Homeowners are being warned about the dangers of planting bamboo as it can cause thousands of pounds of damage to properties and gardens. You can see see how it wrecked one house here:
The invasive plant species can grow right through cavity walls, bricks, drains and even floors, with one recent case costing an unlucky homeowner £100,000 after it crept into a neighbouring property and caused havoc.
The owner of the Hampshire property used bamboo to create a border between the properties, but the plant managed to travel across the boundary and under the concrete ground under the neighbour’s four-bedroom house before bursting through the floor.
And the plant didn’t stop there, it then grew through the cavity walls of the house, which could have resulted in the walls being forced apart if left untreated.
Fortunately, help was on hand from invasive plant experts Environet UK who had to dig up the floor of the property and move hundreds of metres of the plant.
However, even with intervention from the experts, in the end, the insurance claim for the damage topped £100,000 - and Environet UK is now warning homeowners who may be tempted to plant some bamboo themselves.
Nic Seal, founder and MD of Environet UK, told the Express this is the ‘worst case of bamboo encroachment and damage to property he had ever seen in this country’.
He said: "Through no fault of their own, the homeowners have suffered significant financial cost, stress and inconvenience, being required to vacate their home for several months.
"The truth is, most bamboos are invasive if planted directly into the ground and left to their own devices.
"It’s unfortunate that bamboo is still sold at garden centres and plant nurseries around the country with little warning about the risks."
Seal is now warning anyone who is thinking of planting bamboo to reconsider and, if you’re reading knowing you’ve got the stuff growing in your garden, then he recommends you go and check that it is properly and safely contained.
He added: "I would urge anyone considering planting bamboo to think twice, and if you already have it growing in your garden, take action now to ensure it’s properly contained."
For more tips on how to manage and control bamboo plants, visit the RHS website here.
Claire Reid