When commercial bulb growers want to kill any rogue bulbs they paint the leaves with a glyphosate herbicide. This is likely to work for tulips and Narcissus, and probably lilies.

If you have warm-zone bulbs such as Agapanthus, Crocosmia, Hemerocallis, and similar pests*, them it will probably be both spray and dig. This can also be true for 'bluebells' which have great digging habits of their own and superb survival powers.

*Apologies to all cool-zone people who love and cherish these plants.

WOW. OMG you're killing them? As long as you're going to kill them or toss in the trash you can send them to me. I'll paying shiping. Serious. Emailme at...deerkiller562000@yahoo.com
As for your "problem". If you miss any you can dig them up as they grow next year. But I wouldn't use a herbicide it might keep the new plants from growing.
I guess I am like the person who left you the "mess" (how can too many flowers be a mess) as I have so many flowers in my beds there's no room for weeds. We plan to move out of state in 2 years. If the next owner doesn't like LOTS of flowers they have a real problem.

You might try Freecycle.com in your area. You are SURE to get takers AND you won't have to do any backbreaking work digging them out.

If you don't like the idea of strangers coming onto your property with shovels you could still dig thm up and offer them on Freecycle.

I got a huge load of hosta this way. A couple bought a house and HATED hosta. She was originally going to dig them up and toss them. They got rid of the hosta without having to do a thing. I felt guilty. These were not cheap hosta either. I asked them "Are you sure? Some of these hosta are quite pricey." They said "Just get rid of them ugly things."

They were also offering bushes and rose bushes the same way. I am sure there were takers for those too.

Their new house also had a bunch of huge raised flower beds made out of wooden ties. She said they were originally going to hire someone to remove them and dispose of them. Freecycle to the rescue! People came and got them! They also got rid of the child's jungle gym in the back yard the same way. They even got rid of all the wood chips in the child play area by putting up a Freecycle ad. People came in with shovels and helped themselves until they were all gone.

What zone do you live in?
there has to be a plant you have been wanting?
if so what is it i will check to see if i have it
may be i can send you aome plants for these bulbs?
they need to be hardy to zone though
please look at my garden pictures i do not have my list updated mendy

Bulb problems are usually with offsets from Gladiolus or Crocosmia and they are very small. They come up like weeds. For this problem I found it neccesary to dig the soil up and strain it through my compost sifter. With one half inch screen still a few small enough will get through, but it would take forever to strain through a one quarter inch screen. Al

ok that's twice I've seen local extension agent, what's that momcat22? Makes me wish I had a bunch of plants to give you guys.... Here I'm trying to come up with the money to plant a brand new yard.....

Jennifer-the Co. Extension Service Agents are degreed graduates of a university agricultural program. State agent's services are free and they're trained to give advice in most areas of horticulture. Here in NC, one of the services they provide is soil testing. Get a soil sample box from their office, fill with some dirt from your yard, they send it off & you'll recieve an analysis of what you need to add to your soil to bring it up to snuff for whatever you're planning to grow. They also provide any horticultural literature you request, run the Master Gardener Program & give talks to local garden clubs or other groups & are generally associated with the Co.4-H programs.
If you go to this site
http://ucanr.org/ce.cfm
you can choose your co & it will give you your agent's phone # & address. He or she will also be able to give you all sorts of FREE advice about your lawn, flower beds, fertilizers, grass seed, composting, etc, which are best suited for area. He or she may also be able to refer you a group which will come rescue your bulbs.
Hope this helps-

DONT KILL THEM!!!

I would love some too! And we can work something out! Ummm my e-mail address is ich_bin_nathan@hotmail.com and e-mail me cause I would really like some bulbs!

i can send you postage for bulbs. please don't kill them. kelly

Look folks, not every plant needs to be saved. Spanish Bluebell, for example, is horribly invasive, and will displace other plants and more delicate bulbs and spread like wild fire. I volunteer at three parks where I spend way too much time trying to control invasive bulbs. As they also spread by seeds, the seed bank in the soil can develop into plants for years to come. I've just spent 6 years getting rid of them from my yard. They even come up through my lawn.

M Genton, I'm curious where you live. I have had Spanish bluebells for years now and they don't spread or reseed at all.

I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I've read about folks trying to get rid of it in Britain where it has spread throughout their forests. It's even hybridized with their native English Bluebell. It's listed as an invasive species here.

Very interesting. I never would have guessed. And here I am in middle TN trying to propagate them to other parts of my garden.

Seems to be considered differently in various parts of the US. In the Pacific Northwest, our abundant rain makes it thrive too much. The seeds find their way under other plants and I end up having to lift those plants in order to get to bluebells. Attached are pics showing them growing up through landscape cloth.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/763/#b

Funny. Your bluebells behave like garlic chives here. I hate them with a passion.

My deepest sympathies. I also have invasive garlic: allium vineale. Horrible. It has spread around the world and, coincidentally, I spent most of today removing it from the nooks and crannies of a garden where I work. It is edible if that's any consolation. :))

I know. No consolation. Haha. I raised some from seed years ago. So pretty when it bloomed. Little did I know.

Yes, I thought it was so lovely when I saw it in the wild, that I took a seed head home and planted it. Took me two years to get rid of it, because sure enough it flowered and spread it's seeds within 3' of the plant–some of them very deep.

some are so annoying they get a free trip down my kitchen sink. I run them through my garbage disposal to ensure they're gone.

Well, I'm keeping my physiotherapist "in the life style to which he has become accustomed. :))) BTW, I thought I had removed all the alium vineale, a.k.a. wild garlic, but it's all over my lawn and garden again.

I feel ur pain. I have this one area where it seems like a yearly continuous removal of lily bulbs. And when I think I really have removed whatever offsprings that is in the dirt, the next year, stragglers seem to pop up from god knows where

And I feel your pain a1an. I have fantasies about hiring a bulldozer to remove all the soil, then starting from scratch. But then, you never know what's going to blow in on the wind. : /