A HOMEOWNER claims her neighbour’s bamboo ruined her garden and cost £10,000 to fix – it’s worse than Japanese knotweed.
Isobel Chetwood hadn’t realised the property next door to her, in Cheshire, had planted the bamboo.
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Known for being the fastest growing plant, it wildly sprouted and took over several nearby gardens.
Shoots started appearing in flower beds Isobel had created for strawberry planting.
Starting to deal with the problem by hacking away at the shoots, the pensioner soon found she was fighting a losing battle.
And when she told the landlord of the neighbouring home, he treated the bamboo with weed in killer in a bid to stop it being out of control.
However, the product actually triggered the bamboo and made it grow quicker,
Isobel then had no other option but to seek professional help.
She told CheshireLive: “I commissioned Environet to carry out a survey of the infestation and sent it to the landlord; I think that’s when he realised we needed professional help.
“Fortunately, his landlord’s insurance covered the cost of excavating the bamboo on my side of the fence, but he had to pay for the removal on his side since it had been deliberately planted by tenants.”
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She is now advising everyone to avoid buying and planting bamboo since the problem left her thousands of pounds out of pocket.
A mechanical digger was needed to cut the bamboo out from the roots.
Part of the patio also had to be dug up after its runners embedded underneath.
She added: “It shouldn’t be sold at garden centres at all in my opinion, or at least not without a clear warning.”
Invasive plant specialist Environet said bamboo can be just as bad as Japanese knotweed – people just don’t realise.
Founder and Managing Directors Nic Seal said: “Bamboo encroachment is one of the most common problems we deal with, since unlike knotweed, it’s still being marketed and sold in garden centres up and down the country with no warning of the risks – and planted directly into the ground by unsuspecting homeowners.
“There are hundreds of varieties of bamboo and it might take ten years, but most types will become invasive eventually.
“As such cases become more common, I wouldn’t be surprised if mortgage lenders start to look more closely at the issue and impose lending restrictions, similar to those for Japanese knotweed.”
It is also the law to declare any presence of Japanese Knotweed when moving into or selling a home – as it can impact your insurance.
One man was previously granted £50,000 by the courts after a surveyor failed to spot spot a clump of the plant.
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