Getting rid of bamboo

[jomowi]

Any tips, please on getting rid of bamboo.  I have 3 in my new postage stamp garden and want to make space for more interesting plants. I got one out which was a bit squinny and it came out easily, but the next one is a brute.  I have made a start and it could take me all winter!  If I expose as much root as possible and cut back the canopy would the frost help?  How about brushwood killer, and would it be effective if I painted it onto deliberately damaged roots?  They are very thick and seem to go down to Australia.  The third plant has suckered and I managed to get out the very thick suckers some of which were 6ft. long.  The main plant is between 2 conifers so extraction may be impossible.  (The conifers give privacy, so want to keep them).
 
Maureen

[Maggi Young]

I'd have thought it easier to get rid of the conifers and keep the bamboo as a barrier/shield. Most conifers are pretty easy to get out.... though YOU should not be digging anything with your "bionic" hips!
Too risky to damage them  

[jomowi]

The plant between the conifers is not particularly tall, Maggi, so would not provide any privacy, and privacy from removing the conifers would take a long time to replace.  The other brute plant is tall, but its removal would not leave me exposed to being overlooked.  Am taking it a bit at a time, and yes, I am conscious not to overdo things.

[Neil]

Round Up, or any glyphosate based weed killer, will do the job,  I had next door bamboo sending runners into my garden lets say it controlled them in a bit to well!!

[Lesley Cox]

I'd be inclined to cut them back to a manageable height first then apply the glyphosate that Neill suggests. If the roots go down to Australia, you'd better warn Fermi and the others to have their weedkillers handy too!

[Diane Whitehead]

I found the roots did not go deep and I could pry them up a bit and then peel them
back.   This was when I was happy to maintain the central clump, so I was just
removing the edges.

When I decided to remove the bamboo entirely (after about 30 years), I cut all the
culms (which I am still using for beanpoles etc) and hired a backhoe driver.  He did
the same thing as I used to do, but on a larger scale:  grabbed one corner and
peeled all the roots back.  Quick and easy.

[PDJ]

If the bamboo is within 15 feet of any building I would get rid of it even if it means destroying the conifers.  I have done several jobs where bamboo has destroyed under ground piping and even come through concrete floors.

[jomowi]

Thank you everyone for all the advice.  I guess glyphosate is best applied in the Spring to be most effective?  Will have to mix it with detergent in order to wet the leaves thoroughly. Can't employ mechanical equipment as everything has to go through my garage and kitchen to get access to the garden!  The brute plant is not suckering, but is damaging the fence between me and the neighbour.  May have to have a rethink on the suckering plant and consult with neighbours on the other side.
Maureen

[Neil]

Maureen you can apply it at anytime of the year,  it just takes longer to work the colder it is 

[Darren]

Thank you everyone for all the advice.  I guess glyphosate is best applied in the Spring to be most effective?  Will have to mix it with detergent in order to wet the leaves thoroughly. Can't employ mechanical equipment as everything has to go through my garage and kitchen to get access to the garden!  The brute plant is not suckering, but is damaging the fence between me and the neighbour.  May have to have a rethink on the suckering plant and consult with neighbours on the other side.
Maureen

A well known Scottish nurseryman once told me that to get glyphosate to stick to difficult foliage (Marestail was the subject of our conversation) he mixed it with a little wallpaper paste.

[SueG]

The writer Eric Grissell in one of his books (its at home and I'm at work so can't check) talks about dealing with bamboo by cutting the stems, then pouring neat weedkiller into the hollow centre of the stems - might be a way of weakening the plant before attacking the root system?

[Maren]

Bamboo is a grass, so any grass killer will do it. Broadleaf specific killers will not be so effective. I have had good results with Glyphosate on the young spears in spring, not so effective on the adult leaves, in my experience.

[jomowi]

Thanks again everyone for your further replies.  I am very hopeful between them all to get something to work, although I do realise it will take time. 
Maureen

[Gerry Webster]

A friend of mine had two very large bamboos in a very small garden. I suggested glyphosate which did not work. She eventually hired two very large men to dig them out.

[gote]

I wish I could make them survive my winters
Göte