Last weekend I heard Howard mention to excavate 1 1/2 inches to
remove bermuda roots. I guess a spade shovel could help with this.
He said the biggest mistake to make is tilling before doing this.
Tilling just brakes the roots and burys them deeper and then the bermuda
growes again. Hope this helps.

I have a small landscaping company and as arule of thumb, depending on the purpose of removal, I never go less than 4 inches. When constructing a bed we work the soil until we dont find any roots, remove approximately 2 to 3 inches from perimeter and install steel edging to a depth of at least 2 inches. (I have seen bermuda roots on a golf course 4 feet deep, growing down towars an irrigation drain.) I stay on top of the grass with vinegar sprays and mechanical removal. Compost, compost, compost.... keeps soil loose for easier removal

I have used a sod cutter on several occassions to remove bermuda sod. Each time, I was able to re-use it myself or I gave it to friends. I set the cutter at about 2". The following spring, I just kept an eye out for any new sprouts, but they were easy to pull out. I haven't had a problem since that time.

A sod cutter is a little work but is worth it if you have a relatively large area to remove. In that case, it is much easier than digging it out with a shovel.

I have a situation where I'd like to remove Bermuda from under a large Post Oak. The tree is one of the oldest in Denton County and has thin grass cover under the canopy from the trunk to 3/4 to to the drip zone. From that point out the grass is pretty thick. I could not go as deep as some are suggesting for soil removal of course, and wonder how long I should go with the compost/paper/mulch. I want to create a large bed under the canopy of this tree and plant grasses such as Bluestem and Muhly. Do I need to remove the newspaper or just let it stay?

I hope you didn't go through with this plan... Oaks, especially post oaks, are really sensitive to even small changes in the soil over their roots... Removing or adding even a small amount can cause problems to the tree, sometimes not showing up until years later, not to mention you'd also be destroying the tree's feeder roots and causing it stress.

I absolutely despise bermuda and curse whatever moron brought it to this country, but either tolerate it or try eradicating using the vinegar is probably your best bet where bermuda under trees is concerned. You will have to keep doing it over and over, since even once it seems dead it's probably just gone dormant and will try to come back again (and again).

I got rid of bermuda by covering it with 2 inches of sand and 3 inches of mulch. I didn't dig anything up. There are only one or two spots where any of the bermuda has tried to come back. Those sprigs were easy to dig down and get out. Sand and mulch are easy to dig in.