Neighbor’s bamboo - Ask Extension
I am battling my neighbor’s bamboo that is constantly creeping into my property. Do I have any recourse to have him control his bamboo?
Knowledgebase
Neighbor’s bamboo #924871
Asked February 21, 2026, 5:44 PM EST
I am battling my neighbor’s bamboo that is constantly creeping into my property. Do I have any recourse to have him control his bamboo?
Harford County Maryland
Expert Response
You can check with local county/municipal government to see if they have regulations about controlling/containing bamboo. Maryland passed a law a couple years ago that gave local authorities the power to regulate bamboo in their jurisdictions, but we do not have information on which areas have enacted such laws.
Containing running bamboo is labor-intensive and may be costly, especially since it would be an ongoing effort compared to complete removal (which would require the neighbor to cooperate in eradication efforts). If the main clump cannot be taken out, the only recourse is to install a rhizome barrier, which forces the creeping rhizomes (underground stems that spread the colony) to grow up and over the barrier where they can be seen and cut off. Barrier installation often requires machinery to dig a trench at least 2 feet deep; you can learn more on our Containing and Removing Bamboo page.
Once a barrier is installed along a property line, all pieces of bamboo left on your property can be dug out and/or treated with systemic herbicide to kill them, though depending on how entrenched those pieces are, eradication may take more than one year. If you opt to hire a landscape company to help with removal, it's important to identify a company that has experience removing bamboo. Reputable contractors who do bamboo remediation work tend to follow some variation of this process: cut all culms (stalks) to the ground, use a skid steer loader or mini-excavator to dig and lift rhizomes and roots, and remove all rhizome remnants by hand. This is very disruptive to the landscape, and may damage or kill established trees, shrubs, and perennials in the area where rhizomes would be dug out, in which case the area would be re-graded and replanted as needed.
The state of Maryland also recently updated a law pertaining to invasive plants, where a list of species is now banned for sale (including the most commonly-planted running bamboo species), but that regulation doesn't require that already-established specimens of those species be removed.
Miri
Containing running bamboo is labor-intensive and may be costly, especially since it would be an ongoing effort compared to complete removal (which would require the neighbor to cooperate in eradication efforts). If the main clump cannot be taken out, the only recourse is to install a rhizome barrier, which forces the creeping rhizomes (underground stems that spread the colony) to grow up and over the barrier where they can be seen and cut off. Barrier installation often requires machinery to dig a trench at least 2 feet deep; you can learn more on our Containing and Removing Bamboo page.
Once a barrier is installed along a property line, all pieces of bamboo left on your property can be dug out and/or treated with systemic herbicide to kill them, though depending on how entrenched those pieces are, eradication may take more than one year. If you opt to hire a landscape company to help with removal, it's important to identify a company that has experience removing bamboo. Reputable contractors who do bamboo remediation work tend to follow some variation of this process: cut all culms (stalks) to the ground, use a skid steer loader or mini-excavator to dig and lift rhizomes and roots, and remove all rhizome remnants by hand. This is very disruptive to the landscape, and may damage or kill established trees, shrubs, and perennials in the area where rhizomes would be dug out, in which case the area would be re-graded and replanted as needed.
The state of Maryland also recently updated a law pertaining to invasive plants, where a list of species is now banned for sale (including the most commonly-planted running bamboo species), but that regulation doesn't require that already-established specimens of those species be removed.
Miri
