how do get rid of bamboo?

Some 15 years ago, very roughly, we bought a sweetshoot bamboo, as the shoots are edible. We never really ate them much as they're hard to find in the edible stage. However it is taking over the garden. And the sheds and the house before long.
Mike has been digging them up, but it is absolutely hopeless. The neighbour enjoys them (still), luckily, but our houses are rented and the landlord is not going to be happy when we finally leave.
Any suggestions, please?

 

You have perfectly described why not to plant bamboo!

Sorry I can’t help. Hopefully your post will deter others from planting bamboo.

 

That comes 15 years too late, Redwing .....

 

We bought a house that had huge great clumps of bamboo all over the place. After digging and digging we gave up and hired a mini digger which, after several days we managed to get the retched stuff out, the roots were amazing and even the digger struggled. In the end we decided not to live there and rented it out instead. Haven't been back to the house now for a couple of years and somehow I bet its growing again

 

Hiya annemieke
No easy solutions really. Digging as you are doing ......thoroughly as you can in each area. Then use Glyphosate during the growing season on shoots still growing
I have cleared an area of bamboo though by digging it out....it took quite a while, a lot of hard work and making sure no roots remained. A digger may not be the ideal method as it could simply bury the roots
I have long cautioned about growing bamboo but many do grow it without apparent problems. But I fear it does eventually do what it wants to do, viz., romp, spread, take over and wreak havoc!

 

1 of the 1st tasks I did when moving here 17 years ago was tackle a large clump of bamboo. What a thug and really looked dreadful where I live (proper countryside), bamboo might look ok in the right setting but not in a countryside garden in Scotland. Did eventually get rid of it by good old fashioned digging and I'm still using the saved canes which are quite useful. I'd advise to think twice before planting it and not something i would ever wish to have to deal with again.

 

We removed some spreading bamboo with glyphosate. It was destroying the tarmac drive so had to go.

Ive tried digging out a clump forming black bamboo but the roots are so tough and intertwined that Ive given in. Ive cut down the canes and will be spraying new growth with glyphosate next year. Bamboo does seem to die with a few applications of glyphosate

 

However, glyphosate only seems to kill the suckers alas. The main system seems unaffected. That's why digging thoroughly, if possible, is important

 

I also have a Bamboo that will see it's demise in the not to distant future. Although clump forming it has almost doubled it's girth in the year I've lived here. Within it's growth is the remains of a Lilac trunk which is about 4ft high. Being right beside my domestic oil tank I won't bother attempting to dig it out but will cut it right back and as said above will kill it off with Roundup. Like Silu I'm in a rural area and it looks out of place in the garden.

 

Ive had a clump by the pond for the last 20 years,no dramas.

Got another dozen black bamboos but keep them securely locked up in pots just in case they decide to go walkabout mate.....)

 

So, it is down to choices and risks!
Not everyone will have a rampant bamboo lifting conservatory floors or patio slabs but many will and do.
Personally, I am glad I removed my yellow and black bamboos after one year.......their roots had spread deep and wide in that time. The real damage is happening underground, out of sight. My advice is..... Plant something else folks.....anything else!