I think the chain would go dull too fast. Perhaps a gas powered jack hammer with a wide sharp bit would work better. You can rent these at home depot. With the chainswaw you could hit a rock and think it was a rhizome. Your chain would be useless very fast.

when using a chain saw you don't want it to hit dirt, will dull it in seconds. I've never heard of digging boo that way..

sawzall with a long blade will work better

Okay, time for me to come clean...I talked about this about 2 years ago. I've done it, but it is dangerous and there are better, cheaper and faster ways to do it. Some sagely advisors from this forum tried to talk me out of it, but I didn't listen.

1. It will work...for about 30 seconds or so. It is the same thing as trying to use a chain saw to cut through rootballs of trees (which also have soil/dirt/rocks in/on them). Even a small, trace amount of dirt is enough to dull the blade.

2. Blades aren't cheap...18-28 bucks at my local HD. You are gonna go through ALOT. Dull blades are NO FUN to sharpen...takes for ever. Changing blades gets boring.

3. You are gonna burn up the saw eventually. (I burned through two of em).

4. It just ain't safe. Ever see a chainsaw kick back off a rock? Ain't pretty.

Now that I am older, and perhaps wiser, I've opted for 12 inch sawzall blades. You can buy a pack of 5 at my local HD for 16 bucks or so.

There are also 'slammer' shovels that I hear are very useful. I've also used a 40 lb. jackhammer with a modified clay spade (made it a reverse "v" and sharpened). Works well too, but you have to sharpen the spade every so often. but found that it was just easier to use the sawzall.

1 - You use a sawzall to cut dig around the bamboo base or to cut the rhyzomes or what?
2 - What is a 'slammer shovel' ??
3 - Where did you get a jackhammer?
4 - Can you upload a pic of the modified clay spade?
thanks for all the infol folks.

The answer to your question is to make sure you have the very best medical coverage, that your premiums are paid, and that you have your cell phone fully charged so you can call 911.
If, on the other hand, you want to remove bamboo safely, use a shovel and a pickaxe to expose the rhizomes that form the rootball; use a Sawzall, a branch lopper, and/or a root saw to cut around the perimeter, and have one or two demolition bars and a buddy to help pry out the root ball. Do not use your shovel for prying, unless you want to break the handle. The first one is always the hardest. Good luck.

Backhoe works nice too! However, slammer, sawzall and shovel usually are the best tools.

Here's a good link for a pic of a "boo slammer" http://www.bamboodirect.com/bamboo/photobooks/Rhizbammer.jpg

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=1215

http://www.bambootexas.com/php2/viewtopic.php?t=40&view=next&sid=8ea4df6fbf2c82c6691193f29943056d

There is a tool that's basically a big chain saw that is made for ditching/running water lines etc. I think it's called a ditch witch. You would probally end up chopping alot of the plant to pieces, and it also kicks back when you hit something hard, so maybe not the best tool for anything but huge bamboo.

I have a feeling this was resolved 14 years ago Ben.

dbarron, let's hope so, but the bamboo could still be there! We'll be hiring an experienced backhoe operator to get rid of this invasive menace.