[Terr_]

That makes me think of some bamboo eradication advice: You allow new growth to progress so that it consumes energy from the tricky root system, then cut it before the fresh sections can provide much in photosynthetic return-on-investment. After a few years of losing calories with each attempt, the plant runs out.

That might only work for plants with "bursty" regrowth though.

[devmor]

I spent 3 years combating bamboo in a similar fashion and it certainly didn't work for me. I've never experienced a more frustratingly invasive plant in my life. Even wild blackberries are easier to deal with.

[pvaldes]

You may appreciate the fact that Bamboo sprouting is edible. I add rings of fresh bamboo to my pasta dishes and is a nice touch for a summer salad.

Just use only the new stems, the parts that can be sliced with a sharp kitchen knife using your hand and reasonable force, and discard everything else.

Best advice is not planting it unless you have a lot of space and something to do with it or build --strong-- concrete root barriers. Alcatraz jail level.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

Around here, the best way to deal with a bamboo infestation is with a backhoe.

Bamboo is big grass. It spreads via seeds and roots. It all needs to be ripped out.

When I lived in Africa, we'd have bamboo forests, with trunks up to about a two-foot diameter (and about six inches apart). Completely impassable.

Great place for small critters to escape big predators.

[devmor]

Unfortunately for me, my neighbor had about a half acre of thick bamboo forest, and thus my yard was set upon by the plant endlessly.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

In my area, you can rat these folks out to the DEC. I suspect they can make life difficult for folks that want to keep their weedlots.

I watched them take out a backyard full of kudzu.

[hansvm]

That's how I deal with a mint infestation. After 6-8 prunings the plant is usually dead.