O.K. Bamboo poles for fencing?

[Fantastic]

Saw some for sale on craigslist. Like super cheap for bundles of 40. They are supposed to have "incredible strength". http://www.calibamboo.com/bamboopoles.html

I couldn't help but wonder if anyone has ever tried them for fencing?

[dmalbone]

Huh... My first response was "no way!" but looking at the site I'd be interested in finding out break strength, etc. of bamboo. I know nothing about it other than that as a floor it's fairly soft, but it's not in it's natural pole state like that. It's interesting and worth looking into definitely! Let me know if you find out anything. I did see on that site you posted that someone did have their horses fenced in with a bamboo fence.

[deltawave]

Break strength is one thing--ability to be nailed or screwed together without splitting, ability to withstand weather, ability to be chewed or leaned upon, ability to not break into sharp, deadly splinters in case of a crash (almost ANY fence material will break if an 1100 pound animal hits it at 25 mph) are all big questions, too.

[dmalbone]

If it ends up being strong enough, I would still definitely use hot wire of some sort with it. I would also be concerned (like pp mentioned) of how they would be attached to the posts!

[Fantastic]

Picture #85 is the picture of horse fencing. Hmmm.

http://www.calibamboo.com/all-bamboo-fencing-gallery.html

[tangledweb]

It probably would be really good for some things, you could lash them together to make a temporary round pen or portable corrals and they would be light and strong.

Permanent fencing I don't think it would do as well for. Unless there is some kind of treated bamboo, buried in the ground it would rot quite quickly.

[Fantastic]

The ad that I saw said it was treated with something, but I can't find the original ad right now.

[dmalbone]

Hmm, I wasn't even thinking about using the bamboo posts. Those are a "backbone" of a fence to me, so I don't know if I'd ever feel comfortable using them. I was just assuming you were talking about using regular wooden posts with bamboo poles. No idea why really!

[Fantastic]

dmalbone - actually, that's what I was thinking, too! If the poles were treated, all the better!

[BeaSting]

Even though the bamboo being used as fencing may be thicker, stronger, treated, and perfectly safe, I would still be reluctant to have it anywhere near my horses. When I lived in the Philippines, bamboo cuts were a serious matter. They tended to bleed more profusely, took longer to heal and left nasty scars, even with just a shallow cut.

[DiablosHalo]

My first instinct would be no way! Agree with pp- didn't they use bamboo shoots as spears to kill things - bc they do not shatter- they pierce deeply. I would be afraid a horse would go through the fence and gauge himself. But then again- I do not have quiet horses that stay behind fencing well unless it's hot!

The pic looks very interesting.

[Guin]

It looks like the posts have holes in them that hold the rails; the rails aren't nailed onto the posts. Pretty sturdy-looking.