Tools for ivy removal in trees?

A handsaw or chainsaw will pop a lot of leaves right off, allowing you to see what you're after. A top handle saw it effective for cutting through the covers most of the way.
 
yoyoman said:
We've gone to the discussion about letting the ivy die as opposed to taking it out green. When it is dry and brittle it can be a pain and breaks off before you can pull a run but stronger when it is green. The other issue is stripping all of the cover off and giving the tree a sunburn when protected from the Sun. For sure it is better without the IV but I think we want to avoid a shocking shocking change in the environment.
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Your last line in this post, "For sure it is better without the IV", is the source of my next question.

I once went to a nature center at one of the heavily forested parks near me, hoping that the park service personnel might need some help stripping the invasive english ivy from the trees in the park. I was hoping it would provide a good excuse to allow me to climb on some of the huge trees the park has to offer. My hopes were dashed when the park ranger told me that that was not necessary. She said that all they did was to cut the ivy at the base of the tree, and then again three feet back from the first cuts, to create a circle around the base of the tree with no ivy surviving within it. Then the ivy would just die on the tree. She said that attempting to rip the ivy off of the tree would only open up wounds that could be attacked by insects and microbes.

So, my question is, does leaving the dead ivy on the tree really cause any further damage to the tree, or does it just look ugly? I would think the tree might just grow right over the dead ivy, just like it does with a nail in a tree. What do you veteran arborists think? Considering only the health of the tree, and not appearances, is it better to leave the dead ivy on the tree alone, or to strip it off the tree? Thanks for any answers.

Tim
 
TimBr said:
Your last line in this post, "For sure it is better without the IV", is the source of my next question.

I once went to a nature center at one of the heavily forested parks near me, hoping that the park service personnel might need some help stripping the invasive english ivy from the trees in the park. I was hoping it would provide a good excuse to allow me to climb on some of the huge trees the park has to offer. My hopes were dashed when the park ranger told me that that was not necessary. She said that all they did was to cut the ivy at the base of the tree, and then again three feet back from the first cuts, to create a circle around the base of the tree with no ivy surviving within it. Then the ivy would just die on the tree. She said that attempting to rip the ivy off of the tree would only open up wounds that could be attacked by insects and microbes.

So, my question is, does leaving the dead ivy on the tree really cause any further damage to the tree, or does it just look ugly? I would think the tree might just grow right over the dead ivy, just like it does with a nail in a tree. What do you veteran arborists think? Considering only the health of the tree, and not appearances, is it better to leave the dead ivy on the tree alone, or to strip it off the tree? Thanks for any answers.

Tim
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Understand and agree, for most people The Ivy, when it dies out, it's going to just being really ugly. I don't think the tree will grow around and encapsulate the dead ivy, the bark or cuticle layer growing out from the cambium layer will flake it off eventualy.
 
Id prefer a hedgetrimmer for taking off the leaves and trimning ivy, But that just leaves a hell of a mess for cleanup. I trim alot of ivy on fences, as groundcover and so on.
Would rather work from inside below and up taking away everything in one go, than from outside and in. just less cleanup afterwards, But as i have never dealt with a a tree Thats been invaded with ivy before its just my expirences with it doing landscabing work that Im making my jugdement from.

Ben
 
Yeah, picture please! And with a name like that, it better have some faded girly artwork on it like a WWII bomber.
 

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Tom Dunlap said:
This is an idea I'd fabricate for Ivy stripping
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Be interesting to see the results as I can imagine the swing motion to use it in practice. It would still hack the tree a little I would think - that’s why I went to the snip/rope method - but even with that method there’s the occasional section that must be pried off the tree if wanting it looking clean...
 
Tom Dunlap said:
I would really like to see that method. It has to be a sight!

I sure don't miss stripping ivy. Being on salary was great though. Pricing a job like ivy stripping would be a challenge
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To be honest it is such a PITA job I just Price an hourly rate on top of the quote for any other pruning e, and time it so it doesn’t interfere with other booked jobs if it over-runs. It takes time to weave the trash rope (I use a trash rope so I can drag the pile with it after it is grounded) but the reason I use the technique is I found it is waaaayyy kinder on the tree than jimmying it off...

it is only a sight for approx 10 seconds then it’s cleanup time - if your lucky you don’t need to go back up for the little bits.

It’s more of a sight also when there is a clear path and you rig the felled vine and drag the pile in its entirety down the driveway/road to the verge (if it isn’t being burned) - the client is usually open mouthed when he sees you do it but has t got time to voice objections.... :)
 
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