Question
Hi Marc,

Okay, just moved into a house where the last owner (of about 18 years) did not do a THING to the yard for probably the last 5-8 years.  

My biggest issue right now is the English ivy.  I'm guessing it used to live in some nice beds, covering some walls and slopes and making a nice ground cover for a couple areas that would have been very hard to mow.  Now, however, it has taken over most of the shrubbery and lawn, and to top it all off, it has about 5 years of dead leaves under the top layer.  

I would like to keep it in the areas it originally was...but is there anything I can do to get rid of the rest of it?  I'm sitting here typing with an aching back and sore hands after spending nearly 2 hours trying to rake it out and cut it back...no dice.  It looks almost exactly the same.

THANKS

Answer
You didn't say where you live, but it is referred to as the "Kudzu of the Pacific Northwest?  Eradication in the wild is very problematic.

Here is a report by The Nature Conservancy on ways to eradicate it, in the wild.  

http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/moredocs/hedhel02.pdf

A bit of summary (most of which is in the report, above)

Hate to be the bearer of bad news: Hand removal is the most thorough.  It is also the biggest pain in the joints.  Any missed roots quickly sprout. Chemical removal works, but it takes several months.  

Round-up will work on it, but the amount sufficient to kill it, will kill everything ELSE around & under it, too (trees, shrubs, lawn,etc)

Goats will eat it, but they won't pull the roots out for you.  Snails, rats, & starlings will nest in it.

Since the eradication report originated in the forested, Pacific Northwest they did not consider fire-removal.  I do not know if the roots would be sufficiently damaged to not re-sprout, aftyer you burn the top leaves off.  Plus, I do not know if fire would work in your location as a removal method...a pretty drastic method.

And joy of joys, IF the ivy has been there for a long enough time (18 years is plenty long enough), it has cycled into it's "mature" phase, where it is throwing off seeds and seedlings throughout the neighborhood.

My condolences.  Invite 20 friends over for a "pulling party"  

~M