Seattle Bamboo Reviews

Yelp Reviews

My house had two large bamboo clumps--one 4x6' and one 4x4', plus three 1x1's--right next to the foundation, which was a big concern when I bought the place last year. I emailed Bruce and Simonne and got a call back right away. Bruce asked me to measure the base of all of my plants and get back to him to allow him to give me a quote. From there, we were able to quickly agree on a quote via email and coordinate the removal of the plants during daytime hours--all without me having to interrupt my work day to coordinate it, which was a big plus. It was incredibly easy--there was no hassle with having to meet up in person or be present at the house while they removed all the plants. I came home one evening after they'd been there during the day and was amazed. My yard looked like it had never even had bamboo in it! There were smooth, clean dirt patches where each plant had been. They did a great job cleaning everything up afterward and leaving no trace of being there at all. I highly recommend Seattle Bamboo.

Suzanne G.

We were looking at buying a house that we loved -- except for the bamboo in the front yard. We were worried that its spread was so extensive it would be hard to remove. We wanted to get a sense of how much to set aside in our offer budget for the bamboo, so I emailed Bruce and Simonne. They saved us from a nightmare. They would have come out do do a thorough written bid for $500 (to be applied to the bill if they performed the job), but they generously offered to look at photos and measurements and give me a rough idea via email for free. I sent them photos and just as we were sitting down with our realtor to write our offer, their reply email came in. It turns out they had been out to the house - recognized it from the photos -- and told me that the bamboo invasion was so extensive we were looking at many thousands of dollars to eradicate it. They did a few things in the course of our email exchanges that speak volumes about what kind of company they are. First of all, they responded to all my emails within hours if not minutes. They were professional and courteous. But most important to me -- and the reason I will recommend them to anyone I know and will use them if we ever have a bamboo problem -- is that they were transparent. They could have earned a lot of money from us, but instead, they were candid, and saved us from buying a house that would have had us ripping up landscaping - both ours and the neighbors- and sinking into a money pit. I learned from researching spreading bamboo that it is such a problem for structures and landscaping that some jurisdictions have criminalized planting it (Google bamboo and New Jersey). I'm grateful that there are honest professionals like Bruce and Simonne out there if you need them.

Ingrid G.

Our new house came with beautiful bamboo on every side of our lot--and, with it, a host of bamboo problems. Within a month, bamboo shoots were popping up everywhere, including the neighbors' yard. Over many years, a rhizome network had built up under the landscaping, driveway, and sidewalk. We called Bruce and Simonne for help. They gave us an honest appraisal of the situation and recommended a plan. They did all of the work themselves, carefully, with a guarantee to boot. They even laboriously removed our concrete driveway by hand to prevent the risk of further rhizome spread. Going the the extra mile, they supervised the concrete contractor repaving the driveway, sidewalk, and planters, preventing a host of mistakes. Communication throughout the whole process was excellent.. They've definitely earned our trust. We wholeheartedly recommend Seattle Bamboo. They are trustworthy, quite knowledgeable about different bamboo varieties and the problems they can cause, with solutions. Our bamboo is safely contained and looks great. They are true experts (and artists) and care deeply about their work.

Kaya B.

We had Seattle Bamboo remove bamboo placed by the previous home owner. They performed the work during late summer 2011. It was a big job and once they got into it, we did renegotiate the price. They carefully explained their original bid and compared it with the conditions they were finding. I felt they were trying to be reasonable. The bamboo was very extensive, going under my concrete walk and driveway. Even though the price was very expensive in the end, $6,500 as I recall, I think they earned every penny. I made a mental calculation of the hours they put into the job and decided the price, as high as it was, was very reasonable. The problem is removing bamboo from unwanted areas is a very arduous job and it is not cheap. Because the bamboo went under my concrete walk and driveway, I decided to have the concrete removed and repaved. It was 60 years old and in bad shape anyway. Seattle Bamboo worked with my paving contractor and ran right over after their demolition of the old concrete to dig down and get the bamboo underneath. They were excellent to work with. It is now late June 2012, and we have had a couple of shoots re-emerge. Each time, we e-mail Seattle Bamboo and they come over and take care of it. They have been careful not to damage the new landscaping put in place since the bamboo was removed. I will say Seattle Bamboo is true to their word on their guarantee. Overall, we were very satisfied with Seattle Bamboo and would highly recommend them for any project related to bamboo. ****UPDATE**** It is now August 2014, and we have not seen any more bamboo shoots emerge in the last couple of years. Seattle Bamboo did a great job getting rid of our bamboo problem.

Ted B.

We recently purchased a home and brought in a landscape designer to work on our property. The designer highly recommended Seattle Bamboo to remove bamboo planted by the previous owner. We are so happy we hired Seattle Bamboo! Bruce and Simonne are an absolute pleasure to work with. They do a very thorough job, and guarantee their results. They are experts who really know their stuff. The estimate they gave was fair, and they came in on budget. It's such a relief to have the invasive bamboo gone, and we have peace of mind, knowing that if any sprouts back up, Bruce and Simonne will be back to take care of it under the guarantee. Seattle Bamboo is a great company and I highly recommend them!

Michael L.

We had a big grove of bamboo in our backyard that was there when we bought the house last year. We decided it was time to get rid of it when it started running all over the yard. Seattle Bamboo was the second quote we got to remove the stuff and not only were they quite a bit lower than the first quote they were also way more informative about the process. Bruce and Simonne, the owners, showed up the next two days and hammered the job out...they take all the bamboo up to Woodland Park Zoo for the elephants to snack on, which I think is awesome! They were even very helpful when we had to deal with the bamboo that had grown into our neighbor's yard. Bruce explained to them why it would be useful to get rid of it and even when they declined to have it professionally removed he helped us put a barrier up so it doesn't grow back into our yard. I hope we never have to deal with bamboo again but if we do I will definitely call Seattle Bamboo. Bruce and Simonne are experts in their field and you won't be disappointed!

C.K.

Angie's List Reviews

Seattle Bamboo removed the bamboo in a 24' low-level planter that had been planted to create a screen between houses but not maintained, built a smaller planter that will allow easier maintenance, and replanted key plants to maintain the upper level screening as much as possible. Member Comments: It went great! I'm happy to have gotten the bamboo dealt with before it became a big problem and really appreciated how well they worked with me to develop a plan to fit my budget. Their expertise was obvious and they had many suggestions for options.

Lori R.

Bruce assisted me with purchasing appropriate type and amount of bamboo for a project at my home. Member Comments: I contacted Bruce via email with questions regarding a special bamboo planting project for my home. I had purchased a large container and needed the proper type and amount of bamboo for the location and container. Bruce responded immediately and knew exactly what I needed and made himself available for me to view my options. We made arrangements to get together and he even assisted with loading the plants. Bruce was friendly and knowledgeable and I very pleased with the whole experience.

Thomas P.

Seattle Bamboo worked to correct a bamboo encroachment problem caused by neighbor's bamboo trees that were out of control causing a major and expensive problem for me. It was a pleasure working with them. Member Comments: Seattle Bamboo Company is the absolute best! Bruce Magnotti and Simonne Garrigues were very professional on the phone and in person while outlining the best steps to stop the bamboo rhizome encroachment from my neighbor's yard through my driveway asphalt. Bruce returned calls promptly and arrived promptly which I appreciated. He and Simonne were also available to speak with other professionals working on this particular problem. They did all the work with a guarantee and indicated they would be checking for rhizome activity for at least six months. I had no problem communicating with them as they were always available by phone. Seattle Bamboo was recommended by a popular local landscape company as the only company to call to handle any kind of bamboo problem. Seattle Bamboo is the only company I would recommend Seattle Bamboo to fix any bamboo problem you might have.

Jane C.

Bamboo consultation, removal, replanting, and rhizome trench and barrier installation. Member Comments: Our new house came with beautiful bamboo on every side of our lot--and, with it, a host of bamboo problems. Within a month, bamboo shoots were popping up everywhere, including the neighbors' yard. Over many years, a rhizome network had built up under the landscaping, driveway, and sidewalk. We called Bruce and Simonne for help. They gave an honest appraisal of the situation and recommended a plan. They did all of the work themselves, carefully, with a guarantee to boot. They even laboriously removed our concrete driveway by hand to prevent further rhizome spread. They event went the extra mile to supervise a concrete contractor repaving the driveway and sidewalk, preventing a host of mistakes. Communication was excellent. We wholeheartedly recommend Seattle Bamboo. They are quite knowledgeable about different bamboo varieties and the problems they can cause, with solutions. Our bamboo is safely contained and looks great. They are true experts (and artists) and care deeply about their work.

Kaya B.