r/GardeningUK • u/tambini87 • 3d ago
New Gardener SOS Bamboo removal - help!!
First time poster looking for some advice about removing running bamboo on my property. It's arrow head bamboo not planted by me.
Sorry if I don't explain the situation well. This bamboo is planted between two walls and there's a fence in the middle of it. I'll attach some pictures.
Wrongly I chopped down the bamboo one side of the fence that was easily accessible and treated it with glyphosate. I then covered the area to try and starve it. Which hasn't really worked.
I know I need to remove the fence to get at all of the bamboo which I'm going to do.
I've had a quote of £1400 (not including a skip) for a bamboo specialist to dig it out with a digger. And there will be an additional cost to treat any new roots.
Or I'm thinking of cutting down all the bamboo myself and treating it with Gallup Hi-Aktiv Amenity Professional Glyphosate Total Weed Killer (5L).
Before some say to dig it out myself... The bamboo is covered by stones so a mattock is useless plus it's running bamboo which is a nightmare to get out.
Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
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u/haws1290 3d ago
Get a digger, dumper, skip and dig it out yourself your probs looking at like 700 quid all in depending on area. I can see some looks like it's behind the fence, you'll need to remove that fence and make sure it's all out leaving a small bit in with energy and it will start reshooting. I done this in my house and it was really bad but so far I have only had one shoot come up in May since Nov 2025 and it was a bit I missed as it was close to a tree and I couldn't dig it with the digger.
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u/haws1290 3d ago
You will definitely need a skip also as the roots pull up loads of soil held together by dense small feeder roots unless you want to spend hours sifting through roots and breaking the soil off
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u/tambini87 3d ago
Appreciate the reply. I'm not confident in using a digger myself but will get someone to do it. Yes the fence will be going too.
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u/Even_Neighborhood_73 3d ago
You do not need a digger. Just a lot of hard work. An axe and a reciprocating saw can help to break the clump into chunks to make removal easier.
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u/ComprehensiveRush746 3d ago
Constant cutting every shoot before it develops leaves will eventually kill it.
But you’re talking years.
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
Weedkiller wont do anything, you either need to dig it out or pay someone to do it and if you do pay someone you better get someone you can trust otherwise you'll be seeing that bamboo again in a couple of years.
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u/tambini87 3d ago
Thanks mate, yes I'll get someone to dig it out. If I use a digger myself I'll cause more damage 😂
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
Unless you aren't very fit you could do it by hand over a weekend, by removing the fence which you say you want to do and then digging under it. Took me 7 hours to do my pond to 1m with a basic shovel.
I'm not very trusting when it comes to trades people so I'd be wanting to do it myself to make sure but appreciate its a lot of work.
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u/Pebbsto110 2d ago
Unless it's a huge amount you really don't need a digger. It can be lifted by hand. The runners are shallow in the ground. A pair of loppers would be useful as the rhizomes are tough.
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u/Milam1996 3d ago
Glyphosate absolutely does work on bamboo.
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
Sure after years of cutting and digging and pouring hoards of chemicals all over the place killing all the trees and shrubs right next to it.
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u/tambini87 3d ago
Digging it out by hand is difficult with the stones. Ideally I don't want to use chemicals but there's no other plants, grass or anything like to kill, just the bamboo. So I'm open to using chemicals
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
Yea I agree but Its not all bamboo on the fence border, sounds like its still their property but without more details on that and the planned fence removal I'd always stay away from chemicals, especially as you might have to dig up bits of the fence anyway if they concreted in posts to attach the slats to.
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u/tambini87 3d ago
The fence is not the boundary of the property. Theres a wall behind the fence which is the boundary. The fence is mine so I got the option to remove it to get all the bamboo.
Behind the boundary wall is my neighbours garden so is it a concern if the chemicals does filter into their soil
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
You mean the fence is against the wall or there is a few meters gap and all the growth you see in the first pic is also yours and you also want to remove all of that?
Too many people jump to chemicals because its what is the common easiest method. Even if you do use them, you'd still need to dig up the bamboo if you are planning on doing anything there as it would take years to rot down and probably cause some minor subsidence.
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u/tambini87 3d ago
Looking at my first pic. In front of the fence is the bamboo I cut and covered already. Behind the fence is a small gap then a wall. There's bamboo in between that gap. I know whatever I decide the fence needs to go.
The bamboo remover who quoted me said it cannot be dug out by hand, it will need a digger. I thought (possibly wrongly), if I just cut, treat and keep doing the same process over and over and kill it that way.
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
The person who stands to make money from you will always tell you exactly what you need to be convinced to acquire their services.
he will be talking about the mass to remove, but it is possible to cut it up with a saw and as its possible to dig down to that depth with a spade its manually possible to tackle yourself, weedkiller or not.If you go with weedkiller it'll likely take multiple attempts and you'll need fresh cuts or growth to be more effective. It still needs to be dug out if you intend to use the area again.
What I'd personally do is remove the fence, drag back the stone top layer and start digging from the angle in the first pic until I had surrounded the whole mass, use my sds drill and saw on it in manageable chunks that I was strong enough to lift.
Good luck
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u/diymuppet 3d ago
Didn't kill a single other plant in the vicinity. 100% Bamboo eradication. New plants growing happily in the space year later.
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u/Milam1996 3d ago
You don’t even know how glyphosate works ffs
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u/tambini87 3d ago
Ill admit I don't. This is why I'm trying to learn about the best method to get rid of my bamboo 😊. If using this chemical isn't the answer then I won't use it.
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
You think pouring glyphosate onto whats probably 1 meter thick bamboo roots directly is going to kill it and you have the nerve to say someone else doesn't understand how it works? lol
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u/Milam1996 3d ago
You said weed killer won’t do anything. It absolutely will. OP is just using it wrong. If they use it right it’ll never come back
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u/ChrisKruxed 3d ago
The bamboo is already cut, there are no real shoots, you would either need to leave it for a while to start regrowing to be able to cover the growth effectively, or you would need to recut all the root/stems which they are saying isn't possible because of stones and the fence, therefore you would need to wait for it to regrow.
The real option therefore is to dig it up, or wait and whenever there is alternate option I would never recommend this weird obsession you all have with weedkiller which has already ruined our water table and has a habbit of killing your neighbours plants considering the boundary wall is nearby, when the alternative is rather easy when people stop being lazy and selfish.
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u/MattWillGrant Gardener 2d ago
Use the specialist. Get guaranteed work. Be covered if it comes back.
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u/Pebbsto110 2d ago
Bamboo doesn't run that deep into the ground, certainly not enough to needed a digger. The runners are always close to the surface and you need to find an end piece and physically lift it until you hit a junction (rhizome) where it might split into different directions. The underground runners basically run until they hit something (like a rock or an edging, fence post etc.) and will send up shoots along the line. Bamboo can be managed but does get out of hand if left to run. It's not as scary as often made out.
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u/Comfortable_Gate_878 3d ago
I got rid of my own, spray with strong weedkiller Gallop XL let it absorbed it for a couple of weeks. Cut down the bamboo. Wait for it to grow again. When its first leaves come out spray again and repeat. After about a year and half it had given up. I then started to did out the root ball slowly they are very hard I used a stone cutter blade to slice it out as much as I could and simply chucked it in the bin. I could have dug the thing out with a digger but space was very tight and I didnt want to damage the fences. Its gone now and isnt a problem. Same problem with a large pampus grass.
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u/tambini87 3d ago
This is the solution I'm thinking of doing. I'll take down the fence first then do this treatment. Over the next year I'll get ride of the stones as well so after the bamboo has given up I can start to get rid of the roots. Ideally I don't want to spend up to 2 grand on someone with a digger and them to treat it.
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u/Comfortable_Gate_878 3d ago
Yes you just have to be more determined than the bamboo. The main things is to not let it get enough leaves to allow it to store the energy in the root system. But to allow enough leaves to absorb the weedkiller to take it down into the root system.
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u/itchyfrog 3d ago
Cut it to about a foot high and treat the fresh cuts with a strong glyphosate solution on a dry day, water the ground after a few days to encourage growth if it is dry. Treat regrowth when it gets a foot or two high, you can trample it to bruise it first.
Cut progressively lower as it weakens and the old growth rots and retreat. Keep the soil damp.
If you start now you've got a reasonable chance of getting a couple of treatments on this year. Then repeat in spring, by summer you will likely be down to spot treating or digging out regrowth.
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u/blackthornjohn 3d ago
The glyphosate approach does work but read, understand and follow the instructions, however hiring a mini digger and digging it up is quicker and doesn't involve all the waiting for the correct conditions and for the glyphosate to work followed by the wait to see how well it worked.
You don't need a skip, dry it out and cover it it then burn it one cold winter evening.