Since this is such an old post, I'm not sure how much of the above is relevant. However, I can attest with some certainty that English ivy is very difficult to control with most herbicides, as the waxy leaf cuticle resists penetration. You either need to add an adjutant that will facilitate this or cut off all the top growth and treat with a brush killer applied to the cut stems. And it will take multiple applications. Organic herbicides, like the vinegar - orange oil added or not - will have virtually NO effect!! They only serve to dessicate the foliage and seldom are transported to the root system. Dessication of ivy will hardly have any impact on the plant - you absolutely need to kill off the root system - so save your vinegar for salad dressing! FWIW, most sources will confirm that the best way to be rid of English ivy (Hedera helix) is to remove it manually, roots and all.

I started trying to remove a 12x4foot patch of ivy about 10 months ago in the fall. I did not want to use chemicals, so I died digging it up. This spring, bed was full of tender ivy shoots. I took a week off of work and spent every day working section by section turning the soil with a shovel, then sitting in the dirt painstakingly sifting through the dirt pulling out all of the roots that I could find. The bed is currently has an ample supply of weeds, and minimal regrowth of ivy. In the fall I will probably repeat my grid eradication method. I should be able to complete it in a long weekend this time around. I agree with other posters that say this stuff should be illegal to plant/sell. It would not surprise me if I found the hand of Satan grasping a root as I try to pull it out. I have a negative physical reaction when I see this stuff for sale at the garden center. There should be a waiting period and required counselling before anyone can buy this stuff. Oh, P.S. I tried 30% vinegar /dish soap/table salt on a second, smaller patch. This killed the above ground plant in a day, but the ivy appears to have been emboldened by my effort, and returned with a vengeance. No substitute for elbow grease if you want to eradicate this stuff without using damaging chemicals.

If it is the old fashioned English Ivy, I would agree with justaguy...leave it in a pot or trash it...but don't risk it outdoors. It can be very destructive. However, I have been experimenting with the more refined cultivars found in the houseplant sections of Home Depot or Loewe's and they seem to be much more sedate. I stil keep my eye on them though, and I'll yank'm in a minute if they start acting "Imperial"...hehehe. Speaking of houseplants...has anyone else tried, or even remembers, the old houseplant called "Strawberry Begonia" (Saxifraga tomentosa I think)? I found one in HD about 3 years ago and planted it out and it has been with me ever since. Not much of a flower but the leaves and growth habit are cool! And, YES, it's 'playing nicely' with the others in my garden. Cheers all Dave Franklin

Oh my goodness aruzinsky, apparently I've offended you - you're so upset you published your objections twice. Seriously, though, "people like me?" I'm not presuming to "speak" for anyone - simply using the word we in a general sense, like "we take care of plants," or "we work hard;" like a chemist might say of him/her self and others in the same profession, "we do experiments to learn about the effects of chemical substances." In that sense, "we" aren't likely to talk about eradicating insects, because eradicating is defined as "to get rid of completely," and "we" know that is impossible, and control is the best "we" can do. As in the article you site, where the researchers repeatedly use the word "control." However, to be more precise, "we," be we growers, plantcare companies, or even retail stores, generally just talk about "killing" mites, and what products and processes kill them best. If people want to use chemical controls, fine by me. I thought all the discussions of chemicals might be a little off-putting for some people, so I merely wanted to throw in my experience of success using a simple, inexpensive, easy to acquire, and safe treatment. I don't think it's a "fault in my thinking" to say I never observed damage to a plant. The point with interior landscaping is not to grow plants as big as they can be, but to keep them looking beautiful. Spots, discolorations, stunted leaves, and so on, would not be beautiful, and these things I did not see. Some of these plants were in my care for several years, and did not show any negative effects. Informal observation has value, too. After all, I don't need to conduct detailed astronomical observations to be able to say with reasonable certainty that the sun will come up tomorrow. Spider mites, as well as other pests commonly found on indoor plants, are a fact of life. (Of course, if you live in an area where the winter temperatures are regularly below freezing, you're not going to be seeing bugs floating in from outside. Thanks for clarifying that.) That doesn't change the fact that they do float around when temps are warm, and they can infect anyone's plants at any time. Some people might appreciate knowing they have alternatives other than chemical insecticides for dealing with them, call it what you will - eradicate, exterminate, eliminate, extirpate - the point is to get the little buggers off your plants.