Usually the only time you really need a barrier is along a fence to keep bamboo from getting into the neighbor's yard, and the 4mm plastic stuff will probably work fine.

Bamboos are generally pretty easy to control without barriers if you are willing to spend a bit of time to do annual rhizome pruning, and it makes it easier to take divisions too. I only used a barrier around my bissetii because I knew it was perhaps the most aggressive species. Also if you need phyllostachys edulis, you can probably just go to the anderson grove in SC. and dig a few divisions, but it's best to wait until perhaps July or later since the groves are drained of energy from shooting.

Here is a link that might be useful: my garden blog

Just Google "bamboo rhizome barrier" and you'll find lots of information.

I need a barrier to keep the Bamboo out of the other beds, in the garden.
I have 5 acres to plant, neighbors are not a problem, but I do not want the bamboo mix with other types of bamboo.
Nor do I want it in the maples & flowers.
Steve is it okay to just go dig up the Bamboo,do you have a contact name for me?
Thanks for the link.

I've heard of people on the bambooweb forums digging moso bamboo from the the the Anderson Grove which I would guess is in Anderson South Carolina. Just check out that forum, and there are around 3 bamboo growers that are in S.C. which you can probably PM for a visit, and a dig.

I guess I'm way too far up north to worry about rhizome spread because it doesn't get warm enough for them to really run, but in S.C. you might be able to control them by raised beds or trenching, maybe both.

Thanks steve, If I make a cheap score, maybe I can send you a rhizome or two.

Cool, but I already have tons of moso, and I sell them regularly, not now because they are in their shooting season.

It is also better to wait until around July or later just to make sure the divisions are energized since the groves will expend most of their energy to put out new shoots, and a division taking now would be very weak.

Steve -- I don't know why you say you're not concerned about running. Even if the rhizomes spread only 2 feet a year, in 10 years it's in your neighbor's yard, and that's a problem.

Raised beds don't stop rhizomes from spreading. In my experience they make it harder to control the spread because they force some rhizomes deeper than they normally would go, making rhizome pruning more difficult.

I'm actually hoping that I can get a shoot that emerges 2ft away on some of my more established groves this year so I can take some easy divisions, but with cool summers here, I need to put effort into getting them to spread out as opposed to rhizome pruning them.

My YG was exceptionally disappointing, making new shoots all on the interior of existing culms, and actually losing ground, probably from never watering it. This summer I might use heating plastic or something on my more important groves to hopefully get some spread.