MAG wrote:

Hi folks-

Thanks to everyone who responded with helpful comments to my post a
couple weeks ago about removing an ivy infestation in my front yard.

I had originally described it as 150 sq feet, but it was really more
like 300. It's amazing how much space there is in my yard now. I didn't
really "see" the land for the ivy that was there.

Anyway, based on the posts in these two groups, I just went at it the
old fashioned way --by hand-- and rolled it up. There was one post in
particular, from Robert in Raleigh, that really helped. For those
considering the project, cutting the ivy into manageable strips, then
rolling it up, was the way to go. I didn't have quite the right tools to
do that, so I needed to work a bit more, but I improvised and got the
job done. All told, working alone, it took me about 10 hours of labor,
plus another hour in which the wife and I raked and bagged the smaller
debris. The big rolls of ivy are headed to the local dump as soon as I
get around to it.

Hours out there pulling up roots have left my fingers a bit bruised, but
heavy gloves kept me from getting any cuts.

My reason for suggesting cutting it down and then spraying when new
growth has two or three leaves. We have some bloody awful weeds/grass,
which I think is Bermuda "grass" - pale grayish green with runners like
heavy guage wire. I've drawn blood several times trying to pull it out.
Since it is only a couple of weeks into your project, I'd be willing to
bet there are plenty of roots remaining that will sprout again. Could
be wrong ) Ivy is persistent, and I would attack it at least three
times to be sure it won't come back. Water well to make it sprout if it
is going to. I had to do the same with asparagus fern, a houseplant
(one of many that turn to weeds when planted in Florida as landscape
plants); as. fern has loads of tubers and tough, tough roots. Much
easier to hit the new growth than to dig/pull it out, not to mention it
meanders all over the root zone of neighboring plants. Good luck!


Anyway, part one of the project is done. Presumably part 2 will be
dealing with the return of the growth from the roots that I've missed,
or seeds, or whatever. But I'm ready!

The next phase involves my back yard. I've got ivy spilling in from
neighbors over there. I'm just going to "Hedge Hog" the stuff, then
spray it with Round up and see what that does. Hopefully that will knock
it back a bit. I'm less concerned about it back there, but I would like
to remove the ivy totally from my property.

So thanks to all who contributed to a success story.

Marc