Ivy taking over trees across Ireland

Ivy causes no issues and brings lots of benefits.

If trees are overrun with it to the point of negatively affecting them, it is almost always that the tree was fcuked to begin with.

There seems to be an idea out there that trees will live in a perfectly healthy condition for hundreds of years. That's not true today and never was true.

In the past trees were cut at the first signs of losing vigour/disease and a new one planted in its place.

Exactly this: ivy doesn't kill trees. What it can do is gradually "fill" the crown until the weight of it can catch a high wind and act as a "sail" to pull down an ageing or weakly-rooted tree. In a natural environment eg the forest, this is one way of creating a gap for sunlight to penetrate, and returning minerals to the soil.

If you are anxious about ivy, just cut through the main stems (easy with a lopper) and the growth above will die and dry out, very easily pulled down a few months later.

Ivy does seem to have become more vigorous of recent years - partly because of global warming (it is not hardy at VERY low temps) and also, the high winds that global warming causes make ivy a little more risky, as described above. That being said, it is an evergreen native and provides valuable habitat for insects and a very valuable food source in winter for many wild creatures.

I wonder will the OP be back to acknowledge the error in their assumption around ivy. Plenty of ivy on trees around me. Only weaker trees will I go and cut the ivy at the bottom and let it die off. Doesn't it provide feed for the insects and birds over the winter too?

Ivy-bashing threads are the new dole-bashing threads on boards - I swear I see one of these every year.

Ivy does not kill trees!

Ivy is a valuable wildlife plant cos it produces berries at a time of year when nothing else does and does the same during its flowering period in late autumn. A far more damaging plant for our native woodland is the likes of Rhodendron and Laurel which the likes of the state and Coillte have let go rampant across the country, including in national parks!!😡

What about laurel or Holly. Ivy is destroying every tree in the country. It's plain to see if you open your eyes. It's taking over hedgerows now too. Badly need a proper spray to kill it.

Sure whatever like. We'll see how it turns out.

I don't make a habit of having pointless arguments with clueless people on the internet.

In my misspent youth I sprayed round up under the electric fence. All you would be left with was ivy. I copped that fairly quickly. Ditches receive no herbicides anymore. Going by looking at the men in white suits on the motorway banks during the lockdowns maybe it hasn't dawned on those looking for their services and others elsewhere.

Lot of ivy in trees around here, know it doesn’t kill the trees but it doesn’t do them much good either.

It’s an ongoing job to keep it cut. But even with cutting, there is still plenty of it about…

There used be a saying at work one time - if you were overheard voicing fears - the Company would confirm them for you.

Farmers used to keep goats in with their cattle or sheep.

They kept the ivy down.

More than likely birds are nesting in it at the moment. Better to leave it alone.