Ivy on trees

[tuttle]

I always think that it's 10 times worse than when I first quoted, sometimes feel like I've shot myself in the foot.
Get fed with scrambling through the dense stuff and struggling with spikes and fliplines.

Any tips? Or clever tricks?
I know the way to pull off a sheet of it, but the larches and pines are a bain.

 

[Steve Connally]

Kill it and then come back after it turns brown but leaves haven't fallen off. It will come off in large sections.

 

[CreTree]

Wraptor

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Only thing I hate more than ivy is vines!

 

[Leroy]

Kill it and then come back after it turns brown but leaves haven't fallen off. It will come off in large sections.

Yep. cut the bottoms spray some garlan or something and it is pretty easy to pull off.

 

[tuttle]

Vines are bad news too.
Yes to kill it and come back is a good option, but what if that is not possible? Fresh live ivy is the headache, hope someone has a magic answer

 

[colemanjessenz]

throw in ,srt up and work your way down ....... or (my preferable option)get the less experienced guys to do it and put it down as climbing practise.

 

[Steve Connally]

Live ivy isn't gonna happen. You can shave off the leaves with a hand saw then pry little tiny pieces off with a saw wrench. Expect to make about 1 foot an hour progress. It's best to bid that job as a 2 trip deal. Initially kill it and then come back and remove it.

 

[tuttle]

Thanks Steve, that's a future plan.
Coleman, I would have, but it was a dense horrible spruce, access was blind.

 

[Commensalist]

One tip is to just "pruning it at the main scaffold forks and leaving it alone on the trunk some people like it why not keep it there

 

[tuttle]

Ideas when dismantling the tree, the ivy is a pain on some species, easy on others.
Would really like to know the best tools do use, on the climb.

 

[Mark Chisholm]

That's not easy. For one it hides flaws that you don't see until you are right on them. I try to ascend the tree and inspect my way up. Then skin ivy as I can with the chainsaw. I leave it where I can as well. Sometimes you can cut it at one point and use its own weight to rip it off. Not much help I know but that's what I got.

 

[ward]

Keep it green. Start from the top. Sugozawa saw. Claw hammer. After it is cut and pryed loose, jump on it and it should release in big sheets. I've found that if it is too dry (brown) it doesn't roll off the stem as well and that stuff is aweful to remove from some forms of bark. If you go at it with your hands like an animal, you will pay. Use the claw hammer to pry the gnarly loose.

Here's a picture of a Red Alder stand engulfed in English Ivy that we were cleaning out a couple of weeks ago. Its a big problem here. Oh, make sure you bid it on a day rate basis and the customer understands the pricing and how little may actually get done because it can be very time consuming, too.

 

[tuttle]

Thanks, good post, that's the sort of problems we suffer ref. the picture, later I will take a picture of one of my tools, it has everything needed to remove the ivy, just heavy, so I think there is an opportunity here for someone.

 

[tuttle]

This is my one tool, its an old thing, but it would good if there is something modern and light out there, the axe head is handy for cutting on the stem, hammer is great for flattening and bashing, crow-bar is also a bonus.
Its just bit to heavy to have around you up a tree.

 

[Gorman]

I sometimes sell homeowners in removing the ivy from their trees just so an assessment on the trunk can be made. When customers ask, "is this tree ok?" You can't say yes or no without removing the ivy first.

 

[ward]

This is my one tool, its an old thing, but it would good if there is something modern and light out there, the axe head is handy for cutting on the stem, hammer is great for flattening and bashing, crow-bar is also a bonus.
Its just bit to heavy to have around you up a tree.
View attachment 29964 View attachment 29965 View attachment 29966

This piece looks like it has pulled off the torturer's wall from some London dungeon. My, Tuttle, the friends you must keep! I never would bring an axe into the tree to "hack" at ivy on a stem. Too dangerous and too much damage to the host tree. Need precision cutting of ivy vines with a handsaw. A claw hammer will provide the pry power you need--with safety.

 

[guymayor]

I sometimes sell homeowners in removing the ivy from their trees just so an assessment on the trunk can be made. When customers ask, "is this tree ok?" You can't say yes or no without removing the ivy first.

Yes maybe if the stems are really thick and numerous. Most often ime just stripping the leaves off allows visual access and probing to suss out the trunk. Ivy's a woody plant that arborists can care for; seldom is it just vegetation that must be managed by removing.
Depends on the objective.