Removing Ivy

[milly143]

I moved into a rented house in January and while the rest of the house was in lovely order, the garden leaves a little to be desired. I was told by the landlord that his daughter used to live in the house with her green fingered ex-husband. He planted a lot of plants and shrubs and a lot of ivy which was fine for him but the previous tennants to us obviously struggled to keep it under control, particulaly the ivy. I have been able to manage it on the side fences but we have a wall at the back of the garden which at a rough guess is about 10ft tall by 15ft wide and the ivy grows from the bottom of the inside wall and has spread over the top and right down the back. I did try and remove it from the back but there is just so much of it I couldn't keep up. Does anyone have any reccomendations for getting rid of it? Or any idea how much it would cost to get someone to come and do it? With the weather getting bad I don't want to leave it until spring when it will probably have reached Italy.

[snags]

See 'removal of ivy from brickwork' section about halfway down the page of the following link:

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/gardening/ivy.html

[landscaper2]

Patience, a bit at a time and by the Spring it will all be done. It may look a daunting job, but its never as bad as it seems. Cut it back first and then prise the ivy off the wall a bit at a time - dont be greedy!! If it is an old wall however, it may be better to trim it up and leave it. We have encountered some sites where the ivy is virtually holding the wall up and its removal would mean a pricey rebuild.

The good news is that It will be virtually dormant between now and April so you will not need to worry about the growth overtaking you!