How to Remove English Ivy

Begin by removing English ivy from the base of trees

English ivy does the most damage to trees on the trunks and produces seeds only when it climbs, so begin by removing English ivy from trees and other above ground structures. Use clippers and loppers to cut vines around the whole circumference of the tree trunk approximately 1 -2 feet above the ground.

Then, use your hands and tools to gently clear all vines from the base of the tree, leaving "a donut" of ground a couple feet out from the tree completely free of English ivy. Take care not to damage the bark of the tree or tree roots. Leave vines above your first circumference cut to die in the tree. Depending on the season, English ivy leaves may remain green for several weeks after cutting. If you cut all vines rooted to the ground, the remaining vines will eventually die on the tree. If any of the vines are too thick or difficult to pull out of the ground, treat the cut vine immediately after cutting with a glyphosate herbicide (such as Round-up) or a triclopyr herbicide (such as Brush-B-Gon). Always read labels before using herbicides, wear proper gloves and eye protection, and be careful not to spray on desirable plants.

After cutting above ground ivy, pull up the remaining ivy on the ground. If you have a large area, start removing ivy at the outer edges of the patch and leave contained areas until the end. Use the Japanese weeding hoe to pull and cut short pieces of ivy. This method is hard work, but much more efficient and easier on your back than pulling the whole lengths of vines at once. Count on clearing approximately 100 - 115 square feet per hour using this method.

Pile cut vines in one location. If you wish to dispose of the vines or move off site, it is useful to pile vines on a ground-sheet and use the the ground-sheet to move. English ivy does not re-root easily if left loosely piled on relatively dry ground. Do not add to compost piles until the vines have dried out (left loosely piled for a week).

(Optional) Removing English ivy by hand is usually the most effective method for a working in relatively small area. If the area covered with ivy is large, you may want to treat the English ivy with a herbicide (with the active ingredient glyphosate or active ingredient triclopyr) using a backpack sprayer. Triclopyr is specific for treating woody plants. Glyphosate is slightly less toxic to animals and people and is a non-specific herbicide meaning it will damage all plants. Again, read the label for application concentrations, warnings and instructions. The waxy coating on English ivy can prevent herbicides from penetrating properly. Adding a surfactant to your herbicide application will increase the effectiveness. It may take several weeks for the English ivy leaves to lose their green color after a herbicide application, however the leaves should appear wilted within a week. Do not spray herbicides on ivy when it is too hot (above 80 F) or too cold (below 45 F), the plants will not uptake the herbicide effectively at these temperatures.