This invasive plant is causing a ton of trouble for homeowners.
Here's another bamboo battle for the books. This distressed Redditor asked r/Gardening for help after their yard was quickly overtaken by bamboo.
They asked: "Is it possible to keep some of this bamboo or is this a battle of life and death where either the bamboo survives or I do - considering all of the shoots in front of the main patch came up since April?"
In just a few months, newly grown bamboo shoots completely overran this Redditor's yard. The bamboo has spread under their walkway, cracking it apart.
Depending on the type of bamboo and where the user is located, this plant can be considered invasive, and at the very least, troublesome. Nonnative, invasive plants can cause serious damage to your yard, home, and surrounding ecosystems.
One homeowner's driveway was broken by Japanese knotweed, while invasive ivy grew through another Redditor's parents' windows.
Nonnative plants compete with native plants and disrupt the natural ecosystem. Then, "when native host plants dwindle or disappear from an area, the populations of insect herbivores shrink and become less diverse," wrote Yale Environment 360.
Butterflies, bees, and other pollinators aren't just essential for a healthy garden — they're responsible for "one out of every three bites of food you eat," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Removing the bamboo is going to be good for the homeowner's house and wallet as well as beneficial for the environment and local ecosystem, too.
🗣️ Should we be actively working to kill invasive species?
🔘 Absolutely 💯
🔘 It depends on the species 🤔
🔘 I don't know 🤷
🔘 No — leave nature alone 🙅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Native plants will thrive, support pollinators, and cost you less time and money. Don't let bamboo hold your house hostage — learn how to properly rewild your yard.
Commenters shared their best advice and wished them good luck in their future battle against the bamboo.
"Get a digging bar and start at the outside working in," one user wrote. "Once you find a horizontal root follow it back or both ways. Dig up as much as possible then wait for it to show itself (weeks or months) then dig it all up again. You have a huge job ahead of you, good luck!"
Another user joked that they should "sell the house," adding it's "almost certainly already under your foundation."
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