Ivy Invasion! :(

EitherWalnut

Hi folks,

I have a lot of ivy in my back garden, which I have been systematically trying to remove ever since I bought my house last year. However the bloody stuff has now sneakily come up from underneath a small bit of decking next to my conservatory, along the mortar between the bricks and into the conservatory itself! :mad:

The main root system appears to be under the decking, meaning it can't be reached unless I pull the decking up (which I would really like to avoid if possible).

Does anyone know of a product I could pour over/through the decking to kill the damn stuff off? Someone did mention diesel to me before, but not keen on pouring a load of fuel all over the decking right beside my house and boiler house (not to mention the obvious environmental concerns)!

Thanks in advance moneysavers!
Lauren

elsien

Can't you use roundup or similar on the bits in the conservatory and any other leaves you can reach? Once the leaves have taken it up, it should then kill off the roots.

Gers

elsien wrote: »

Can't you use roundup or similar on the bits in the conservatory and any other leaves you can reach? Once the leaves have taken it up, it should then kill off the roots.

That's what I did with the ivy climbing up the garden wall - I used glysophate (generic name for roundup which is a commercial brand I believe). There was loads of the horrible stuff on both the wall and a bedding wall. Ivy is tough to kill off but it's gone from the back wall now, I can see shoots coming through now and then this year but just spray it again.

It will go eventually if you persist.

I_have_spoken

YOu could mix up a batch of Ammonium Sulphamate compost accelerator then accidentally spill it through the decking all over the ivy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mistral-Ammonium-Sulphamate-1Kg/dp/B004MMOEH2

Jolly_Roger

Yes, ammonium sulphamate is your stuff. Dilute it at 200g per litre and spray any of the ivy you see. AS makes it impossible for anything green to continue living for a period of 3 months, then breaks down into nitrogen fertiliser.

Wonderful for any weeds you can't move, but does kill everything, so be careful if there are any plants around it that you want to keep.

Officially, you can't use it as a weedkiller, although it is licensed as a compost activator. Wonderful for "spilling" accidentally over marestail, which dies within three days.

Mojisola

Ivy has waxy leaves and liquids run off them - if you lightly crush some the leaves to break the waxy coating before spraying with weedkiller, it will get taken up by the plant more easily.

EitherWalnut

Thanks for the replies folks.

Think I'll try the generic round-up stuff first as I have sweetpea and a few other plants in a bed attached to the decking. If that doesn't work, I may try activating the compost under the decking.

Mojisola

nicmalauren wrote: »

Think I'll try the generic round-up stuff first as I have sweetpea and a few other plants in a bed attached to the decking.

If the ivy is among other plants, one effective way of treating it is to mix up a small amount of spray, put it in a jar, lightly crush the first five or six leaves and push the stem into the weedkiller in the jar.

Leave the plant to soak up some weedkiller, pull out of the weedkiller and fix a plastic bag around the treated leaves - this keeps the plants you want to keep safe from damage.

It might look odd for a day or two, having half a dozen plastic bags hanging off the ivy but it does work. The bags can then be removed - glyphosate takes time to work so don't expect instant results.