what in the heck is this

I havent been to the garden for about a week and went this morning to find two of these. What is it ? im a bit worried as i dont have a garden with soil. Its more gravel based so i dont understand how they got there.
How can i get rid of it (im happy to spray it or coat it with anything) as i dont really want anything growing in this area

 

It looks like a horsetail, they creep underground by rhizomes or something similar, and also spread by spores.
I have them in my garden and dig them up, making sure I get all the underground bits out as well.
There may be other methods of controlling them but I don't know of those, you could look it up on google or something, or maybe someone else on here can help you with it.

 

i have a gravel garden and under that is bits of rubble so how am i supposed to dig through the rubble ?

 

They spread very easily, as per @Michael Hewett describes. Before you decide what to do - cut that off, because that's the fruiting body, which also produces more of them.
They've been around since the dinosaurs, and will outlive humans, so good luck trying to get rid of it.
It'll have come from a neighbouring site. You can use one of the stronger weedkillers, or just keep cutting it to the ground, but you'll have to be vigilant all the time. You can try the method of weedkiller with a clear plastic container over it, but nothing much will get rid of it permanently unless you can dig it out, which seem unlikely with the site it's in.

 

Original pic enlarged.
.........................................
Doesn't look quite right for Equisetum arvense...common name Horsetail/Mares tail.
Check the detail shown in my pics below.
Joints are completely different.
Could it be bamboo creeping under the fence from the garden next door.
Time to have a look over the fence!!!


Note the zig zag joint


My last pic shows the fruiting part.

 

Yes - looking again, it could be that @Silver surfer. They can be every bit as problematic.
The same applies though, re weedkiller. Very difficult to get on top of, let alone permanently. Digging out would be nigh on impossible if it's in a neighbouring garden unless you can get a concrete barrier in to a decent depth.

 

Your interloper is horse tail/mares tail. It is a pernicious weed and almost impossible to erradicate unless you continously spray with Glyfosate weed killer.
It is a prehistoric plant with roots that look like threads of black cotton and can down 6ft and more. It will regrow from the smallest piece of stem or root and has come from the subsoil or the seed spores have been carried on the wind. It loves damp conditions so a gravel garden is ideal.

 

Looking at your pictures you have two problems.
Mares tail, pictures 1 &2, 4 &5 and a creeping bamboo, picture 3.
Both are nightmares to have and probably coming in from next door. As suggested above, a physical barrier may be the only answer to the bamboo. Dig a trench at least 2ft deep, and put concrete slabs on edge along the perimetre of your garden. Bamboo will still try to climb over the top edges of the slabs but can be chopped off. Mares tail as above.
Pick up and bin every scrap of removed plant, ideally burn, and never put on the compost heap if you have one. Never chop and use as mulch, it will spread to the whole garden if it hasn't already done so.
You have my sympathies and your hands full!

 

I have been trying to help an elderly relative get rid of a massive area of equisetum. I used professional strength glyphosate and it just sniggered at me. Since the banning of that specialist weedkiller for equisetum that got through the silica on the outside, it's become really problematic. I would just keep pulling it out.

 

Goldenlily26, Please re read ALL post
Only one pic posted by hi2u_uk,
Others are all mine..all from the same patch, same plant, same day...all are Equisetum arvense!

Sorry but it is not Horse tail..look at joint detail in my pic..the zig zag collar.

 

I don't know ...
Don't shoot the messenger !

 

I think it's bamboo as well. There is a brick in the picture for scale. A quick nosey over the fence should tell you if the neighbour has bamboo or not.

Bamboo will just keep creeping under and it's best to have a conversation with your neighbour about it. You can get thick barriers that they could put in along the fence line but you'd still need to tackle those new developing culms.

 

It's a new bamboo shoot probably from next door, as Silver Surfer said.
The good news is that the runner won't be that deep, if you move the stones/gravel back and roll back the membrane you will probably see the runner or it will be just below the surface. Then you cut the runner as close as you can to the fence, that one will not reshoot, but fresh ones may well reappear next year.

 

I have been out again and pulled up two of them but they arent very simple to pull up. Theres a 3rd shoot and they are all about 30cm tall. Am i doomed. Whats the best chemical weedkiller i can pour all over the place as this thing isnt a plant i desire . It also seems to have grown very quickly as it wasnt there the last time i looked last week

 

May and June are the months when most bamboos send up new canes in the UK. I'd just keep removing any more that appear this month and then relax until next year. A friendly word with your neighbour would be a good idea to suggest that they incorporate an adequate barrier on their side, or remove it!