That was the same advice that was given to us. Our "bamboo" seems to have a flowering year and then a non flowering year. I have also heard that you cut the stalk and pour the weed killer down the stalk in the FLOWERING year to try and kill more of the "mother" plant.

Our bamboo was brought in years ago by the road crew. Previous owners wanted some "free dirt". We're now finding the little "nubs" everywhere.

They are actually very easy to lift out with a shovel right now. I'm not sure if these were spread by seeds or a misplaced piece of root. They seem to be individual plants and not connected.

There are other patches of it all over the neighborhood. The state workers would love to know how to get rid of it with just one simple spray. We've identified ours as Japanese Knotweed. Is this what yours is?

I'm not really sure what type my dad has. It was given to him by one of my aunt's years and years ago. I've never seen it flower. The stalks in the mini forest where he lets it go free are up to 2"+ in diameter.

I still remember finding a stalk that had sprouted up under a heavy wooden picnic table. The stalk hit the table, turned 90 degrees, traveled a few inches to the edge of the table, turned back 90 degrees and kept on growing. Kind of scary now that I think about it. Plants with survival instincts...

Japanese knotweed is often called 'bamboo' but it isn't really a bamboo - it is a knotweed related to several small weedy plants you can find around PA. It is much more invasive than bamboo in natural habitats because it readily spreads long distances when small pieces of it are carried in water or moved with fill dirt. Japanese knotweed is currently destroying thousands of acres of riparian forest all across PA. Once it takes over, it isn't long before almost all other smaller plants are overwhelmed and die from crowding, shade, or some similar death. One example is the James Mayer wildflower trail in Johnstown. The trail used to have beautiful stands of Turk's Cap Lilies, Blakc Cohosh, and a lot of other great native plants, but now is almost completely covered in Japanese knotweed with little else (except the trees, which are still there).

True bamboos, on the other hand, don't generally spread far from the original clump that usually has to be deliberately planted. I don't think there are many clumps of bamboo that were accidentally spread, as is the case with japanese knotweed. That isn't to say that some species of bamboo aren't invasive in the garden. They do spread underground very aggressively, and can be harder to stop than japanese knotweed. I wouldn't want either one in my garden.

There is one native bamboo called Giant cane - Arundinaria gigantea. this plant may grow wild in the southern parts of PA and would be a neat plant to have. Farther south Giant Cane used to form huge canebrakes that depended on occasional fires to keep them healthy. Now there are few large canebrakes left, and the loss of canebrakes is thought to be responsible for the exinction of at least one bird, Bachman's Warbler (although every 10 years or so someone claims to see a Bachman's Warbler).

Betzross,
Your neighbors are responsible for containing the bamboo.
You should show them your yard.
Tell them to call someone to come dig it all up, and have their bamboo contained, on their side.
If they don't do it, you could get estimates from a professional landscaper for
1. the cost of digging the bamboo up in your yard
2. the cost of installing containments on YOUR side of
the property where the property lines are
3. the cost of restoring your yard with fresh sod and whatever damage it has done.
Then sue them in civil court.
You won't need an attorney, jsut lots of pictures and your estimates.
You will win.
People have to be considerate to their neighbors by not making their neighbors lives miserable or destroying their property, period.
Good Luck.
Put on your bear suit and do it.
Don't be afraid of your neighbors getting mad at you, what is the worst thing that can happen?
You will get your yard fixed, the bamboo will be contained to their property, and you won't have to speak with inconsiderate neighbors.
I hope your neighbors come through for you, but I doubt it.
The sooner, the better, bamboo can be a real mess.
Good Luck!

The bamboo was on your property when you bought it. Your neighbors may sue you saying that it came from your side. It is a preexisting condition you knew about when you bought the property, so don't wake up and say wow, they shouldn't have done this, I am going to sue them.

I would approach it from the point of view, "We like your bamboo, but it is close to the line and is coming over on our side. Do you know what can be done to keep it from coming over?"

Anyone contemplating planting bamboo should realize that there is a clump bamboo that is not invasive. The spreading bamboo will eventually take over the world. The clump bamboo is more restrained and will grow much more slowly.

Here is what the Montgomery County Extension Office wrote:

Question:

Our neighbors planted bamboo a few years ago along the property line, and now it has invaded our property. I keep cutting it down, but it continues to thrive. What can I do to get rid of it?

Answer:

This is a common problem with no easy solution. Bamboo is a fast grower that quickly makes a living fence, but it unfortunately doesnt respect property boundaries. The underground rhizomes go under fences and pop up everywhere. There are ways to eradicate bamboo, but it takes patience and vigilance.

One method is to spray the actively growing plant with a glyphosate herbicide (Roundup). DO NOT cut the plants down and then spray it, as the herbicide must be transported through the plantÂs system as the plant grows. Make sure that you get good contact with the foliage. Repeat applications will be necessary throughout the growing season and probably the following year(s).

Another method would be to dig it out, but this requires a backhoe or some very strong arms and backs. You need to dig down a few feet since any rhizomes that you miss will start another patch of bamboo. The soil should be sifted before being replaced to make sure all pieces of bamboo are removed.

The best way to get rid of bamboo is to not plant it at all! Yes, it looks great in a garden and fills in a space rather quickly, but itÂs nearly impossible to remove. If you must grow bamboo, plant the dwarf varieties in containers to control root growth and keep peace with the neighbors!

If you have a question you would like address please send it to the Montgomery County Cooperative Extension office or email at MontgomeryExt@psu.edu.

Note, the common bamboo that is used to make lawn rakes and fishing poles is in the true grass family, Poaceae, and doesn't bloom. The flowering "bamboo" is Japanese Knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatem also known as Japanese bamboo, is an attractive plant that will grow in many different settings. It has distinctive heart shapes leaves and clusters of white lacy flowers which develop in late summer. It has the potential to grow to a mature height of 10 feet. The flower clusters are composed of male and female flowers, with the female clusters producing as many as a thousand viable seeds. This difficult-to-control plant spreads by seeds, but more importantly, by an extensive root system of rhizomes, which will grow as much as 6-8 feet per year. Rhizomes, when cut or damaged will develop new shoots that develop into plants. This makes pulling or digging the plant fairly
ineffective as a means of eradication. The most effective method is with the use of herbicides that contain glyphosate, such as Roundup. Multiple applications are needed.

When you bought your new home you were bambooseled.

Bamboo can be contained, but you'll have trouble with it if you clear your yard but your neighbor doesn't. Trenching down about 18" can work to help prevent it invading your yard again, and if you can talk your neighbor into doing the work on his side of the fence it'll be easier on your back!

To clear your yard, you can keep cutting it and mowing it down, dig it up, poison it with Roundup. If you don't mind having an ugly yard for a while, you can try this solution that I read somewhere on the net: cut the boo down, feed with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, then cover with plastic, plywood and cinderblocks. The idea being that you stimulate the bamboo to grow, but the plants can't emerge, expend their energy, and all die. This does require full coverage with plywood, as plastic won't stop the bamboo all by itself. Haven't tried it myself....

I don't think you can reasonably ask you neighbor to pay to remove bamboo that was on your property when you bought it.

But if the bamboo is originating from the neighbor's house, I would think it would be reasonable. I am glad I am not in that situation.

Not if it was on both sides of the line when the person bought the house. There is nothing to say where it came from. If you went back far enough, it may have been spread by a seed on either side of the line many years ago and only one neighbor fought it. You can't reconstruct biological history from one point in time. You can only hope the present parties can agree on a common course of action.

Having installed a few rhizome bamboo control systems in the past I can state clearly that nothing is fool proof. Nothing is inexpensive. Certainly nothing is maintenance free. I have encountered groves where even a backhoe has trouble breaking ground. Sometimes the customer is the origional planter. Sometimes not. Dialog with the neighbor may just help. Most folk don't want war with the neighbor but some live for it. Get some estimates. Talk to the neighbor. If the mainj of the grove has entered your property then expect some major excavation. If it is but a few rhizomes coming across then maybe you can manage with less. If you go with the cut and roundup method then expect to do so for the rest of your days. I personally find that trenching down 3 feet and installing a epdm liner reinforced with a landscape fabric (rhizome barrier) works well. After that when you do the roundup on whats on your side you may very well be done. Of course it is imperative that the top of the barrier stay above ground and never be allowed to get covered in leaves or dirt.

I am a new Florida home owner three yrs now purchased home with an expensive white vinyl fence one side of property we have watch the Neigbor bamboo slowly bow the fence towards our property we only have a 12 inch area between cement pad and fence line anyone ever dig down and apply tar paper for roof shingles to try to divert it back on to their property

Not ALL bamboos are invasive; most tropical one are not btw. Not ALL temperate ones are invasive. People need to know what they are planting for their sake and that of their neighbors!

2 of my relatives have that bamboo problem.. they have tried every weed killer in the store, it still comes back. I think they said it grows a foot a week..

What I understood them to say in Pennsylvania we have numerous railroads and these are mostly planted on the sides of the rail roads to keep the coal dust down.

Still see it lots in our areas but didn't know anyone wanted it in the yard. Sorry to hear of the problems you have with it. If I ever come across a cure, I will whip it on you.

good luck.

b

I am a bamboo hobbyist so I grow "clumpers" and "runners". It's a huge responsibility, especially when growing runners. No one has any business planting bamboo and letting it go where it wants. It requires careful containment and persistent diligence to make sure it isn't jumping a root barrier whether it be a plastic guard, or open trench. If your neighbors are disregarding the invasiveness of their bamboo you need to have a friendly, but firm chat with them, and if they don't take the chat to heart and take responsible action you will need to get an injunction, which is my biggest nightmare - something I work very hard to avoid. Running bamboo is a plant for advanced gardeners ONLY!

I have a large patch of bamboo and as mentioned above, it isn.t hard to keep it in a restricted area. Cut any canes down to ground level so you can run a mower over them and regular mowing will easily prevent shoots from surviving enough to continue any expansion. Shoots coming up in areas unreachable for mowing can simply be cut at-or-below ground level in their soft stage (sharp knife, hoe, or mattock) and similarly removed.

Hi Eric Storm, I'd love to get any suggestions from you about what bamboos you grow and where? I'm most likely just going to use it in rectangular planters, no funds for an in ground planting process. So I'm looking for privacy canes trying to veer away from flowering varieties outside. Also I've been wondering about what to do with them in the winter. Is there any chance of them freezing in the containers?

Hi Eric Storm - I am an experienced gardener in zone 6 (Bucks County, PA). I would love to grow clumping bamboo in containers . I'm not sure which varieties are truly clumping and if they will survive in containers outside. Do you have a good book and/or nursery to recommend?

Thanks,

Fargesia is a clumper but not sure they would perform in Zone 6 in a container. Do they have to be in a container? The ground is simply warmer and cooler compared to a pot. Fargesia would succeed in your region in the ground, especially if given some shelter from the hottest sun. You are going to have to specify container size if you really need to grow in a container. I have the particular species F. ruffa and am quite happy with it. If you are growing in a container, you can also grow runners btw.

If you are still experiencing problems and your yard isn't gigantic like the size of a football field, I would try this: Hack/saw/destroy/mow all of the existing bamboo shoots that are visible right now. Then, get some of that heavy black plastic stuff that landscapers use to smother weeds. Lay it down so it overlaps, and then lay more down. Then, cover that with another layer so it's very well covered. Then cover that with top soil and hope for the best!

Or, you can have your backyard paved with concrete and then have the top soil put down. OR, you can trench around the side of the property that abuts your neighbors, fill it with cement and make sure there's a lip that sticks up at least a few inches. Then cut every bamboo culm down you see. Then in spring when it shoots up mow it and keep mowing.

There's no such thing as an advanced bamboo gardener. NO-ONE should be planting any kind of exotic invasive bamboo, including Japanese bamboo PERIOD! As a Landscape Architect, Landscape contractor, etc. I've seen it take over acres and acres of land along rail lines, streams, ponds, entire backyards, etc. It will spread from pots which people falsely think will contain it to the ground via a rhizome at the weep hole. The North East (especially New England area) is full of Japanese Knotweed. It is one of the top 100 most invasive plants in the world.

I've used to live three doors down from a woman who planted Japanese knotweed in her garden because she thought it looked niceee, looked prettttyyy and would trim the fresh green shoots for all her wonderful salads (she's a vegan hippy go figure).

My neighbors begged her to tear it out before it got out of control but she wouldn't listen and now now it has taken over almost an entire wood lot behind our 4 houses (3 acres total) and is still spreading. When confronted about it she just laughs and thinks it's so wonderful stating " nature is so wonderful and walks away." Idiot.

There are some great clumping bamboos that are not invasive.

Rodale has a nice article on non-invasive bamboo at:

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/non-invasive-bamboo

Chris, Japanese knotweed is not bamboo. I'm assuming you are just using that as comparison to regular bamboo, but knotweed is SOO much worse invasive-wise than bamboo. It's got a massive root that can keep sending up shoots forever, it spreads easily via seeds, and it's able to grow almost anywhere.

If a place already has trees, running bamboo won't spread underneath the trees like knotweed will. Plus, bamboo is actually useful, which knotweed isn't really great for much except keeping skeeters alive, and yeah you can eat the new shoots but that's about it. You can't build with it, you can't make much of anything with knotweed.

There is really no comparison to knotweed (polygonum) and bamboo.

You could always get a Panda. Worked wonders for me. Plus, kept the pesky neighbours at bay too.

I know Japanese knotweed is not bamboo. People refer to it as bamboo because it grows in a similar fashion. I am aware of the differences. However, non native bamboos should all be considered invasive because once established they are nearly impossible to control and remove.

And folks.....seriously... highly invasive plants and animals are really anything to joke about. It's folks like this (think its a joke) that have cost our economy billions and billions of dollars while wreaking havoc on the environment because of their jokes and irresponsible behavior.

Examples include releasing Asian carp, zebra muscles, large snakes in florida, non-native frogs and reptiles into America's water ways and wetlands. Importing foreign timber without proper inspection which has resulted in the spread of diseases that are wiping out Ash Trees, Eastern Hemlock, etc., and have resulted in the extinction of the American Chestnut (largest timber tree species in eastern north America) and near extinction of the American Elm.

Yeah one big laughing joke huh?

Woah. Chris. I actually got a Panda. Who said anything about joking?

Does your panda pick your nose too?

We fought a neighbor's bamboo at a previous house. Serious pain. I was advised to cut the shoot and immediately place a few drops of roundup on the cut area with a dropper, seconds afterwords. The way it was explained to me, the bamboo retracts the water and nutrients from the damaged area immediately, dousing the cut area with round up has the effect of delivering the roundup back into the runners, actively delivering the roundup to the bamboo. Is that what is really going on? I have no idea, that was the advice of a local extension office. It seemed to work, but we still had runners and shoots that continued to cross the property line.

Unfortunately the bamboo coming from my neighbor is not in an area that can be mowed.

I will admit that I haven't read all of the posts here, BUT, I DO REMEMBER heari ng that BAMBOO is in the Grass family, so if you can find a herbicide that will kill grass and weeds, that should take care of the Bamboo. I have a clumping Bamboo in my yard, I had purchsed a Running Bamboo but, I was too afraid to plant it in a place where it could go wild and spread. I planted it in a big Tire filled with mostly clay soil, it has never got any larger than it was when I first got it, and I am so glad that it has never gotten any bigger than it was when I first planted it, I sure am glad that I just have a Clumping Bamboo in my yard, it sends out about 5-6 new culms in spring, well, maybe more, but, when I mow the yard sometimes I mistakenly mow down a couple, but, I really will try next spring to avoid mowing anywhere near the Bamboo.

My neighbors bamboo sprouted shoots that are turning heavy plates under our garbage can. Previous one -> took pictures and removed the shoots that I saw, now the one I found was an inch from the base of my house! Calling a professional service for estimate

<Cries and tears>

Anna, I would NOT pay for anyone to come and remove it. Is the house next door vacant? IF NOT, I would be asking THEM to do something about the Bamboo. IF you don't want to do THAT, I would be using a herbicide on it. I would tell the neighbor that THEIR bamboo is coming up on YOUR property and THEY need to do something about it OR you WILL. Are the neighbors people that might "harm" you if you speak up? I would NOT be wanting to pay to remove it. Go to your "zone office" or HOA IF you have one, I don't we are out in a rural area, we can have livestock and have part of our property all weedy and all that stuff. IF YOU DO go and pay somebody to get rid of it on YOUR property, you know, it will soon come back UNLESS all of it is killed, that on the neighbors property of course. If you've tried to reason with the neighbors or they are thuggy people that you are afraid to tell anything about it, just knock down all new shoots that are threatening to sprout up on YOUR property. MY clumping Bamboo has REALLY spread alot, and I am starting to wish that I never planted it, BUT, I can cut down many culms and use them for some sorta craft project, as soon as I think of one. I hope that you can find an answer to your delima. IF you just don't want to be rude, it is THEM that is being rude, and any removal YOU pay for will NOT be a one time thing.

I meant to knock down the new "shoots" in spring, you likely knew that is what I meant.

Copper nails will do the trick!

O
Yo

Hi I planted beautiful clumping bamboos several years ago to screen out my neighbours as their property is over a meter higher and this invites them to constantly look over my backyard. In February this year, my neighbour decided to chop down and poison my plants. The stalks have turned black and the plants are suffering. Could you please assist me in trying to recover them. Also, I would like to know how to safely remove them from the ground and establish into pots. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

Okay, I myself have "clumping Bamboo" and I am NOT so much a "pro" in dealing with them, BUT, MAYBE in spring, you should look for some new "shoots" coming up, and IF they DO, you can dig those up and move them to another area.

BUT, IF you NEVER see any new shoots in spring, maybe the neighbor has REALLY been able to really kill the plants and any hope of getting any NEW sprouts, and in that case, you would need to buy new plants.

Have you actually SEEN your neighbors messing with your bamboo?

IF SO, I am wondering WHY you had not called the cops and made a big stink about it?

MAYBE, you do not live in the USA? IF you DO, you should have called the police about your neighbors killing your landscape plants, and also FILMED it happening on your phone, UNLESS you are like me and only own a "Caveman phone", like the kids call it nowadays.

I guess that I am lucky because MY neighbor that is near MY clumping bamboo doesn't really care to mess with my plants. i WILL admit that some "clumpers" do get kinda out of hand, BUT, all you have to do is knock down the new "sprouts" when they present themselves in spring/early summer and they will never become new culms.

I HOPE that I helped you in some way. Later.

My zoning officer told me to let the neighbor's bamboo spread on my property and take photos to send to him. When it got to be more than 30 feet tall, I sent the photos and the zoning officer said that since I was now the owner of bamboo and the ordinance said it was illegal, I needed to hire a backhoe. He made me a joke. But he didn't inspect or say anything to the neighbor. I have written letters to him as well as to the town supervisors who told me to take the neighbor to small claims court for the cost I incurred to remove the bamboo. So here we are, another season and the bamboo shoots are coming back and will spread again. What do you do when the township does not enforce the ordinance to have a neighbor to remove it (who is a landscaper and has a cement company and likely understands that he is not compelled to do anything? Help! I am ready to hire a lawyer but don't know who would properly uphold my rights.

Wow, that zoning officer is a giant DICK. I am sorry that I can't offer much advice, BUT, you can just knock over any new culms that are going to be coming up soon or are already coming up. IF you knock em over before they grow up into new shoots they will die.

You just MAY have to get a lawyer to fight and get reimbursed. What a lazy assed jerk of a zone officer. And, the other guys in the Township sound like lazy jerkoffs too.

It sounds like that neighbor of yours could have used a backhoe and removed it himself if he has a cement company etc. He likely has equiptment.

IF you DO get a lawyer, go to a state over or far from your area, it kinda sounds like possibly a lawyer close by just MAY also be a big jerkwad,, and may NOT help you.

I wish you luck. SO, just kick over all the new culms that are coming up, I hope they are NOT already coming up too large, when they are young and just emerging kicking them over stops them from becoming new big culms. Even IF they seem a big big, as long as they have NOT yet started to REALLY look like new culms putting out what seems to be leaves, just kick em over, mine have gotten at least 2-3 feet long and still I can kick em over and they never become mature culms, mine get a bit purple as they start to come up. IF you are in a warmer climate than I am maybe YOURS are bigger than mine are now. .

Hit it repeatedly with glyphosate, such as Roundup but go online and order the super rich concentrate version called Roundup Promax 2.5 and just wack it wherever it sprouts. Try talking to your neighbor about it, even plead with them to let you get rid of it. You can also try Home Depot's "crossbrow", it's also great on vines like Kudzu and English Ivy.

If you start removing the culms make sure you don't throw them in the trash and burn them in a fireplace or fire pit first. As you already know bamboo is super super invasive. I've seen it escape pots through the weep holes. If a culm or viable shoot gets to the dump and goes to a brush compost area it might take root and escape and start spreading to surrounding areas.

I take invasive plants very seriously as an LA. They have cost the US dept. of agriculture, the states and farmers 100'S OF BILLIONS of dollars cumulatively in losses. Other terrible problems include Kudzu, purple loosestrife, japanese knotweed, Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven, mimosa tree, asian bittersweet, russian olive, english ivy, japanese honeysuckle, etc.,etc. etc. People need to be very very careful when planting exotics because they are outside their natural habitats and can behave very badly.

Kudzu has literally cost the state of Georgia billions of dollars in lost productive farm land and decimated native timber stands. It can spread 9 square feet a day during the growing season and smothers everything it climbs (including trees). There are 100's of acres of natural forest lands permanently destroyed every year down here by kudzu.

I am so happy that Kudzu has NOT been able to spread here in MY zone 6a yard and area in general, BUT, as for the Bamboo, if you just knock down the culms as they are just coming up out of the ground in spring, you can stop THAT bunch of new shoots from becoming new culms.

BTW, we DO have the "trash tree" here that is called "Tree of heaven" though. It has also been called "ghetto palm" here, BUT, some people who are from out of the areas where it grows seem to like how it seems to LOOK almost "palmlike". And, we seem to have 'wild honeysuckle" that grows in the shaded areas in my general area, BUT, some do NOT have any scent to them and some do, so, I am thinking that maybe SOME are a really local "wild" kind and ,maybe SOME COULD be escaped Japanese Honeysuckle. I would know a "Mimosa tree" if I would see one. The OTHER plants like Japanese Knotweed, I may NOT even recognize if I had seen them. As for English Ivy, I had actually TRIED to have it grow in my front yard under my Pin oak YEARS ago, and I could NOT get it to grow back then, BUT, I am glad that it had NOT grown for me because it will grow way up in a tree and over time it can block out the trees limbs and stop the trees leaves from getting all of the sunlight that it needs. I have seen English Ivy growing and taking over the limbs of a tree. So, UNLESS the ivy had taken over the tree once it had already been dying, it had seemed to have taken over the tree and maybe caused the tree to die.

Wow, Now I am wondering what happened first.

Posky1 The zoning officer is a dick. At first, I thought he was serious but why didn't he tell the neighbor to get rid of the neighbor's forest? He's useless. I think the township supervisors are full of incompetents. After making a public statement they told me to go to small claims court and went back to laughing and bragging about their big development deals. I have written to them since, but no response.

The neighbor with his cement company signs facing my property told me point blank, over a year ago, "I get whatever I want and I control the people around me." This was after i bought them a welcome gift! I've tried to be nice so many times. He's right about the second part -- I've been fighting this and spending money opposing his goals against me ever since.

Must say it looks like he could be involved in organized crime, There are men there all the time. He's violating other ordinances by not getting permits for work on his house and he made it clear he wants to build a 14 car garage in front of my custom house.

I had someone write an article about bamboo in the county newspaper, Hoping it is published to show the township that everyone will know that they violate their own law by not enforcing it. And I wrote to the state senators about the lack of enforcement of the bamboo ordinance. The neighbor simply doesn't care about my property and lets it grow. Not holding out hope because the government seems to be useless.

I have tried to get a local lawyer and a surveyor but the cronyism is thick and heavy. They are FOS. They never call me back. And they don't like controversy. They may know who the neighbor is. The lawyer type, I learned, is "Land Use" attorney. Will consult with more today. Thank you for understanding the issues. I am not selling my house.

SO, that dickhead neighbor,of yours wants to build a 14 car garage in front of your house? I am guessing that he owns that plot of land.?

I feel for you dude. BUT, I do not really know what I would do if I were in your shoes, except to try to get a lawyer from the next state or a county that is outside of the area that you live in, OR call a reporter from a news station that may be a distance away from you. I know, that sounds stupid maybe, BUT, where I live on TV there is a reporter who will make public any problems that a home owner may have with companies that don't do the work they are supposed to do, so, MAYBE, somebody like that could expose those jerks, BUT, maybe that would NOT be a good thing for you. And, IF they are so damn connected with organized crime, maybe you should find a way to leave, BUT, I do sympathize that nobody wants to bow down and leave their home.

And, IF you do find a way to "get even" they could frame you for a crime you had NOT committed and have you put in jail.

Sorry, I am not helping things by going on and on about this. I would just ROUNDUP anything of his that grows on your side of the property line.

Yes, I called four lawyers today alone to try to force the township to do its job about the bamboo. Waiting to hear back. If that bamboo article is published, I guess I can send it to a consumer reporter from the TV station in the city. We don't have one here. I've been here almost 20 years and I met him over a year ago and I do believe his work as a landscaper informs him on what lazy townships will do or not do. He a scrappy little guy and seems to be sneaky and plays mind games. Not only did he say he does what he wants to, but he says he controls people. I decided to keep my distance and not speak with him. I'm not selling my property (others have said that) but if you think of anything else, please let me know. It's been great to exchange thoughts with you about this. I just have to be smarter than he thinks.

https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2014/A3500/3452_I1.HTM

Why is bamboo illegal in US?

Running bamboo is a fast-growing, invasive grass that can be destructive to the natural environment and suppress native plant species. Starting Jan. 1, 2023, property owners must contain running bamboo on their property and prevent it from spreading beyond their property line.

Yes, it is considered an invasive species and MUST be contained. I would suggest to the poster asking about having it removed that they approach this neighbor with the out-of-control bamboo and tell them it either needs to be contained or removed completely as it is spreading across your yard and will cost a great deal of money to have it removed.

I would also get quotes to have this done by a reputable company specializing in removing invasive species (they are out there) and present this quote to him / her. If he / she scoffs at this just tell them that it's not personal at all but only that this plant is spreading across your property and making it unusable due to the hard canes making it impossible to mow, and the growth so dense you can't get through it literally.

Bamboo species are some of the worst invasives in North American ranking up there with Japanese knotweed, Kudzu, Purple loosestrife, English Ivy, Wisteria, Japanese Honeysuckle, Giant Hogweed (which is extremely toxic and burns the skin of anyone who touches it), Norway Maple Trees, Bittersweet, Burning Bush, and Bradford Pear Trees. If you see anyone planting such plants you should kindly, gently tell them that it's an invasive plant, please reconsider.

All that said i wouldn't hesitate to start using herbicide on the shoots that are on your property IMMEDIATELY. Use a nonselective glyphosate herbicide. The best method is to cut all the canes down to ground level and let them resprout and start applying glyphosate to the new shoots and leaves at ground level. That's the best time. Be careful when doing so and only apply it on a non-windy day to prevent drift. Glyphosate herbicide is toxic so make sure you wear chemical gloves and don't inhale it or get any on your skin or in your eyes. You will likely need to keep applying it over and over again for a few seasons to knock it back to the property line. Once the canes have been knocked back to the ground and the stubs removed i introduce grass and start mowing the area consistently to prevent new growth from taking off in order to keep it in check.

After that it's up to the neighbor to control his side, but it will be a long term battle you will have to fight as long as you own your property and the neighbor refuses to remove it. I've had neighbors with bamboo and they don't seem to think it was a problem and don't understand the problem with invasive plants. It's very hard to change folks minds on the matter.