Is it possible to control ivy growing on my house?

I have a 2-story brick house. We have ivy growing on one side and it is getting out of control. Is there an easy way to control its growth, or should I just cut it down. I like the look of it when its trimmed, but it is very difficult to maintain. Right now, I am using scissors to trim and/or pulling the vines down when they get unruly. Its starting to grow up into my eaves and I'm sure that's not a good thing. I see other houses with ivy and it looks beautiful. They must have a secret to maintaining it that I don't know about!!

Is it possible to control ivy growing on my house?
I am the bearer of bad news. Ivy has some nice little rootlike things which reach out to your house and grab strong hold in order to grow up the house. It sounds perfectly harmless. However, it often finds a hold in the mortar between bricks. This mortar gets pulled and pulled by the weight and movement of the ivy (all the wind and snow and rain) until eventually it falls out. What you are left with is not a pretty proposition -- rechinking the entire wall.



My childhood home was made of stucco with a complete wall of ivy. When we pulled down the ivy, we also pulled down chunks of stucco. $20,000 and a summer later, we had a new wall of stucco.



Don't do this to yourself. A nice solution is tearing it down.



If you like the looks of the ivy but want to then avoid the cement issues, you can lay a layer of wiremesh about 1-2 off the wall (you'll need to use some spacers to keep it maintained) and reattach the ivy in a decorous manner. You'll trim using nippers or even a hedge trimmer. Each spring and fall you will need to ensure it is still under control by carefully checking growth patterns. Always clip anything which has attached to the house or sprouted out near gutters and rooflines.



Good luck!!
Reply:Oh, my house was covered in ivy, it made it's way right into the basement through the cement walls. It ruined my retaining wall, just ripped it apart.



I tore down the ivy, but as the other answerer said, there was so much damage, the cost is unbelievable to fix it.



Do what the person said about the wire, that will work...



But get rid of the ivy! I love the look of it, but the destruction isn't worth it.



Get at the roots, they can be extremely thick. The roots, if you have a drainage or sewer pipe system near the ivy, will grow into the system and clog up the works...



Good luck..and start "hacking" quick.

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