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Original poster

Neighbours planting Ivy on my fence

142 replies

NewNeighboursRequest · 26/07/2021 15:55

So I have these new neighbours just since about February. I own the fence between us as in my boundary to maintain and I put in this fence a few years ago to replace old fencing.

New neighbours have apparently planted Ivy to grow on the fence. It is growing through the slats and pushing them apart plus growing through the trellis at the top. One area has a rather vigorous and large vine pushing about a 5 cm gap between the slats. I don’t want the Ivy or other things growing through the slats. Would I be within my rights to spray the Ivy popping through the slats and in the trellis on top?

If so, what can I use to kill Ivy but not plants/shrubs on the ground below.

OP posts:
CatAlice · 26/07/2021 17:30

@Proudboomer

None of the above will kill off ivy. Get on Amazon a buy some Lancelot Ammonium Sulphamate. This pretty much kills everything. It is not licences in the the eu as a weed killer but still sold as a compost accelerator But if you mix some up a trip on the way to the compost heap and it goes over the ivy then oh dear these things happen. Once it has killed the ivy it will break down naturally in the soil and actually turn it back into sulphate of ammonia, the fertiliser so good for the soil.
Ordering some now. DS has just bought a house which has a boundry with some waste land. The ivy and brambles compete to break through the fence but that sounds like just the thing.
Benjispruce5 · 26/07/2021 17:31

I thought you could plant against a fence but that your neighbour could cut any overgrowth on their side. Wouldn’t bother me tbh. Rather a plant covered fence than a bare one any day.

RampantIvy · 26/07/2021 17:31

@dodobookends

I find the current obsession with empty blank fences a bit weird. Why would you want to look out of your window at a fence when you could look on greenery with birds nesting in it?
Ivy is horribly invasive. It destroyed the trellis fence in our garden. I had to cut it all back and chop the rotten fence up. It took over 10 trips to the tip to get rid of it all.

We now have a new trellis with clematis and honeysuckle growing up it.

Whinge · 26/07/2021 17:33

If you want the Ivy removed, you will need to sort it out yourself

If it's OPs fence the neighbours should never have planted it, but now it's there removing it will be almost impossible without access to the neighbours side. Sad

pam290358 · 26/07/2021 17:34

We had this problem in our old house. We put up a new fence on moving in, as it’s our boundary. Neighbour promptly planted Russian Vine on his side, which grew over the top, started to push apart the slats and tendrils were coming through the bottom to choke plants in our border - it’s dreadful stuff. We tried to be nice at first, but they did nothing. In the end a solicitors letter sorted it out. It was politely worded reminding them of boundary responsibilities and that the fence was not their property - asked politely for them to sort it out by a certain date, otherwise further action would be taken. Hey presto Russian Vine removed and they put up their own fence. I would start by having a polite word pointing out that the fence is your property and that if they want to grow an invasive plant species, they should erect their own fence first, as you don’t want it damaging yours. They may not be aware of the problem so give them a fair chance to sort it out amicably first.

Soontobe60 · 26/07/2021 17:36

Don’t spray weed killer on it, that’s so bad for the environment!
However, you should tell them that as it’s your fence they must not grow ivy up it. Tell them to remove it.

Benjispruce5 · 26/07/2021 17:40

I take it this is a new property? My garden is very mature, mainly mixed hedges and overgrown fences Not a bit of orange fence to be seen. I have a fully Ivy clad fence and it’s a thing of beauty IMO. Robins nest in it and I have solar lights buried in it.Been there 20 years, no need to panic, it’s actually strengthened an old fence

Whatamesssss · 26/07/2021 17:41

Please don't use weed killer, it is terrible for the environment and especially bees. It is much better to remove the roots and any that come back just pull up.

Just ask your neighbours to remove it.

We had ivy smothering our fence when we moved in, removed it all and the fence fell down. A few came back, but just pulled it out, but after 1 year, no more ivy.

Disfordarkchocolate · 26/07/2021 17:42

We have some in our garden and cut it back rigourously a few times a year. We keep it under control and don't let it get over the neighbours fence because it's a bugger. I'd never plant it. Definitely have a word about the damage and potential to spread.

MzHz · 26/07/2021 17:44

You have to wake them to remove it

It will destroy your fence in a couple of years

We’ve had the same with our arsehole neighbours

Finally, after 2 years of legal shit about this and other shit they are trying to pull, we’ve won and they have to remove it in 4 weeks time with all the other crap they’ve grown against our house.

JassyRadlett · 26/07/2021 17:46

It’s not my responsibility to do anything about it; my neighbours are responsible for maintenance of that fence.

I mean, you know that isn’t actually true, right, if your property is damaging their property?

TheFlis12345 · 26/07/2021 17:46

@peaches99 it’s pet safe once dry, which only takes minutes.

All those people saying it’s not an issue and to leave it, previous owners of our house were a bit slack with ivy removal and it’s eaten through some of the concrete fence posts as well as ruining the slats!

MzHz · 26/07/2021 17:50

Wake? Ask!

WorriedWishingWell · 26/07/2021 17:50

I'd rather look at ivy than an ugly wooden fence

chesirecat99 · 26/07/2021 17:50

You can't just spray it and kill the bits coming through on your side, only chop them off. Well, you can, but you will only have to chop off the dead bits anyway so why use unnecessary chemicals?

The ivy will eventually destroy the fence so you can either embrace it and let it grow on your side too but get the neighbours to commit to paying for the replacement or ask them to remove it from your fence entirely.

MzHz · 26/07/2021 17:52

Ours is a listed building too. The neighbours aren’t, but if want to replace the sodding fence, we need to put it through planning, it’ll pass etc, but it’s another couple of hundred quid and a wait but it’s a hassle

Meanwhile the pair of c’s next door plant shit all over everything

Or they did… no more! Yay!

PortMerrionCentre · 26/07/2021 17:52

@JassyRadlett

It’s not my responsibility to do anything about it; my neighbours are responsible for maintenance of that fence.

I mean, you know that isn’t actually true, right, if your property is damaging their property?

It’s not my property though, I didn’t plant it. No idea where it came from. Neighbours are welcome to pull it up themselves
lazyarse123 · 26/07/2021 17:53

@PortMerrionCentre

We have Ivy growing up our neighbours fence - but we didn’t plant it, we haven’t trained it to do that. It’s not my responsibility to do anything about it; my neighbours are responsible for maintenance of that fence. If you want the Ivy removed, you will need to sort it out yourself
If the roots are on your side of course it's your responsibility. Or do you want your neighbours to come into your garden to remove it?
PortMerrionCentre · 26/07/2021 17:54

No idea where the roots are, I didn’t plant the stuff.
If the neighbours want it removed, they’ll have to come round & remove it. I don’t care whether it’s there or not

JassyRadlett · 26/07/2021 17:55

It’s not my property though, I didn’t plant it. No idea where it came from. Neighbours are welcome to pull it up themselves

Is the main plant on land that you own?

If so, it’s yours I’m afraid.

Whinge · 26/07/2021 17:56

It’s not my property though, I didn’t plant it. No idea where it came from. Neighbours are welcome to pull it up themselves

It doesn't matter who planted it. If the Ivy is on your property and damaging their fence, it's your responsibility to stop it. No amount of neighbours pulling it up / cutting it down will stop it from growing, if you continue to allow the plant to keep growing.

SeaShoreGalore · 26/07/2021 18:05

Ivy looks nice, and if it interweaves with the slats in the fence, where’s the hall?

When people talk about it being difficult to get rid of, it’s often cos they’ve killed it but then not removed the leaves from fence/wall straight away. I think people think it will be easier to remove if they let it dry out, but actually as it dies it magically glues itself to the surface, whereas when alive/recently killed you can pull it off relatively easily.

DoubleTweenQueen · 26/07/2021 18:07

@NewNeighboursRequest DH says ‘stump-killer’ - which is stronger than the average Weedol-type stuff - be very careful!
However, if you bruise a few leaves and paint it on carefully it should taken down to the roots.
Ivy is a PITA though.

SpottyZebra492 · 26/07/2021 18:08

I would ask them to remove it. our neighbours put in a new fence and some ivy started growing up in on our side, within weeks it began to damage the fence so we removed it sharpish! bloody horrible stuff.

Zombiemum1946 · 26/07/2021 18:14

I had to get rid of ivy planted by the previous owners of our house. It was growing through the wooden cladding on the porch, pushing the window frame away from the roof. To completely clear it i had to pull up as much of the root as I could. I'm surprised it's damaged the fence already but it's vigorous as hell. You'll need to speak to the neighbour about it. Maybe they're not aware of the kind of damage it can do or has done already. I was told, as a general rule, not to plant trees or ivy near any structure or area of tarmac.