Bing Guingona’s neighbour planted some bamboo in his yard a few years ago. Little did Guingona know, that move was going to end up costing him thousands of dollars to remove the invasive plant from his yard.
Bamboo can spread rapidly and can do some serious damage to concrete and infrastructure.
“Bamboo is definitely a fast-growing, fast-spreading species, depending on the variety. There’s a clumping one, which is more contained and then there’s one that will spread but will only go down about 18 inches, but it’s very fast growing bamboo, it definitely has a lot of problems out there,” said Brian Dougherty, general manager of Horizon Landscape Contractors.
Guingona first noticed his neighbour’s bamboo about three years ago and although he had to remove some of it from his property every year, by the third year it had sprouted through the flagstones.
“At the end we didn’t know that it could damage homes and properties,” said Guingona.
In late July, Guingona found his neighbour’s bamboo growing through the stones. His neighbour offered to help with the cost of clearing up the bamboo but they held off due to liability, and possible insurance claims.
“I’ve spoken to a horticulturalist, a landscaper, construction company,” said Guingona of getting the problem fixed, “and it ranges between 9, 12, 15 thousand dollars.”
“They basically have to dig up the whole place because they don’t want it to come back, but no guarantees they said,” he added.
Now Guingona is considering suing his neighbour as he said the neighbour has washed his hands of the situation.
The city has said it’s a civil matter between the two neighbours, but they have dealt with a lot of invasive species complaints in past few years.
“Invasive species have been a hot topic at the Township this year and previous years,” said Kevin Larsen, manager of water resources and environment at the Township of Langley.
“You may or may not know, bamboo is one of several thousands species, and it’s a fast-growing ornamental plant that is not native to B.C.,” he added.
There is no bylaw in place for invasive species at this time, and Larsen said putting one in place can be cumbersome. “It would be ineffective if the Township was the only municipality in place to put a bylaw,” he told Global News.
“You can go purchase these plants almost anywhere at any garden centre.” He said the key is proper insurance and education about these plants and what they can do.
The Township has a 10 year invasive species strategy, but it does not address species on private property. Bamboo is not on the list.
Guingona also thinks education is the key.
“I think you have to be educated before you plant any kind of tree,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want this happening to anybody.”
Comments