I’m spending a good amount of time every day—weather permitted—in getting rid if this plague that is Quila, a local brand of bamboo. It is such an enormous task that I reflect often how to achieve my goal, and that is getting rid of the Quila on my property.
Use poison
Some people say that there is a poison to kill bamboo. I don’t like poison. Also Bamboo has a very quick reaction. If it is cut, the channels that are bleeding are closed in 20 minutes. I also have the idea that if there is a poison that strong to kill bamboo, it will kill a lot more then just that.
The last thing I say about poison is that you might win a battle but not the war. And how many casualties will be there amongst the other plants and animals that you want to keep?
Think ahead, it is like a checkers-game
Look at the structure. You have only a certain amount of cuts with the machete an hour. Place them strategically. Cut the main stems. And then cut the branches where they might hook.
It is one thing to kill the Quila but it is another job to liberate the trees of all the Quila that tries to suffocate them. You have to take it out of the trees. It is like taking the mainsail down. You should do it upwind, with as less friction as possible.
Cut precise, don’t waist energy
Quila has several grades of hardness. The young shoots you cut easily. The dead ones can be like rock or very brittle. The yellow ones are the toughest. They usually take two or three hits, if the machete is very sharp. Precision works better then force.
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