Removing ivy.

[MontyVeda]

I started trimming back the humungous ivy that's taken over the back wall... then stopped when i noticed a nesting pigeon glaring at me.

A bit of googling said it could be nesting until October, which kind of delays the job somewhat. Bugger.

 

[gbb]

What they do a lot in the UK is saw through the main stems just above ground level, even remove a 12 inch section. This denies the whole.plant nutrition and it slowly dies. Seen this done a lot. The die off is not immediate so any nesting birds get a chance to complete the clutch.
Removal can then be done anytime later.

 

[raleighnut]

We've got Ivy up the side of the house home to 60-70 sparrows.......................Apparently an endangered species these days due to lack of habitat

 

[gom]

Ivy on a wall can be very difficult to remove once it is dead and dry. Trim it back if needed, but don't kill any of it. Let it live until you are ready and then remove while still green.

 

[MontyVeda]

What they do a lot in the UK is saw through the main stems just above ground level, even remove a 12 inch section. This denies the whole.plant nutrition and it slowly dies. Seen this done a lot. The die off is not immediate so any nesting birds get a chance to complete the clutch.
Removal can then be done anytime later.

I tried that a decade ago. Didn't work. I think the entire wall is the eco system that nourishes it.

Ivy on a wall can be very difficult to remove once it is dead and dry. Trim it back if needed, but don't kill any of it. Let it live until you are ready and then remove while still green.

the plan is to trim it back as short as possible then nuke the site from orbit

 

[oxoman]

Normally around here pigeons or sky rats get short shrift. They can breed all year round and are a pain in the butt with the mess they make. If chick's in they tend to be left if eggs then tuff. TBH most UK councils treat them as vermin.

 

[Gillstay]

What they do a lot in the UK is saw through the main stems just above ground level, even remove a 12 inch section. This denies the whole.plant nutrition and it slowly dies. Seen this done a lot. The die off is not immediate so any nesting birds get a chance to complete the clutch.
Removal can then be done anytime later.

What they do in UK forestry is try to get people to leave it as its so important to the ecosystem. Just keep it trimmed and retain it for the Wrens and hoverflies.

 

[slowmotion]

I found that it's reasonably easy to pull off walls when it's alive and much harder to do so when it's dried up and dead.

 

[MontyVeda]

I found that it's reasonably easy to pull off walls when it's alive and much harder to do so when it's dried up and dead.

This ivy and the wall have become one. As the cement between the stones has crumbled, the ivy has filled the gaps. The wall will need rebuilding at some point, but hopefully not for a decade of so, If i can keep the ivy at bay, or kill it

 

[wafter]

I started trimming back the humungous ivy that's taken over the back wall... then stopped when i noticed a nesting pigeon glaring at me.

A bit of googling said it could be nesting until October, which kind of delays the job somewhat. Bugger.

Yeah, we have this unrelentingly hammering its way up the side of the homestead - cut it back to a manageable level a year or so ago (obviously needs to be done annually) but it's now already enveloping one of the windows and getting perilously close to the fascias again.. while for the reasons you already mention I can't do much about it currently.