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Removing English Ivy with Brush Mower

18 years ago

I need to get rid of the English Ivy that has taken over my wooded backyard. I have heard all the horror stories and wanted to know if anyone has gone the mechanical route?

I am thinking about trying a brush mower to chop it up, then cover with mulch. Since brush mowers are expensive ($800-$1500), I was wondering if anybody tried this method yet?

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Comments (4)

Iris GW
18 years ago
I think that after you chop it up you would still want to spray it with brush killer (something for woody plants, not roundup).

Goats might work. You can probably rent a brush mower instead of buying one.
Judy_B_ON
18 years ago
Unless you use an herbicide that kills the plant including the roots, the roots will put up new growth and thank you for the mulch.

English Ivy has a waxy coating that makes herbicides less effective. It may take several applications to kill it.
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I may be wrong, but I believe Round Up enters the plant while it is photsynthesizing so you pretty much have to have the leaves available for it to work. I sprayed my weed-infested non-grass areas (formerly known as planting beds) and then, one day, when I wasn't looking, the husband weed-whaked all the brown stuff down. I thought I'd have to do everything all over again, but as it turns out, he did me a favour. I put mulch down on top and now I just hand pull anything green that shouldn't be there. Well, except for a few things which kind of grew while I wasn't looking. I'll try pulling them and if that doesn't work, then I'll take the Round Up to them again and then pull them out. hth
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After cardboard is laid, much of the roots will die. When one of the roots does not die and manages to punch through, your choices are restricted. You can not dig it up without ruining the seal, and if you pull it, there will be more coming from that spot. It is the downside of the very organic method of cardboard+mulch. Yes, touching up with a paint brush is not organic. I also still have more than half of the smallest bottle of Round up you can buy. I bought it in 1998, and I never sprayed it, only applied with a paint brush. With ivy and poison ivy it is a must-have backup. In the case of poison ivy (my #1 enemy) you can not even dig the thing out without risking an ER visit, and the local largest PI vines are (or rather, were) thicker than my forearm and 100 ft long, and a root system to match. After you cut one such thing, no matter how much cardboard and mulch you put down, there will be dozens of shoots punching through within a 20 ft radius for a couple of years.
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Is this painted wood then? If they won't come off with a softer brush and soapy water, you may have no choice but to scrape or brush with wire brush, then sand, followed by prime and repaint.
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Depending on what the brush killer contains, it will take a minimum of 3-5 days before you see any effects of the Round-up, and may take 7-10 days. If what you did doesn't do the job, try the same technique, but set a small bowl of full strength Round-up on the ground and stick the freshly cut ends of the vines leading back to the root in the bowl. Leave it for a day so it can take up more of the herbicide. If you want to use a brush to paint the leaves, add a couple drops of mild dish soap to the Round-up before you paint the leaves as that will help cut the wax and get the herbicide into the plant. If using a concentrated solution, it really doesn't take much to knock things out.
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pam_aa
18 years ago
I agree, you must spray it few times, run the mower over the dead ivy to scalp it, then mulch. If you want to plant over the area, beware the tangle of tough woody roots. Very daunting to remove by hand (Boy, do I know!). Maybe a BIG horse power rototiller might break them up, but you don't want to damage tree roots. If you are not in a hurry, it might be worth waiting till the roots rot a bit, and you can catch any stragglers. Good luck!
Rosa
18 years ago
Use a good surfactant and do not use pre-mixed products if you go the chemical route. The surfactant will make it much more effective and you want to mix to a strenght for the weed you are using.
Whatever you use (if you do) please read the label, follow the directions and call the toll free number with any questions.

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