Removing 1.5 Acres of Bamboo in Towson, MD

Greetings all. A new property of my family's is covered by a massive stand of running bamboo. The lot is six acres rectangular, where about

*one and a half* acres of the total acreage is covered by a very dense stand of running bamboo. It is 350 feet long deep at its longest dimension The plants have been there for decades, as the property was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. It is our intention to restore the property, inside and out.

Options for removal I've seen generally target small areas. However this is a much bigger problem! My first thought is to hire someone with a bulldozer to come push it all down, and then put it all in a commercial wood chipper. This could get expensive though. What else can we do? What problems does my scenario present? Hiring a panda bear would probably not go over well with the neighborhood.

The property is in Towson, Maryland.

Thank you in advance.

Reply to
Elliott P
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Can you burn it? MJ

Reply to
mj

if its big enough sell for wood.

basically a logger would clear the area for free, no cost to you and they would sell the lumber to whoever would buy it

Reply to
bob haller

MJ, burning it is probably not an option in this suburban location as it is too close to nearby homes and other woods.

Reply to
Elliott P

They make great tomato stakes after they are cut down & dried.

The initial cutting is the least of your problem. You'll then need to 'cut the grass' twice a week until it stops trying to grow back...

Reply to
Limp Arbor

Are you allowed to clear cut the wooded/brush/bamboo area ?

Is it considered a "wet land" ?

You should check with your nearest conservation/environmental authorities to make sure you are allowed to cut all of that natural vegetation down without some kind of site plan/impact study done and having a permit hearing...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

Bamboo is a grass. You can chop it down, but it will sprout back out. You either have to dig up the roots, also, or kill the plant with a herbicide. Check with the nearest forest service, as they have a potent enough tree killer that will do the job and only they are allowed to use that herbicide. I doubt you can do that big of job, yourself.

There is a highly potent tree killer, pretty expensive, for consumers. I don't know the name, right off, but I can find out by tomorrow, probably. You spray it about 18" above the ground and it kills the plant. You might have trouble spraying the bamboo in the interior of that big of patch, if it's so dense you can't navigate within.

Once a herbcide is used and the plants die, you will still have the task of removing the dead bamboo.

The roots are as deep as 1'. You'll have lots of digging to remove all those roots, if you try to remove everything manually, while it's still alive. If a herbicide is used to kill the above ground plant, the roots can remain. They'll eventually decay. Tilling the dead roots will speed their decaying.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

check this out

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on the species, your bamboo forest could yield 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of dry timber per acre.

From second link.......

ERADICATING BAMBOO. Bamboo can be eradicated by several methods:

  1. Graze it with cattle during the summer. If the plants are so large that cattle cannot bend them over to graze the leaves, they should be cut and the cattle allowed to graze the new plants as they emerge.

  1. Cut the old plants in winter or early spring and the new shoots as they emerge in the spring and summer. This will require cutting several times.

  2. Spray the area with a herbicide. Of the several tested at Auburn, Sodium TCA (sodium salt of trichloroaecetic acid) gave best success. This should be sprayed on the soil over the areas in which the bamboo is growing at a rate of 50 pounds active ingredient in at least 100 gallons of water per acre. It is preferable to apply it in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. Rain will carry the chemical down to the root system and it will be absorbed. This will sterilize the soil for about 90 days, so nothing should be planted on the area until about June.

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You can also kill bamboo by flooding the area and keeping it flooded for a couple weeks. I killed a very small area of bamboo (~2' x 2') by flooding.

Sounds like you have a fair amount of work ahead. :(

cheers Bob

Reply to
DD_BobK

(rolling eyes)

Reply to
Ron

I imagine you could interest a back scratcher manufacturer? ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Not saying that the OP doesn't need to do that (I've heard of dumber things) but bamboo has never been native to Maryland to my knowledge... you'd think the enviro types would be happy to see it go.

nate

Reply to
N8N

Burning won't do much except make the bamboo grow back faster and stronger. With six acres to tend you really need a decent sized tractor anyway, something at least 40 HP. I already have the tractor and a 5' tiller, also a 7' brush hog that depending on the bamboo might knock it down. With the right equipment 1 1/2 acres is a relatively small area for clearing. Were it me I might rent a flail shredder. Then till, and rent a rake... with the tractor till deep and then rake out the roots. You can hire an excavating company or DIY. You don't indicate the type of bamboo; how thick/tall... photos would help... it may need a crew with chain saws or a flail shredder could do the job:

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time of year a nearby farmer might do the job at a reasonable price, I'd guestimate $2,000. But with bamboo there's no guarantee it won't grow back... then I'd think you'd have to resort to a defolient, probably several applications.

Reply to
Brooklyn1

I received an addendum to the herbicide treatment. Garlon 4 (and RoundUp) can be mixed with water, also. Adding a little detergent to the mix would allow for the herbicide to better adhere to the slick bamboo stalk.

I wouldn't recommend using a bushhog or shredder to cut the bamboo. Any knot or joint, left behind, would likely sprout. Running bamboo/ yaupon is a prolifically invasive grass specie.

You will have one heck of a job removing all the above ground bamboo debris, no matter what you do to cut it. Do a little at a time. It'll eventually get done, unless you can afford to do or have the whole job done, at one time.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

Roll your eyes all you want but if the DEC catches on to what you're doing, and it's not "legal," they can pretty much ruin you for life.

Reply to
dennisgauge

I had the same reaction as Ron when I read that post.

I don't think it is native anywhere on the continent. but then I hae been wrong once or twice in my life.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Prepare for a multi-season struggle:

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's a vast network of underground rhizomes that can sprout the second you knock down the tops, and will keep on doing so as long as there is stored starch in them. It will take a very long time to exhaust them by purely physical control methods, so this is one of those cases where physical and chemical controls may be required.

Always a good practice with trying to control something this firmly established:get an expert id on the weed first. If, for example, you've actually got Japanese knotweed, sometimes called Japanese, American or Mexican bamboo, there's a good possibility that the control measures could be different.

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Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Burning will NOT kill the underground roots and runners.

Reply to
David E. Ross

On 2/6/12 5:24 PM, Sonny wrote [in part]:

Yes, bamboo is a giant grass. However, you do not want to use a tree-killing herbicide.

There are herbicides that specifically target grass, killing both the visible growth and also the roots but generally not damaging non-grass plants. I use Grass Getter, but there are others. These are best used when the grass is actively growing.

I suggest you have the area cleared. Any piece of bamboo remaining -- if it includes an internode (joint) -- can root and sprout. Thus, what is cut must be hauled away

In the spring, fertilize the area well and make sure the soil remains moist. When new bamboo shoots are about 1-2 ft high, spray with a grass-killing herbicide mixed with some liquid soap. The soap ensures that the spray really wets the bamboo. You might have to repeat this treatment a few times. Be sure to treat any new shoots that grow beyond the current patch; running bamboo can send its underground runners many feet away from existing shoots.

Reply to
David E. Ross

That Bamboo is worth a lot of money. Before you destroy it look on Ebay and see how much it sells for then think of how much you can make. It's like money in the bank. People pay for something you don't want.

Reply to
Mysterious Traveler

Maybe he'll sell it to you, all you gotta do is come and take it all.

Reply to
Brooklyn1

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