Neighbours causing such a fuss about ivy! Really?

Nothing worse than living next to a retired couple. Always have too much time on their hands and just sit there all day thinking of ways to annoy everyone.

I like ivy but I absolutely hate it in gardens! My last neighbour had a stump of ivy in his evergreen hedge and it came through under the steps from our patio to the garden. I tried to cut it back but it had put out tendrils everywhere. It pulled out cement; it contributed to the little wooden fence on the steps rotting; and it got up to our house from under the patio or steps somehow, damaged our drain pipes and got into our gutter. Our landlord paid someone to spend a day ripping and cutting the bastard stuff off - great, except it had left marks everywhere.

And now? It grew back within a few weeks and the new tenants are currently battling it!

OP, the problem isn’t the height of your ivy, it’s the fact it’s there at all. Every day your neighbours will see the 10 leaves poking through their side of the fence and fear it getting out of control. Just dig the whole thing out!

My neighbour called me lazy once because a few (and I mean only a few) leaves were on my drive not swept up. Hmmm, work full time/have quite a few children (one is disabled). I would love to be lazy for a day.

In my neighbour's case, too much time on her hands.

Make it clear that you’re happy for them to trim the ivy if it invades their garden. I wouldn’t have a lengthy conversation about it 🤔🙂

Ivy can take hold, and quickly. My old house had ivy all up one side, going into next doors and coming inside my back door and bathroom window.

you don’t sound like a kind neighbour, A siding bamboo plant is not the same as ivy.

Ivy can be very destructive and this is probably his concern. Be reasonable, pull it up and replace it with a less invasive creeper.

I mooted sticking a hypodermic filled with weedkiller into the roots once but worried that the neighbour would be too upset.

If you spray ivy I think you're supposed to mix the weedkiller with oils or something because otherwise the fluid just rolls off the leaves.

Sorry not oil but washing up liquid which breaks down the waxiness of the leaves. When you cut at root level paint on herbicide immediately.

Saw elsewhere white vinegar and salt dissolved is good if you have pets.

Ivy is fast growing, spreads like mad. It will destroy the fence or any brickwork around. You need to really keep it under control if you aren't willing to try and kill it off. Its not something you want to deliberately leave along a fence/wall unless you have the time/energy to actively manage it.

My neighbours have let ivy spread along their side of my fence. Its ruined the fence and I'm constantly fighting to stop it spreading through. It is a nightmare.

I'm allergic to ivy plants so I wouldn't want it anywhere near my garden. As long as you are aware how quickly it grows and you are able to cut it as it grows! I don't see that your neighbour can object. However , if left untrained' it will eventually pull down the fence.

I had ivy coming in from my next door neighbour and it was a bloody nuisance. I raise guide dog pups and it’s toxic to dogs and in the summer I’d cut it back every few weeks, it started to feel adversarial between me and the plant.

i spoke to her about it several times with no effect. I got a Stanley knife and cut it everywhere I could reach at the bottom. In the end she got rid of it because it was strangling her roses. I was starting to plot its demise.

My mum used to get on her high horse about it. It’s an older person thing I think.

I hate ivy, I have some coming through from next door through my fence, it’s horrible stuff and if you pull it off the fence it leaves white marks and if the fence is painted it pulls the paint off. If you want it, then keep it off their side.

I like ivy but understand it can be a massive pain for others.

Some people hate foliage and seem to find threatening. As long as you keep it trimmed ignore them.

We have rampant ivy coming through the length of our garden from next door. It’s now Impossible to control and it’s taking over, as we can only cut back our side.

I used to like it, but now I wish it was all gone

Middle aged and got just about enough free time on my hands. Can't say I've ever felt the need to watch what my neighbours are doing and accuse them of being lazy though. If I ever did, I'd expect the odds of someone telling me to mind my own business and get a life to be quite high!

Do only “old” people have time on their hands……

What an odd assumption …..

are you old? You must have too much time on your hands to be commenting here?

Our neighbours ivy got in under the slats of our fence, they got distorted, the suckers also caused damage.

On the other side (which was their own fence), it pulled their trellis down.

AI Overview

+12

Ivy can cause significant damage to fences, particularly wooden ones, by growing into gaps, pushing apart panels, and trapping moisture, which leads to rot. While it can be visually appealing, it's important to manage its growth to prevent structural problems.

This pretty much sums it up!

The neighbour took it upon himself to call OP's husband lazy without knowing about their circumstances. If he has the time to be watching what his neighbours are doing for long enough to declare to them that they are lazy, then I'd argue he probably does have too much time on his hands!

How did it damage your fence? I’ve just pulled some off mine that must have been there 5 years and the fence is in perfect condition underneath.

It damages fencing because of the weight of not trimmed back sufficiently. The suckers do not penetrate wood.

@Peekaboooooo I just don't know if it's because they're an older couple with too much time on their hands.

You lost me at this bit. You have no idea what issues or problems someone might have behind closed doors, and discriminatory comments won't help.

our neighbours have mentioned Ivy. Some is coming from ours, but we have some coming from the other neighbours, I have no time to properly deal with it, I like Ivy, so I don’t. It’s not that antisocial of us, the neighbours like to get everything done perfectly - he’s retired and when they moved in it felt like he repointed every brick, washing the roof, getting the council to trim the street trees, we are two busy full time parents to 3 dc and do not have the time between weekend sports.