etc). So the plan is to cut it all down, and starve the rhizomes. They say you have to be vigilant or it will not go away.

I personally find this to be the biggest nightmare as a home owner (yard wise). Bamboo is so hardy it grows through ANYTHING. It has grown through a HUGE oak tree log laying in the back and split it right in half. When we had a big pool up one year it grew right through the liner with thousands of gallons of water pressure a top it.

When you read that bamboo is sustainable, they aren't lying (whomever they are). Bamboo is a beast! THANKFULLY for us it only seems to grow during one and a half seasons. (I can't remember) I am pretty sure it started late spring and ends mid summer. All I know is in fall and winter it isn't growing. THANK YOU, LORD :)

One week I ran over 100 culms of baby bamboo canes.

Two days later there were 100 more.

3 days later there were 60.

Bamboo is crazy!

Today Doug chopped down a ton of the large stalks in our yard.

We are planning to see if anyone will buy them for a buck a pop off craigslist. (make lemons out of lemonaide right)? I mean I see canes of bamboo bundled in fives for ten bucks at target. Our canes are HUGE in comparison.

Either way, I just want it gone. We plan to take down all stalks in our yard, this way as they grow we can just keep mowing them down. Unfortunatley for us, we will never control the rhizomes since the canes are now behind our property and in a neighbors yard.

Dear readers, whatever you do, before buying a home, get an inspection, note if there are any bamboo canes cut, and STEER CLEAR! It's a nightmare. We were duped as the previous owners withheld this from us and did not disclose it.

My only concern is if it will grow in the crawlspace. Preventative measures say to dig and pour a concrete barrier, and as much work as it is? Well, it's worth it and we may do that to save the house from bamboo. If it can grow through a tree log, a huge pool filled with water, who is to say if god forbid it gets in the crawlspace it won't grow through pipes or subfloor? I pray that isn't the case, but the stuff is pretty insane.

Wish us luck!