One in three bamboo enquiries to an invasive plant specialist now involve the plant spreading into neighbouring properties.
Environet says 33% of its bamboo enquiries so far this year have involved boundary encroachment, up from 30% during 2025.
The company puts the average cost of professional guaranteed bamboo removal at £6,200 and is warning homeowners to check plants growing close to property boundaries.
Its figures come after bamboo planted in the garden of a Surrey homeowner spread next door and eventually began growing inside her neighbour’s garage.
13 YEARS WITHOUT A PROBLEM
Woking homeowner Jill Barrett had bamboo planted by a landscape gardener around 15 years ago and says she was reassured at the time that the variety would not spread.
For around 13 years there were no obvious problems.
The first sign came when bamboo appeared in a neighbour’s flowerbed before shoots subsequently emerged through their lawn.
Further investigation found bamboo growing between the boundary fence and garage. It eventually reached the building, displaced guttering and grew between the garage wall and roof.
Removal work carried out by Environet found a root barrier installed around the original plant had degraded and was no longer containing it.
Barrett says: “It was a real shock to discover bamboo growing inside their garage, but once we saw what was happening and the speed the problem was developing, we knew we needed to get it dealt with quickly.”
PROPERTY DAMAGE
Environet says running varieties of bamboo can spread through underground rhizomes beneath lawns, paving, flower beds and fences.
Its 2026 enquiry data shows bamboo cases were considerably more likely to involve neighbouring properties than Japanese knotweed enquiries, 12% of which involved encroachment.
The company’s previous YouGov research found 35% of British adults were aware bamboo could cause physical damage to property, while 23% knew allowing it to spread could potentially result in legal claims.
Environet Director Emily Grant says: “Bamboo is unusual because there can be such a long lag between planting it and it becoming a problem.
“A homeowner might see very little change for years, so naturally they assume it’s staying put, but this can change quite suddenly.”
She advises homeowners with bamboo near boundaries to watch for new shoots away from the original plant, displaced paving and rhizomes appearing at the surface.
