Killing bamboo plants with electricity?

[david90]

Killing bamboo plants with electricity??

This might be a crazy idea but I'm wondering if it's possible to kill bamboo roots with electricity. I have a bamboo bush that I pulled but the remaining roots will sprout new plants. Bamboo plants are hard to kill.

Would I be able to kill the roots if I connect 120VAC to one of the roots and Neutral to a ground rod installed near the roots? I think what will happen is the current will travel throughout the root networks and fry them.

 

[pairofstrings]

I am not sure of 120 V AC supply but a lighting stroke can fry it's roots for sure.

 

[Evil Bunny]

It would be an interesting experiment... 120V might not be enough to "push" the current through the roots and back into the rod. If you raise the voltage high enough it would eventually find it's way back to the rod, but it probably wouldn't destroy the entire root system... most of the current would likely flow through the roots with the most direct path to the rod.

This is assuming, of course, that the current through the roots would destroy it in the first place... I would think it would, but I'm not sure. Maybe I'll go home and shock one of my plants and find out

 

[NascentOxygen]

You're right, it is a crazy idea. It's one of those experiments that should be performed only as a "thought experiment". In practice, it is likely to be disappointing, providing you do survive it. But as a thought experiment, you can profess to achieve spectacular success in converting the bamboo to instant charcoal.

 

[KingNothing]

I really doubt 120VAC is enough to do much damage.

 

[turbo]

@ OP, you're likely referring to Japanese Knotweed, and it is exceedingly difficult to eradicate, since it propagates from rhizomes and spreads like crazy. You might need to hire a backhoe and be prepared to replace a lot of loam afterward. I can't imagine shocking the roots to death, though maybe it could be done.

I am not advocating the use of Round-Up, but that's what a neighbor resorted to in order to eradicate a patch of that stuff. He cut all the stalks repeatedly for a few years to starve the roots, and the stuff still kept coming back. Knotweed is one tough customer!

 

[DaveC426913]

@ OP, you're likely referring to Japanese Knotweed, and it is exceedingly difficult to eradicate, since it propagates from rhizomes and spreads like crazy. You might need to hire a backhoe and be prepared to replace a lot of loam afterward. I can't imagine shocking the roots to death, though maybe it could be done.

I am not advocating the use of Round-Up, but that's what a neighbor resorted to in order to eradicate a patch of that stuff. He cut all the stalks repeatedly for a few years to starve the roots, and the stuff still kept coming back. Knotweed is one tough customer!

I am keeping mine at bay simply by diligently pulling them out as soon as they come up*.

You should not cut the stalks if possible, better to pull them out by the roots.

*same can't be said for my poor neighbour. I don't think he's figured out yet where his intrusion came from...

 

[turbo]

I am keeping mine at bay simply by diligently pulling them out as soon as they come up*.

You should not cut the stalks if possible, better to pull them out by the roots.

*same can't be said for my poor neighbour. I don't think he's figured out yet where his intrusion came from...

Ooh! You're BAD!

 

[david90]

I really doubt 120VAC is enough to do much damage.

if 120 is not enough, i'll step it up to 480v. heheh.

 

[david90]

@ OP, you're likely referring to Japanese Knotweed, and it is exceedingly difficult to eradicate, since it propagates from rhizomes and spreads like crazy. You might need to hire a backhoe and be prepared to replace a lot of loam afterward. I can't imagine shocking the roots to death, though maybe it could be done.

I am not advocating the use of Round-Up, but that's what a neighbor resorted to in order to eradicate a patch of that stuff. He cut all the stalks repeatedly for a few years to starve the roots, and the stuff still kept coming back. Knotweed is one tough customer!

no it's not. I don't what my bamboo variety is called but it's dark green, really soft and hollow. The stem is less than .25" wide

 

[FourierFaux]

Please do be careful... your idea sounds eerily similar to a story I once heard. In his case, his menace was moles and not bamboo.

http://tothewire.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/darwin-awards/

"""
Whac-A-Mole

2006 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin





(10 January 2007, East Germany) A 63-year-old man’s extraordinary effort to eradicate moles from his property resulted in a victory for the moles. The man pounded several metal rods into the ground and connected them–not to household current, which would have been bad enough–but to a high-voltage power line, intending to render the subterranean realm uninhabitable.

Incidentally, the maneuver electrified the very ground on which he stood. He was found dead some time later, at his holiday property on the Baltic Sea. Police had to trip the main circuit breaker before venturing onto the property.

The precise date of the sexagenarian’s demise could not be ascertained, but the electric bill may provide a clue.

"""

 

[davenn]

hahaha you got to love the Darwin Awards, They make for some funny reading. The mind boggles at some of the stupid things done.

@ Op I'm with Fourier Faux and the others. its not a good idea. I really urge you to find a safer way.

cheers
Dave