Would you buy a house with bamboo in the backyard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I went and looked at the house again… there are these little bamboo shoots up all through the yard and mulch. They were easy to pick out, but there were a lot of them.

Also, in the mulch, and I could see a few “woody” shoots, that were clearly missed when they did the yard clean up. I could also seem some small holes in the yard (maybe where they scooped out some woody shoots in the yard?).

I’m guessing this is the bad kind.

Bummer! Because the house is really cute! But, maybe we’re dodging a disaster here.

There are lots of holes in yards due to cicadas.

[Anonymous]

I have heard that bamboo attracts rats, so that would give me pause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that bamboo attracts rats, so that would give me pause.

I guarantee there were no rats in my parents' bamboo. However, there was an occasional Possum living there. Some people don't like Possums, but they're beneficial. For starters, they eat lyme disease-carrying ticks. Yup, that's right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that bamboo attracts rats, so that would give me pause.

Any dense brush attracts all sorts of animals.

[Anonymous]

We have a lot of bamboo - except no one lives behind us where most of the bamboo is. We love it- so green and lush and our backyard looks like an oasis. Never had any problems with it. It’s a non issue for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I went and looked at the house again… there are these little bamboo shoots up all through the yard and mulch. They were easy to pick out, but there were a lot of them.

Also, in the mulch, and I could see a few “woody” shoots, that were clearly missed when they did the yard clean up. I could also seem some small holes in the yard (maybe where they scooped out some woody shoots in the yard?).

I’m guessing this is the bad kind.

Bummer! Because the house is really cute! But, maybe we’re dodging a disaster here.

What is the disaster that you are dodging? Like, what's the worst case scenario here?

Roots push against the foundation and cause damage. Tens of thousands potentially to fix.

Not true at all!

Bamboo roots do not have the strength to “push against the foundation and cause damage”.

Roots will grow into an already damaged foundation looking for water but they do not ever punch fresh holes in concrete.

[Anonymous]

I loved my bamboo the whole time I lived with it. Guess it was the non spreading type. Modern home with big windows.

[Anonymous]

All these people saying NEVER NOPE are the same people that come here crying that they can't find a house to buy. This is the dumbest reason to not a buy a house. The DMV is chock full of bamboo, so good luck avoiding it unless you buy a new build. Trust me, it will be ok.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I went and looked at the house again… there are these little bamboo shoots up all through the yard and mulch. They were easy to pick out, but there were a lot of them.

Also, in the mulch, and I could see a few “woody” shoots, that were clearly missed when they did the yard clean up. I could also seem some small holes in the yard (maybe where they scooped out some woody shoots in the yard?).

I’m guessing this is the bad kind.

Bummer! Because the house is really cute! But, maybe we’re dodging a disaster here.

What is the disaster that you are dodging? Like, what's the worst case scenario here?

Roots push against the foundation and cause damage. Tens of thousands potentially to fix.

Huh. I have to admit I would not have thought of that.

[Anonymous]

People need to spot spreading wrong information. I'm sure that not all bamboo can break a house's foundation, but there are definitely some that can and do.

I have the kind that is about 5" in diameter at the base. The first signs of it are shoots that are about 2- 3" in diameter that pop up in the spring out of nowhere. In 24-48 hours they can just appear, and they're already about 7-10 inches tall when I find them after about 24 hours. I wear boots and squash them so that it breaks off at the base. But what you are left with is a 5" thing protruding from the ground that looks like a giant sea anemone. These die and dry into super hard stub things that cannot be removed by another other than power tools. I've tried removing them with my reciprocating saw and that somethings works. The best success I've had is completely soaking the area to loosen the dirt around them, and then sawing into them with a reciprocating saw. There is no way to remove them with a power tool. I have several hundred of these all along my back fence line where the neighbor planted it. We don't have an alley, and there's no way to get a Bobcat digger back there. Sadly, one of my giant trees needs to be removed and this should enable us to get access to the area with a digger. Not sure what that's going to cost me but it won't be cheap. Here are pictures of what parts of my yard look like: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4102588/need-advice-on-giant-bamboo-removal These don't soften with time. They seem to just get even harder. The ones cut 10 years ago are still there and they're rock hard.

Those of you who suggest mowing it, you're talking about something completely different from the stuff in my backyard. There's no way a lawnmower blade would be able to cut this stuff. And even if it could, the stubs would remain in the ground. These stubs make it impossible to walk on the ground where they are. Also, they're interspersed with the jagged edges of bamboo stalks that are left from where we cut down existing bamboo stalks and didn't cut low enough. I later realized that if you don't cut them when green, you can't ever really cut them. These stalks are about 2" across and if you fall on them, they'll cut or impale you. The ground where this crap has grown is dangerous and totally unusable. Like I said, I'll need to get a digger machine in there to remove it.

[Anonymous]

This machine looks like just what I need to continue my fight with bamboo! Thanks so much for sharing!
https://www.blackanddecker.com/products/lawn-and-g...utting/alligator-lopper/lp1000

Now, for those of you saying it's no big deal, think about having to get dressed with all the safety gear necessary to work with such a scary looking machine just to save the rest of your yard and your buildings from being overrun by this stuff. If you enjoy doing this sort of thing for hours a day to clear an area, or on a daily basis to keep it from coming back, then plant away!

I hope this machine might help me cut off the dozens of stalks poking up from the ground that poke my dogs when they run back there chasing wildlife. Then I'd only have to deal with the round base and all the roots that are left behind.

I wouldn't have not purchased my house, but I would have asked for about $20K to have it all removed and for follow up care as part of the sale. That's about what it will cost me once I've installed a barrier to prevent it from coming back into my yard from the neighbor's space, since they don't want to remove their part of the grove.

Whoever said it doesn't grow in the shade is totally wrong. Mine are in the shade of five mature oak trees and they grow like crazy. I've read that they don't grow in swampy land, but my yard is very dry and on top of a hill, so I can't really create a swamp to kill it off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This machine looks like just what I need to continue my fight with bamboo! Thanks so much for sharing!
https://www.blackanddecker.com/products/lawn-and-g...utting/alligator-lopper/lp1000

Now, for those of you saying it's no big deal, think about having to get dressed with all the safety gear necessary to work with such a scary looking machine just to save the rest of your yard and your buildings from being overrun by this stuff. If you enjoy doing this sort of thing for hours a day to clear an area, or on a daily basis to keep it from coming back, then plant away!

I hope this machine might help me cut off the dozens of stalks poking up from the ground that poke my dogs when they run back there chasing wildlife. Then I'd only have to deal with the round base and all the roots that are left behind.

I wouldn't have not purchased my house, but I would have asked for about $20K to have it all removed and for follow up care as part of the sale. That's about what it will cost me once I've installed a barrier to prevent it from coming back into my yard from the neighbor's space, since they don't want to remove their part of the grove.

Whoever said it doesn't grow in the shade is totally wrong. Mine are in the shade of five mature oak trees and they grow like crazy. I've read that they don't grow in swampy land, but my yard is very dry and on top of a hill, so I can't really create a swamp to kill it off.

Safety gear? Glasses and work boots?

[Anonymous]

Add knee pads, because you can't kneel on the ground with those spikes sticking up, thick long sleeved shirts and long pants that protect your skin from cuts as well as ticks and mosquitos, lots of DEET, and a face shield when cutting. Of course, really thick leather gloves. Steel-toe boots are not cheap but you need them because if that machine slips, you'll lose a toe or a foot. It's not just your average Saturday lawn care situation. And this is usually done in really hot weather. Miserable work.

[Anonymous]

This is the sort of stuff some idiot planted in what is now my backyard. This absolutely cannot be mowed down with a lawnmower. LOL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx-NgrvcZcA Each piece of "timber" weighs a lot. Just gathering & bundling them and moving them to the curb for removal is a lot of work.

It should absolutely be illegal to plant this stuff in the Mid-Atlantic.

[Anonymous]

If I could afford managing the issue. Our neighbors just paid I think 30K to get rid of a bunch of bamboo so they could actually use their backyard, and the removal company said they don’t guarantee it will stay away. But if that cost was factored into the price of the house, and the house ticked all my other boxes and I had no better options, sure, I’d do it.