Cutting back bamboo—a dilemma to be solved
 

We need to cut back our bamboo stand. It’s about 6’ now and we want to cut back to about 6-12”. Our Sawzall doesn’t work on it, and we would be reduced to cutting each one with our lopper, which would be quite a bit of work.

Since we are committed to doing this ourselves, do you see any easier way to cut it back? Suggestions welcome!

How about a gas powered trimmer with a metal tri-blade or circular blade. Some string trimmers can adapt to these type blades. These are usually straight shafted and heavier duty trimmers. If your bamboo is a smaller diameter, this should work well. Back in Michigan I used this method for clearing thick brush and small bushes and saplings.

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville has a lot of bamboo. Perhaps is you contact them, they will answer your question. As you know, bamboo is amazingly strong. Good luck. I don’t know how much you have, but it will be quite a project.

Chain saw

I do not understand why the sawall does not work, I have been using one of these for 30 years and it has never failed to cut. Please send me a PM and phone number so we can discuss DIYer to DIYer.

Sawsall
 

Tried cutting my bamboo. Unless very close to the ground the blade teeth grab the bamboo stalk and just shake it violently. That's my experience. My lawn care guys sometimes use their edge trimmer and it works.
Good luck.

I understand that Bamboo can only get more invasive with age. no personal experience but we were warned not to introduce to our yard. Perhaps eliminate the problem!

It is totally dependent on if it is "clumping" or "running" variety of bamboo.

Running Bamboo vs. Clumping Bamboo

You need to keep the blade guard tight against the piece, bamboo, so the teeth on the blade are cutting and pulling the bamboo into the guard. It’s not that the bamboo is hard to cut that will happen on any piece of wood if your trying to cut just using the blade.

I agree, A sawzall will cut through anything given the right blade.

Harbor freight sells an electric pole saw for about $75 sometimes cheaper. It is like a tiny chainsaw on the end of a pole. That will solve your problem and you won’t even need a ladder

Try a Japanese pull saw.

Machete

You need to rent a Brushcutter with a circular saw blade. Mine was made by Stihl. They aren’t cheap (I paid $450 for mine), but you can rent one. They look like professional string trimmers, but as I said, they have circular saw blades. A Brushcutter will cut through a two inch sapling in a second, and if you swing the Brushcutter into the bamboo, close to the ground, or a foot high, the way you use a string trimmer, it will cut cleanly. You can expect the bamboo to grow back, of course. A Stihl Brushcutter has a gas engine. I think there is also an Echo string trimmer than can take a circular saw blade and runs on a battery. That’s good for maybe thirty minutes, but maybe that’s all you need.

You could also use a chainsaw, but that may mean bending way over to cut. Also, it may not cut cleanly if the bamboo is too small or shaky. Also, small stalks sometimes get caught in the saw and derail the chain, which is pretty dangerous. Unless you are comfortable using a chain saw, I’d avoid that solution. Sometimes it makes more sense to call in an expert who can also haul away the brush.

I also recommend hearing protection and eye protection. I always use both earplugs and earphones as well as a chainsaw helmet with face shield. You don’t want to end up in the hospital with, say, a scratched cornea from a bamboo leaf. A chainsaw can cause permanent hearing damage in much less time than you would expect. I can testify to that.

A SawZall will cut through it with the right blade,
 

Yes a SawZall will cut it but you need the right blade for it, Harbor Freight has several that will work, depending on how much you have you might need several of them or use a chainsaw :boom::clap2::clap2: