How to Remove Ivy From Stone Walls
Across the world, there are numerous species of vines and crawling foliage. One of the most popular of these vines is ivy, which can be found growing across the country on homes, buildings, mountains and cliff sides.
Some homeowners enjoy their ivy, and they keep it growing on their homes to add a bit of natural life to the landscape. Sometimes, however, ivy can cause problems—attracting moisture to wooden parts of a house, or digging into cracks on stone or brick—weakening the structure over times. Removing ivy from stone is a simple process, but ongoing attention is required to ensure that it doesn't return to cover the stone again.
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Instructions
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Spray the ivy with water to soften some of the harder woody portions of the vine. The ivy is much easier to pull and remove once the vines are slightly moist.
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Start from the top of the stonework—using a ladder if necessary—and work your way to the bottom, pulling and cutting ivy free of the stone as you go. Use trimming shears to cut the ivy away from its anchor points on the stone.
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Remove the ivy anchors—tendrils and suckers—from the cracks in between the stones. This may be difficult if the ivy has dug in deep, but use needle-nose pliers to get into cracks to remove the smaller vine anchors.
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Remove any suckers from around the foundation. Follow the leading vines as far away from the house as possible, pulling or cutting all of the ivy, including at its point of original growth.
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Keep the area regularly maintained to ensure that the ivy doesn't get onto the stone and start the process all over again.
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Tips & Warnings
You can spray the vines with weed killers to kill them, and keep them from growing, if you don't mind using chemicals around your home.
References
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- Photo Credit Ivy image by Tomasz Pawlowski from Fotolia.com
