Stilt grass solutions?

We've tried to garden in our rather wooded backyard in NC, but the light was always too limited to have much yield of any sort except assorted greens in the late winter. After taking down some trees a few years ago our sunlight improved a little bit Japanese stilt grass has invaded. It's overwhelming to deal with and we don't even want yo go in the yard, let alone garden in it. Has anyone found a safe and sustainable method to get rid of the stuff besides picking it by hand? We live in town, so we can't take any drastic meadures.