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What should I do with overgrown fence?

Kristina Jenkinson

8 years ago

I've got a combination of ivy, briar, wild grape, and Virginia creeper growing through my chainlink fence.

I don't know what I should do with it. I've cleared it out twice now in the fall/winter. It is next to impossible to attend to in the spring and summer due to the wasps and bees attracted to the wild grape.

Note: the Virginia creeper, at least, may be more of them, has very long roots that cross over the broad part of my backyard. I really don't want to rip up all of my grass trying to defeat this mess.

Preferably, I'd like a way to kill it off for good this fall. I am leery of strong herbicides getting into the soil and killing all my grass in that part of my yard, though and the mass of vines is waaaaay too huge to paint it on.

Outside of that, would there be anyway to feasibly kill off just the wild grape? The swarms of bees and hornets that particular vine attracts is my main issue, though I'm not crazy about the briar either.

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Comments (3)

lisanti07028
8 years ago
Find the base of the vine, cut it off at the base, then put straight Round-Up on the stump - you just need a little bit around the circumference of the stump. The vine will pull the RU down to the roots, and they will die in the ground; you will not have herbicide everywhere, just on the stump(s). I don't like to use herbicide either, but there are some plants that will yield to nothing else. Oh, and do it while the vine is actively growing, like now.
wisconsitom
8 years ago
The cut-stump idea is a good one. BTW, when applied correctly-and this is certainly one way to do so-herbicides should not be impacting vegetation outside of the application area. That label on the jug the product comes in is there for a reason. Why so many folks don't bother reading it is beyond me. There are numerous ways to carefully apply the material, where you want it and on the plant species you want it on. But lisanti's advice is good and may just be your best bet. BTW, why don't you want vines on what is otherwise a not-so-good-looking fence type?

+oM
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PKponder TX Z7B
8 years ago
We've been fighting grapes (three different wild types) on our fence for almost a year. We also cut them back twice before resorting to an herbicide. Good results have come from carefully painting the foliage with Bayer Advanced Brush Killer Plus. We each took an end and worked toward the middle. We used really long hemostats and cotton balls, dipping into a jar of the concentrated herbicide to paint it on. The second application, 6 weeks after the initial one seems to have taken the mustang grape completely out and knocked the others back. I truly hope that we don't need a third application.

The canna and elephant ears are returning healthy after being cut to the ground so that we could get to the fence.

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