getting rid of wild bamboo

my brother in upsate new york is trying with no success to get rid of some bamboo bushes or whatever they are called but so far nothing has worked. does anyone have this problem and knows how to get rid of it once and for all.

would appreciate any input from anyone.

thanks

Herbie, this has been talked about before, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/722891/

See my post as this might be what your brother is dealing with......Good Luck.

There were references to getting rid of bamboo using a 10% solution of vinegar on the other threads -- was the vinegar to be used as a substitute for roundup?

Happy, I would think vinegar is be used as a substitute for roundup? I have used round up on this stuff ( not real Bamboo) and it did not get rid of it, just the plant what you sprayed it on, if there were any runners under the ground they would shoot up some place else. I even had it run under the side walk!

It sounds as if aggressively pulling up the roots may help. The other thing I have learned is that if you religiously cut plants back to the ground again and again and again, eventually they will weaken. We may try that.

thanks everyone for your great ideas and comments.

Frank,

I am a bit late reading this Forum, but------If it is the regular, tall bamboo and if it is well established, none of the above suggestions will help.

Regular, tall Bamboo's roots go up to 4' deep in the ground. Pulling it up or spraying it with anything will not help a lot. It will just come back.

Tell your brother he will need a backhoe to literally dig 4' down and dig up the whole plant this way--roots and all. An expensive and involved project.

This should serve to teach people NOT to plant Bamboo anywhere in their yards. They will be VERY sorry a few years down the road.

Gita

There are lots of non-invasive bamboos!
Being grasses, they're a lot more vulnerable to glyphosate and other herbicides than Japanese Knotweed is. Herbie43 didn't say what plant his brother has, but he did call it a bush... and none of the small bamboos are a problem that I know of. He probably meant this stuff, it's harder to get rid of than any bamboo:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/32028/

he did not plant this himself. it was there when he bought the house a few years ago and he has tried to get rid of it since then. thanks for your info.