How to KILL Ivy?

Guill

I am undertaking a restoration project of an old famine cottage. I had a conservation expert out to lhave a ook and one of the many, many, many tips he gave me was to make sure i kill the ivy before i go about cutting it. He said that when ivy is cut the roots swell and this may cause more damage to the masonary than there already is. I never got to ask him what to use to kill the ivy. Anyone here know what i could use and how to apply it? Would round-up do it and if so do i repeat applications? spray all leaves etc? ? Is the anything better around?

Thanks in advance folks.

blackharvester

as you said you can spray all the leaves with roundap an leave it to die completly, roundap will go by the leaves down to the root. but it will take couple of weeks. so you have to wait untill all ivy will be dead.
other weed killer which is strong and probably will do better job with ivy is SBK brushwood killer. you can get it in garden center, or hardware. it works this same way as roundap
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UiZg4xCxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

or you can cut Ivy above ground and use SBK as root/stump killer. you will find instruction on the back of the bottle.

Antiquo

Guill wrote: »

I am undertaking a restoration project of an old famine cottage. I had a conservation expert out to lhave a ook and one of the many, many, many tips he gave me was to make sure i kill the ivy before i go about cutting it. He said that when ivy is cut the roots swell and this may cause more damage to the masonary than there already is. I never got to ask him what to use to kill the ivy. Anyone here know what i could use and how to apply it? Would round-up do it and if so do i repeat applications? spray all leaves etc? ? Is the anything better around?

Thanks in advance folks.

OP ivy has (as I'm sure you've noticed with the stuff all over your masonary) thousands of wee rootlets which in the main it utilises to cling onto things with. If you cut the ground root and walk away these rootlets go into overdrive searching for nourishment. The likelyhood is the ivy will find a source of nourishement in the old wall and as a result these roots will swell in the cracks causing further damage. Not going to happen overnight but will happen.

Weedkillers by and large are not effective against ivy due to the fact that the water/spray simply runs off the leaves. Round-up as with all weedkillers needs to be absorbed into the leaf in order to act.

Even if you did have some effect on the ivy with liberal applications of weedkillers you still have to remove it. The masonary has to be made good and all debris removed so that birds can no longer sow ivy in the wall.

IMO Cut out the weedkiller bit, dig out the ground roots entirely and this will prevent any regrowth. Then set about clearing the ivy from the walls. Once you get it started from the wall it comes off reasonably handy even on old masonary where it has really got into the wall.

Work down the wall from the top and use a spade to chop down any stubborn roots using the weight of the ivy to pull the rest off.

johno2

Spraying strong ivy plants with weedkiller isn't very effective. It's ok for controlling weaker ground ivy though. If the Ivy has some very strong stems (2 inches thick) you can drill a few holes in it halfway through the stem. Use a syringe or something similar to get some concentrate weedkiller into the holes and slap a bit of duct tape on it. Make sure the holes are pointing downwards obviously so the weedkiller can stay in the hole. The best place to do this is near the ground, easy to access and usually thicker stems there.

Concentrated weedkiller is dangerous stuff, make sure no kids or pets or valuable plants or anything else can get in contact with it. Wear gloves.

johno

paddy147

Glyposphate aka brushwood killer.

This stuff is expensive and it does kill any living thing it touches.

NAD sell it in 1 litre jars.

I used it to kill tree stumps and the underground roots stone dead.

Worked a treat

Guill

Got myself some concentrated brush killer. I did hear before of injecting the Ivy but i googled it for ages and found nothing, the stumps in place are fairly strong so i will try that there.

As regerds the smaller roots, if i was to damage the leave with a strimmer or even a switch and spray them would that allow the brush/weed killer to sink in?

bmaxi

Ivy has waxy leaves which don't readily take up weedkiller. I found the best solution, as recommended by a TV gardener, was to cut the ivy back and treat the new growth as it emerged. Horse for courses though

kylith

I've had success getting rid of ivy by cutting the main stem just above the ground and ripping down the tendrils. I've not needed to put anything on the stump to stop it regrowing, so far anyway.

If I could only sneak into my neighbour's garden and do that I'd be set...

johno2

paddy147 wrote: »

Glyposphate aka brushwood killer.

This stuff is expensive and it does kill any living thing it touches.

NAD sell it in 1 litre jars.

I used it to kill tree stumps and the underground roots stone dead.

Worked a treat

What's NAD?

johno

Edit: Coop shops sell Gallup 360 in 5 litre drums, there's lots of glyphosphate in it and it's not terribly expensive.

paddy147

johno2 wrote: »

What's NAD?

johno

Edit: Coop shops sell Gallup 360 in 5 litre drums, there's lots of glyphosphate in it and it's not terribly expensive.

NAD is an argicultural and gardening supplier business out at Blakes Cross junction at the turn off for Skerries,that specialise in stuff like this.

They mainly sell to the trade,but will sell to the public too.:)

They also sell various horticulrural products too,stuff like windbreak neting and sheeting and also alot of vegitable growing stuff too.

very good company and has alot of stuff in stock.:)

topsey

Try some diesel ( a half cup per knapsack) to cut through the wax the wax in the leaves with Glyphos mix.

If that fails get a goat!

bigbrotherfan

I hope the problem of the ivy has been solved long ago as it is 4 years ago sine the O.P. posted the thread.

Blackcurrants

You would want to be careful spraying diesel in your knapsack as it takes a long time to degrade an is toxic to some plants. I wonder would a natural soap do a similar job to the cuticle on ivy? Have to give it a go.

charlie14

topsey wrote: »

Try some diesel ( a half cup per knapsack) to cut through the wax the wax in the leaves with Glyphos mix.

If that fails get a goat!

I have heard this idea of adding diesel to mix in the knapsack, but as diesel and water do not mix I cannot see how it would be of any benefit.

Oldtree

charlie14 wrote: »

I have heard this idea of adding diesel to mix in the knapsack, but as diesel and water do not mix I cannot see how it would be of any benefit.

Yes... This notion does the rounds every now and then.

I intended to try the following after many discussions, including one with a stone mason, about how people have killed ivy in a similar situation to me with it growing on a stone cottage ruin, but I just havn't got round to it yet:

Damage the ivy leaves a bit with a few willow sticks.
Mix vegetable oil in a small hand pump sprayer with 3 times the regular dose of roundup mixed in and spray on a dry day on damaged leaves. I don't know yet if the veg oil and roundup will mix???

The idea us to break open the waxy layer a bit on the leaves but to still allow the leaves to function. The veg oil is to allow the roundup to adhere a bit better to the waxy leaves and then be absorbed.

I determined to try this idea so will do it and report back.

Lumen

Veg oil won't mix without an emulsifier.

Shefwedfan

Maybe the original poster could update, he posted in 2011 so hopefully he is now sitting in his warm renovated house and not a bit of ivy in sight......

Oldtree

Lumen wrote: »

Veg oil won't mix without an emulsifier.

Can you recommend a biodegradable /organic emulsifier?

magicbastarder

do i remember reading that mustard is an emulsifier?

edit: i did; http://www.ochef.com/1411.htm

Oldtree

magicbastarder wrote: »

do i remember reading that mustard is an emulsifier?

edit: i did; http://www.ochef.com/1411.htm

Now that was interesting. Did a little bit of Googling and it looks like dijon mustard would be the one to use.

It is looking like the recipe is shaping up to be

1 litre of thin veg oil,
60 ml of roundup,
Pinch of salt
And the equivalent of 30 ml of dijon mustard.
Will have to go and see how it comes, either in a paste or a powder.

Am going to mix the dijon and roundup first with a bit of salt until the salt is dissolved in a bowl.

Then pour in the veg oil slowly into the bowl and use a hand held blender until it looks mixed and use straight away having beaten the ivy leaves a bit first.

I can only hope at this stage that the resulting mix dosn't end up bring too thick for the sprayer.

Lumen

Oldtree wrote: »

Can you recommend a biodegradable /organic emulsifier?

Ecover washing up liquid.

Oldtree

Lumen wrote: »

Ecover washing up liquid.

That sounds better than a powder or a paste to mix in a spray, thanks will give it a go.

currants

Having removed it from my rendered house I recommend peeling it off from the top down before it dies back too much. If the little roots are still somewhat strong they will come away from the wall more easily in a mat than if you let it die back completely. If you leave it till the whole lot is dead then all the suckers stay on the wall and they are a total bugger to get off- we had the greatest, but still limited success burning them off with a weeding torch. Risky (we did a small patch at a time with the hose on standby)but still superior to soft washing or scraping/wire brushing. Painful experience has taught me that whoever invents an effective ivy removal system will be a billionaire

Oldtree

Lumen wrote: »

Ecover washing up liquid.

I have the ecover but it's to wet to try today.

Do you think a similar ratio to mustard would do or have you and idea of the ratio that would work?

Oldtree

currants wrote: »

Having removed it from my rendered house I recommend peeling it off from the top down before it dies back too much. If the little roots are still somewhat strong they will come away from the wall more easily in a mat than if you let it die back completely. If you leave it till the whole lot is dead then all the suckers stay on the wall and they are a total bugger to get off- we had the greatest, but still limited success burning them off with a weeding torch. Risky (we did a small patch at a time with the hose on standby)but still superior to soft washing or scraping/wire brushing. Painful experience has taught me that whoever invents an effective ivy removal system will be a billionaire

Working on it

my3cents

Oldtree wrote: »

Now that was interesting. Did a little bit of Googling and it looks like dijon mustard would be the one to use.

It is looking like the recipe is shaping up to be

1 litre of thin veg oil,
60 ml of roundup,
Pinch of salt
And the equivalent of 30 ml of dijon mustard.
Will have to go and see how it comes, either in a paste or a powder.

Am going to mix the dijon and roundup first with a bit of salt until the salt is dissolved in a bowl.

Then pour in the veg oil slowly into the bowl and use a hand held blender until it looks mixed and use straight away having beaten the ivy leaves a bit first.

I can only hope at this stage that the resulting mix dosn't end up bring too thick for the sprayer.

Isn't that a massively strong mix of glyphosate?

I've never had any problem killing ivy with glyphosate. You need to spray several times in a year but each time the plants become smaller until they die.

laros

Maybe the original poster could update, he posted in 2011 so hopefully he is now sitting in his warm renovated house and not a bit of ivy in sight......

Some pics here....
http://imgur.com/gallery/h1sKX

https://www.facebook.com/AghnananaghCottage?ref=bookmarks

Oldtree

my3cents wrote: »

Isn't that a massively strong mix of glyphosate?

I've never had any problem killing ivy with glyphosate. You need to spray several times in a year but each time the plants become smaller until they die.

It is, but that is the part of the recipe I was given by the stone mason. His recipe needed 2 sprays and ivy was gone from building. Must be that the larger amount ensures that glyphosate has better chance of getting into ivy.

CaraK

Oldtree wrote: »

Working on it

Any update 🙃

charlie14

Oldtree wrote: »

It is, but that is the part of the recipe I was given by the stone mason. His recipe needed 2 sprays and ivy was gone from building. Must be that the larger amount ensures that glyphosate has better chance of getting into ivy.

I have found the same.

90ml Grazon in a 15 liter backpack with 60ml lemon based washing up liquid in a fine spray, mid to late May followed by the same 4 to 6 weeks later kills it off.

Shemale

laros wrote: »

Some pics here....
http://imgur.com/gallery/h1sKX

https://www.facebook.com/AghnananaghCottage?ref=bookmarks

Deadly, fair play, I would have done the same. I love those old cottages

pauldavis123

You need Triclopyr as well as glycophosphate.

SBK Brushwood Killer has it.

Also, kill the ivy and leave it six months if you can, it will all come off in one go then and a pressure washer will take off any remaining tendrils.

lisnsooz

Hi
Im in the process if getting a lot of ivy removed. Does anyone know where to get rid of it to? I live in drumcondra so cant go burning. Will the local bring centres accept?
Thanks!

lordgoat

Similar ish question, Have a small plot of trees and over the last few year, massive ivy growth. Generally I just ignore as it is all part of the cycle. But 90% of all trees have substantial ivy growth and much more have fallen in the last 2 winters and I find the new younger trees already covered with Ivy. Ground ivy is pretty much everywhere too. Whole place is about 2-3 acres so it's a decent patch. All advice welcome!

macraignil

lordgoat wrote: »

Similar ish question, Have a small plot of trees and over the last few year, massive ivy growth. Generally I just ignore as it is all part of the cycle. But 90% of all trees have substantial ivy growth and much more have fallen in the last 2 winters and I find the new younger trees already covered with Ivy. Ground ivy is pretty much everywhere too. Whole place is about 2-3 acres so it's a decent patch. All advice welcome!

My opinion is that you have been doing the right thing to let it grow away without interference as it is a valuable support for wildlife in a woodland. I could understand if someone was renovating an old house that had become overgrown but ivy is an important part of irish woodland habitats and I don't know why you would want to remove it.

Lumen

macraignil wrote: »

My opinion is that you have been doing the right thing to let it grow away without interference as it is a valuable support for wildlife in a woodland. I could understand if someone was renovating an old house that had become overgrown but ivy is an important part of irish woodland habitats and I don't know why you would want to remove it.

I know this is subjective but I think ivy growing into a tree canopy looks awful.

macraignil

Lumen wrote: »

I know this is subjective but I think ivy growing into a tree canopy looks awful.

Don't really mind it myself in a natural woodland setting. If you did have a specimen tree in the garden I guess it would be worth keeping the ivy clear to avoid wind damage in winter storms and just cutting the ivy stems at the tree trunk would probably be sufficient. Doing this over three acres of woodland would take a while and again I reckon it would be of detriment to the wildlife in the area. In natural woodland trees regularly fall over from time to time to make space for new trees but in a garden falling trees would be something to avoid.

On a sort of related point the gardener across the road from me has got some cherry trees with Virginia creeper climbing them and it has a great display of red in the autumn. I'm trying to get something similar started on a cherry tree in my own garden and hoping this year will see enough growth in the vine to get it established on the cherry tree.

lordgoat

macraignil wrote: »

My opinion is that you have been doing the right thing to let it grow away without interference as it is a valuable support for wildlife in a woodland. I could understand if someone was renovating an old house that had become overgrown but ivy is an important part of irish woodland habitats and I don't know why you would want to remove it.

trust me I undertand and know the benefits and importance of ivy. Recently though I don't see the young and mid trees surviving. The growth on some of these is 80% + coverage. So I don't expect them to carry this with them for the next 10+ years. The Ivy on some has a stem as thick as the main tree trunk on alot so I'm concerned in 10 years time, I'll end up with a big field of ivy!

lisnsooz

So yeah... we have a sort of wasteland at back of our house and the ivy growing there is severely undermining the boundary walls for us and neighbours. The place hasnt been maintained and things are getting bad. So i decided to go in and sort ot out myself. Theres about 50m x 3 m area of ivy am clearing, so am wondering if bring centres are the place to go to, do ye think?

tele2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/105746907#Comment_105746907

The problem is woodlands are becoming ivylands and no one wants that

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121783092#Comment_121783092

If you look at my first post on this thread you can see that I mentioned that ivy is an important part of woodland habitat in this country. In nature we often see climbers growing on trees and ivy provides valuable late season flowers for pollinator insects and food for birds over winter. Ivy in a natural woodland is not a problem and it makes that woodland a better environment for a variety of wildlife with not only food provided but evergreen shelter and places for small animals to live. As someone who likes to see other types of life have somewhere to live I am someone who wants to see ivy in a woodland. I do remove it from parts of my own garden where I want to grow other plants (and recently cut some that was growing up the pole for our electric supply cable in case it became a problem to the wires in a few years) but also leave it alone in places as I see the value of it in promoting wildlife in the garden which I like to see and find makes the garden a nicer place for me to spend time. A woodland stripped of ivy would be a much poorer habitat. Here is a video clip of some ivy on a warm day in September when the flowers were humming with the sound of happy pollinator insects.

Happy gardening.

blackbox

Ivy definitely provides an important habitat for many species. However, in the absence of animals that eat it such as deer and goats, it is likely to become overwhelming. It's all about balance.

Deciduous trees that have ivy on their crowns are much more likely to be destroyed by winter storms.

tele2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121783166#Comment_121783166

I see ivy on a lot of trees and those trees are being choked and some leaning dangerously to the road. I'll all for a mix of flowers and trees to encourage different wildlife, but Ivy has to go and some other alternative that doesn't choke the trees or even climb the trees should be out there.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800607#Comment_121800607

I'm all for road safety and it there are trees threatening to fall on the road they should be removed before they cause a serious accident. There are plenty of other plants we can choose to grow and I am in favour of variety as I think this allows more variety in the ecological niches to support greater variety of life, but ivy is part of this country's natural flora and an essential part of ecosystems supporting a wide variety of native wildlife. I really don't understand what you mean by saying "ivy has to go". It is not practical, possible or in my view even desirable to try and remove all of the ivy growing in this country. We have trouble even controlling much smaller amounts of invasive species from other countries where efforts to control and eliminate have been enforced for a number of years like with Japanese knotweed and Rhododendron.