How do I remove english ivy, so that I may paint the outside of my house?

I love the ivy growing there, however, I can't paint over it, so how do I remove it to paint, and will this kill the plant? will I have to treat the stucco under the ivy in any special way?

How do I remove english ivy, so that I may paint the outside of my house?
I had the same problem when I painted my house. Unfortunately, because of the way ivy roots and spreads, you will have to remove it because it has little roots which attach to the house. Then you will have to power wash and maybe even scrub away the little roots with a solution of white vinegar and water to kill them.



My painters thankfully didn't cut it to the ground and left a foot or two of the ivy at the foundation. I also took some of the cuttings, rooted them in water and stuck them in the ground once they finished painting the house.



I had the house painted in October and it has already become full again and is taking back over the area it lost due to the painting.



I know, BooHoo. I was sad, too, because it adds so much charm. My painters say it can do damage to the stucco over time because it will get into cracks. It hasn't in 8 years, so I'm not too concerned.
Reply:It is very easy to keep your Ivy. When I did mine the ivy covered one end of my home. I carefully pulled the ivy away from the house and laid it on the ground. I cleaned the wall painted it then attached a plastic mesh to the wall and re-hung the ivy using plastic ties. You do end up damaging some of the ivy and it was a little stressed for a couple of weeks but recovered quickly.
Reply:The best way to remove it is to just pull it all out, but that will kill it. You could cut it back to ground level, pull it all off the wall, then paint. Eventually it will grow back.



Be careful pulling it all out. When I moved into my house, there was an ivy covered tree. I pulled off all the ivy, but there was poison ivy hiding in there too, and I was a mess for several weeks!
Reply:I agree with the last person but with stucco your peobably going to have to power wash it because the ivy will leave little pieces of the plant behind that held it to the stucco. It wont look that great unless you can get them off. A good powerwasher will do the job