Ivy removal from house wall (help, it's out of control!))

jonny2510

I've realised the ivy we have climbing up the side of our hose is getting out of control (it's up to the eaves, and about to start making its way across a window).

I'm looking for advice (help!).

Having googled, I'm reading conflicting reports on the web. Some say to pull it from the top while it's still alive. Others say to cut it from the roots (or as I'm considering the level you want it to grow up to), and leave everything above it to die - before then pulling it off.

I obviously want to leave minimal scarring to the building if at all possible, along with wanting the least time consuming way of removal.

Has anyone here dealt with out-of-control ivy climbing a building? What did you do, and what did you find worked best?

anotherbaldrick

chop it through just above ground level and leave it to die through the summer .

peachyprice

Yep, my husband always chops our off at the base and leaves it to die. Most of it drops off of it's own accord.

SailorSam

Monty Donn was removing ivy a few weeks ago on Gardeners World. He chopped from the bottom but dragged it down bit by bit as well.

I_have_spoken

Yep, cut the main stem(s), leave for six months to die-back as much as possible then remove (which BTW is a vile job, recommend face mask and eye protection)

After removing ivy from a brick wall this way, I use a power washer to blast off all the root bits, just need to be careful not to jet mortar joins.

Gloomendoom

My house had an ivy problem. I used to trim it back every year and actually found it more difficult to remove when it was dead than alive.

I eventually removed it all (alive) a couple of years ago at the end of the summer so that I didn't disturb any nesting birds. I hammered copper nails into the stumps. So far, it hasn't regrown.

[Deleted User]

I hate Ivy. I had one growing up the front of the house over a flat roof of an extension and reaching the roof of the house.

Paid a handyman/garden tidy upper type person to take it down but took a few years to actually kill the stump to stop it re growing.

The thought of a huge Ivy bush growing up the front of the house makes my skin crawl.

Ivana_Tinkle

I think it must depend on the type of ivy (and possibly the type of wall), because our house was smothered in the stuff and we just pulled it off without much trouble. I have tried the method of cutting it off at the bottom and waiting for it to die at a previous house and wouldn't recommend it - it takes AGES to die, looks terrible in the meantime and I didn't find it any easier to remove once it was dead. (I was hoping it might just fall off of its own accord, but two years later it was still clinging on.)