Ivy removal advice

Hope this is in the right section. I did a search for a previous thread and couldn't find one.

I have a Ivy problem, its completly covered a brick coloumn that supports our garagage balcany and the bricks are now coming loose and its causing alot of harm and therefor i want it gone.

Any advise how i approach this task and tips on how i can kill it off so the problem doesn't return? Its growing all over the outside walls of the house too and i will be takling this too.

Thanks in advance.

Luke

 

Hi Luke,

Ivy will turn aggressive if its roots are cut, it'll form ariel roots and penetrate the masonry in search of food and water.

We had one on Clarendon Palace that refused to die, there were absolutly no roots touching the ground but it still hung on for a year, despite what we sprayed it with.

Ended up putting a scaffold up & had to rebuild the masonry at the top, it had got right into the core of the wall:DOH:

 

Bill the landlord of the Anchor and Hope pub in sals had this happen, he had a large ivy at the back in the beer garden, he cut it in the winter at the base thinking it would die and drop off, it was to the top of the chimney and under some of the slates, he ended up cutting the ariel roots with a stanley knife and pulling it off in smaller sections, from where I was sitting it looked like hard work

I would say cut it off with great care, repoint then wire brush the aeriel roots off, you might have to have a couple of goes at cleaning tho, its not just the roots left on the wall, there will be a whole eco system of green things growing

Plant Potty.