A friend wants to remove it from an entire wall of her house and is willing to use Roundup. Would it be best to spray it prior to removing it, or can it be torn off and then hit the new shoots repeatedly with Roundup. The latter would require a lot less of the chemical.

 

English Ivy is hard to kill. Part of the reason why is because it has a waxy like gloss on the leaves that severely impedes any poison from being absorbed. Best to remove as much as possible and then spray with a detergent mixture, just enough detergent to cause a light foam is sufficient and then follow it up with a strong herbicide made for woody plants. I have found just using Roundup to be quite ineffectual.

 

I have had good luck with Crossbow herbicide. You probably will not find it at a big box home center. You may have to go to a farm supply or commercial landscape supply company or order it online.

 

Remove the established foliage. Let the new growth emerge and then spray with Roundup mixed double strength. Repeat for stubborn areas.

 

I'd rather use Roundup only because I have a gallon of concentrate. I usually add a few drops of detergent to the diluted mixture. I usually mix at 2% but sounds like 4% would be better here.

 

My jug of Round Up gives pretty clear instructions for vines right on the label. Either spray entire plant or cut to about 4ft off the ground and spray the remainder. If they are big thick vines you cut it further back and apply directly into the stumps after drilling a few holes.

 

My roundup is somehow separated from its original container, so I don't have instructions. That is helpful to cut back to 4 ft and then spray it.

 

Roundup and other Glyphosates will kill it but in my experience it takes time. Spray it, spray it and spray it. Just keep hitting it at regular intervals and do not let the plant recover between doses otherwise you're stating from square one again. I would not go more than a week between applications.

Also, Glyphosate herbicides like Roundup are absorbed through the leaves. If you cut back too much plant there are not enough leaves to absorb enough poison to kill the leaves. It can eventually work but you just need to keep at it. Also I like to avoid products that claim a rapid kill as they can "burn off" the leaves before allowing time to absorb sufficient herbicide to kill the roots. You may see better instant results as the leaves die but they often return so just keep at it.

 

I've seen RoundUp do this when mixed too strong - it's a balancing act.

 

I sprayed it Sept 3 with a 3% mixture of Roundup with detergent added. I inspected Sept 10 and it looked like nothing had happened. There was an occasional black leaf spot, but nothing else. The weather has been unusual since, with over 12" of rain since Sept 10, and still coming down. This might be a 100 yr event. In any case, my limited understanding of Roundup is that it works best when plants are on the uptake, so maybe the water will help. I'll spray again when things dry up a bit. Appreciate any suggestions.

Perspective on this rain. We average about 18" per year.

 

Yes, RoundUp has to be absorbed by a growing plant to work.

 

The stuff can go bad as well. I know my last bottle of great bug killer (that they no longer make for whatever reason) used to kill a big wood roach or black widow with one good spray. Now 2 or 3 sprays and they still crawl around for 5-10 min before they go belly up.

I've noticed similar with weed and outside insect control products...after a year or 2 they just don't seem as effective.

If your jug is more than a year or so old, might want to invest in a new one.

BTW...I doubt the added detergent is necessary. Most of the herbicides already have a surfactant added. I think Furd was saying to spray once with a soap mix then follow up with the herbicide.

If you can get it to the bottom of the leaves as much as possible it might have a better effect.

 

My Roundup concentrate is many years old, but I sprayed some stuff with a standard 2% mixture last month and it worked just like always. I'll try to get to the undersides of leaves on the next application. I am the king of having old stuff. Last year I found out the hard way that 10 yr old latex modified grout no longer sets. I just turns to soft chalk.

The rain may be over after tomorrow. We now are getting just scattered thunderstorms, but if you are unlucky enough to be under one, it can mean another 2-3". The storm total in my yard is 14.06".