Running bamboo is one of the few yard problems that gets harder every season you wait. It is attractive as a screen, but once it escapes a planting bed it moves under lawns, fences and property lines, and a stand that started as a few canes can take over a corner of the lot. This guide sets out what North Carolina’s Cooperative Extension specialists say actually works, how long it takes, and what to settle with a contractor before anyone starts cutting.

Why bamboo is so hard to get rid of

Bamboo spreads through rhizomes, which are underground stems rather than true roots. NC State Extension notes that running bamboos can spread up to 15 feet a year, and a Caldwell County Extension answer puts some established varieties at up to 20 feet in one season. Every piece of rhizome left in the soil can grow into a new plant, and Caldwell’s extension director is blunt that it is impossible to dig out every piece. That is why a single weekend of cutting almost never finishes the job: removal is a project measured in years, not days.

Running or clumping?

NC State Extension separates bamboo into two groups. Running types, including the widely planted Phyllostachys (which it labels invasive), Pleioblastus and Sasa veitchii, spread fastest. Clump-forming types such as Bambusa multiplex and Fargesia also spread, but not as quickly. North Carolina also has a native running bamboo, river cane (Arundinaria gigantea), which grows naturally in floodplains. If you are not sure which kind you have, identify it before choosing between containment and removal.

Option 1: Contain it

If you want to keep some bamboo, the goal is to stop it leaving its bed. NC State Extension recommends three measures:

  • a buffer of about 20 feet between the bamboo and lawns or natural areas, mowed regularly in spring when new shoots emerge (the young shoots are fragile and easy to knock over);
  • a physical barrier at least 28 inches deep; and
  • a trench about 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep around the planting, so you can see and prune any rhizomes that cross it.

Containment is ongoing maintenance. A barrier that is too shallow, or a trench nobody checks, lets rhizomes through.

Option 2: Remove it without herbicide

NC State Extension’s physical method has two steps. First, cut down all the canes and remove as much of the root and rhizome mass as you can. Second, mow the area every week to cut any new shoots that come up. Caldwell’s extension answer adds that bamboo cannot survive weekly mowing, and that converting the old bamboo area to turf grass that is mowed weekly keeps it from reverting.

The catch is persistence. NC State Extension says that unless you are ready to commit to at least three years of active management, there is little point starting, because bamboo bounces back quickly when you stop. Caldwell’s estimate is two to three years for full control if you stay vigilant. The Henderson County Extension office notes that cut canes can be run through a wood chipper and used as mulch on the area.

Option 3: Cut, then treat regrowth with herbicide

Herbicide does not shortcut the timeline, but it can make follow-up more effective. Extension sources agree on the sequence:

  1. Cut first. Mature bamboo leaves can be 30 feet off the ground. Henderson County Extension says home gardeners should never spray above their heads, so the stand is cut to the ground before any spraying.
  2. Treat the new growth. When new shoots emerge, they can be treated with a glyphosate product, either on the leaves once they unfurl or on the spear-like shoots before leaves appear. Caldwell and Henderson describe different wiper and soaking mixtures for shoots; the product label is the legal requirement and governs the rate.
  3. Repeat. NC State Extension says chemical control requires repeated applications over multiple years, and Henderson advises monitoring the site for sprouts for years.

If herbicide is not an option for you, Henderson County notes that some companies offer mechanical, chemical-free removal of invasive plants.

When to hire a professional

Large or tall stands, bamboo along a shared property line, or a site where you do not want to handle herbicide yourself are common reasons to hire help. NC State Extension suggests considering a professional who specializes in invasive plant control, and says your county Extension center can recommend local companies. Henderson County adds that an individual or a homeowners association may prefer to pass the liability of herbicide spraying to a business that specializes in invasive plant management.

Check the license. Under the North Carolina Pesticide Law of 1971, anyone applying pesticides, herbicides included, to someone else’s property for compensation needs a pesticide license from the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Lawn and landscape work generally falls in the Ornamental & Turf category, according to NC State Extension’s licensing guide. The Wilkes County Extension office recommends asking a company for its applicator license number and verifying it with NCDA&CS before signing a service agreement. The license covers pesticide applications; if a company only cuts and digs, ask how it plans to deal with regrowth.

What to settle in a bamboo removal quote

  • Area and boundaries. Mark exactly which areas are included. If the bamboo crosses onto a neighbor’s property, decide in advance whether that side is being treated, and get the neighbor’s agreement.
  • Cutting and debris. Is cutting, hauling away or chipping on site included?
  • Rhizome removal. Will the contractor dig or grind out the rhizome mass, with what equipment, how deep, and how will the disturbed ground be left?
  • Follow-up. Given the multi-year timeline Extension describes, how many follow-up visits are included, in which seasons, and who mows or treats regrowth between them?
  • Herbicide, if used. Which product, who applies it, and the applicator’s license number.
  • Containment. If a barrier is part of the job, its depth (NC State suggests at least 28 inches) and where it runs.
  • Utilities. Digging, trenching or installing a barrier is excavation. Ask who calls NC811 to have buried utility lines marked before work starts.

Clearing an overgrown corner of the yard sometimes reveals poison ivy as well. If it does, see our poison ivy removal directory.

Find bamboo removal help

Our North Carolina bamboo removal directory lists businesses that publish bamboo removal services, with the coverage each one states, and our bamboo removal quote guide covers how to compare written estimates side by side.