Landscaping - Anyone know how to get rid of Bamboo?

I am trying to rid my yard of a couple large patches of some kind of bamboo. It is about 7 or 8 feet tall already. I have pulled it out a few times over the years but it keeps coming back. I have 2 young kids, so harsh chemicals are out of the question.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

The active ingredient in roundup is one of the safest herbicides around and is used in landscape and aquatic environments with very little danger to humans or animals. I would suggest getting a tarp or drop cloth and pulling down the canes over the tarp and spraying the leaves to avoid getting it on your lawn or other desirable plants. If you get an inexpensive plastic drop cloth just fold it up and throw it away when your done. alternatively you could try cutting it down and painting the undiluted roundup on the freshly cut tops of the canes. This works for brush and may also work on bamboo.

could you place a heavy board or tarp on the area for a few weeks? Starved of light, they should die without any chemicals. Then you can place some sod on top of it after prepping the soil. If the plants are isolated enough, perhaps killing the patches would be the easiest way to go about it as you suggested.

I've never dealt with bamboo so I dont know how it spread and how deep the roots go.

Hi Brooksjc,

You might find this helpful.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bamboo/msg1022004918801.html

Newt