If your neighbours’ bamboo has spread into your garden, it’s easy to feel frustrated. I don’t want to start a war with next door, we hear you cry. Is bamboo really that bad?
Well, here are four steps our experts recommend:
1. Confirm the bamboo is invasive
When you find next door’s bamboo has spread into your garden, it’s easy to jump the gun and run into conflict with your neighbours. But wait! Before you go a-knocking, it’s worth checking the issue is in fact an issue.
Bamboo comes in many varieties and not all types are invasive and not all bamboo-looking plants are bamboo. Even we’ve been duped by artificial bamboo screens! So, if you complain that the leaves of your neighbours’ fake plant have fallen into your garden you will only end up looking like a lemon. Not a good look!
So, how do you confirm the bamboo is invasive? Well, it’s not easy because a lot of bamboo looks the same. Here are some pointers.
- Check for evidence - have the bamboo roots made their way onto your property? If yes, the plant may be a ‘running’ variety of bamboo that’s known to spread.
- Take photos - discreetly of course! Do NOT go trespassing onto neighbouring property. Compare these photos to photos online. Better yet, send photos to bamboo experts for official identification.
- Book a survey - sometimes photos aren’t enough. We can’t all be Ansel Adams, right? For your own peace of mind, ask a bamboo expert to come and assess the situation. An expert will be able to tell you officially if the bamboo is invasive, how much damage it can cause and what to do next — likely installing a weed barrier membrane to protect your property.
When it comes to identifying bamboo, we think the best advice is to check your facts before taking action. It’s also worth remembering that your neighbours might have no idea they’ve got an invader in their garden. Unlike Japanese knotweed whose reputation precedes it, bamboo is still as popular as ever and still sold in garden centres. Say what?!
2. Politely tell your neighbours
When your neighbours’ bamboo has damaged your property (grown through your patio, for example) or is likely to cause an issue you shouldn’t ignore it. Neither should you grab next door by the neck and tell them what for. Instead, you should knock and kindly express your concern about their bamboo. Explain how you’re not trying to cause trouble, but you’re anxious about how the plant is (or might) damage both your properties.
If your neighbours are decent folk, you can have a frank conversation that ends with proposed action. Hopefully, they will offer to remove it. It’s worth making a note to summarise the conversation, including the proposed remediation action, the time and date.
Now, sit back and relax and give your neighbours time to deal with the infestation. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it took more than an afternoon to tear it down (we don’t think, we were mostly concerned with playground antics than history in our school days)!
Bamboo canes
Bamboo growing under the fence from neighbours' garden
3. Politely tell your neighbours (again)
Essentially: lather, rinse, repeat. You don’t want to be that neighbour. In the least aggressive way possible, and when some time has passed, knock again and ask how they’re getting on. Once again, make a physical or digital note of this exchange, as well as the time and date the conversation took place.
4. Install a bamboo barrier
If your neighbours’ bamboo has damaged your garden, or looks like it might, you may find a quick, effective solution to give you peace of mind is a root barrier. A bamboo root barrier is especially helpful if your neighbours are ignoring the issue.
But please don’t follow suit and ignore it too! Keeping up with the Joneses may seem like a good idea, but ignoring bamboo can lead to property damage and even roadblocks if you ever come to move house. Our solution? A bamboo root barrier membrane. Here’s how it works.
A root barrier is an impenetrable “sheet” that is slotted into the ground vertically around 1-3 metres. Its aim is to prevent bamboo roots spreading from their land to yours. Usually, homeowners will hire bamboo experts to come and remove any fragment of bamboo from their land before installing the root barrier. Easy peasy.
Will hiring a contractor to install a bamboo membrane cost you? Sure it will! But it’s not as much as you might think.
Say Bye-Bye Bamboo and hello property peace. Complete our form today.
