Hey everyone, I'm in Northeast Ohio and I've been working on making my garden more friendly to local wildlife. I've been growing native plants and attracting birds for a while now. However, I've got a mixed bag of English Ivy in my yard, tangled up with some poison ivy, and I'm looking for non-chemical ways to get rid of the English Ivy. I've heard suggestions like mowing and pulling it out, but I'm worried about the poison ivy aspect. What strategies do you all recommend for eliminating the English Ivy while also considering plants that could benefit local pollinators and wildlife? Thanks in advance for your help!
2 Answers
Honestly, there’s not much that can kill English Ivy easily. Hand-pulling is your best bet. Other than that, I’m not sure what chemical-free options you’re expecting, but hand-pulling should do the trick in the long run.
English Ivy is pretty shallow-rooted, so it's not too tough to pull out by hand. Just be sure to wear gloves to protect yourself from the poison ivy! If it’s climbing up anything, just cut it at the base and let it die off naturally. Just a heads up, if you leave the poison ivy, it might actually fill in the gaps where you removed the English Ivy.
That’s great advice! Just be super careful with poison ivy, it can get tricky!