Neighbours causing such a fuss about ivy! Really?

[Peekaboooooo]

Our neighbours have told us about ivy coming over from our side onto their side at least 5 times in the last couple of months. They are a retired, active couple in their late 70s who maintain their garden well.
Firstly, the ivy was not that bad but we did what they asked and cut some back along the fence. Since then, our neighbour has asked again and has almost sounded a bit rude. He says he doesn't like ivy.
This morning he spoke to my husband again about it and this time my husband had to say that we like ivy and we'd like to keep it. Dh said we'd cut back a bit more but then that's it.
I've checked the fence out carefully this evening, both sides, and I can't understand what the problem is. Any ivy coming through the fence is minimal. Plus they can't even see it because it's behind their shrubs and they can't see that part of the garden from their house. And, it's our fence!

What's really got to me is their attitude towards us. Our neighbour even called my husband lazy once which was so untrue and unfair. We both work, have two young children (one with SEN) and lots of life stuff going on as most people do. Our house isn't perfect and may not be as immaculate as our neighbours but we do our best.

I kind of feel like we're being judged. Sometimes I've noticed our neighbour look up our driveway as he walks past and now I'm wondering what he's thinking.

AIBU or are our neighbours ivy grumbles and criticisms justified?

Such a shame because they've been fine for the most part of living here (nearly 4 years) and have been friendly up until now.

I had a variegated ivy growing up the side of my house; I bought it for 40p from a school summer fair years ago. It not only lifted the tiles on the gable end of the house when it reached the roof, but also bent the gas pipe on the way up. We chopped it down and managed to pull off big patches of render in the process; t was an expensive pot of ivy! It took a tree stump killer chemical to finally kill it off. Team Neighbour here.

This ivy is not on brickwork or near anyone's house. It is on our side of just one fence panel which is hidden by big shrubs on their side. Also, it's our fence and hasn't been damaged.

Silly thing is, both us and the neighbour back onto an extremely overgrown garden. The brambles are so high and thick. The man who owns that garden isn't in good health and so it's just been completely left for years. Our neighbour has complained about it in the past but seems to have accepted it now. Our ivy is nothing in comparison.

My neighbours' ivy completely destroyed our fences, just cut it back

YABU. We've literally just spent £4k replacing mature wonderful ivy Bush with a fence because newish neighbours did fuck all to maintain it their side from the moment they moved in. It was a shared bush deeds aren't clear as to whose side it belongs to but previous neighbours had always kept on top of it on their side until this neighbour came along..he would never have got around to sorting it out so we sucked it up and put a nice fence in as the ivy bush had collapsed and there was nolonger any privacy. To add insult to injury he has uncontrolled bindweed on their side which is already creeping through to our side through the fence. I think your neighbour is perhaps being a bit petty op however I'm on their side.. you should keep an eye on the ivy as some is really fast growing and will bugger your fence. I love ivy and miss my ivy bush but lazy neighbour didn't maintain it on his side then wondered why it collapsed onto his side 😕

Ivy is a massive menace. I moved into a house covered in it and the damage it can do to the structural integrity of a property is really quite shocking. It causes damp and attracts rodents and can wipe £££ off your house price. I’m surprised anyone likes it.
We routinely have to remove it , even since the big removal, as once it roots in walls etc it’s a nightmare and grows so fast.
My neighbour hates ours and I’m not surprised , I deal with it immediately if I see any little shoots heading towards her side, as she’s elderly and simply wouldn’t be able to physically manage removing it herself , especially if it climbs high.

Are people getting ivy confused with something else? It doesn’t destroy walls and it isn’t invasive. It’s great for wildlife and looks beautiful.

Bamboo plants can be a big deal. Keep an eye on it spreading into your garden.

YANBU OP but your neighbours are. I had, until I sold up earlier this year the neighbour from hell. He blocked our legal access, so we had to take him to court to enforce it, regularly used power tools at 6am outside on a Sunday, put a basketball hoop 4 inches from our house wall and spent 2 hours a day throwing balls at our living room wall and drilled holes in our detached house wall to hang a gate from. You get the picture.

Anyway the only thing he could find to complain about with us was some ivy. We had the ivy growing on our side of a mutual boundary wall and he basically never stopped going on about it. Despite all the shit things he did to us and put us through, this ivy was apparently the worst thing anyone could ever do to a neighbour.

In the end we got our lawyer to write to him advising that up to the midline of the top of the mutual wall was ours and our ivy had every right to be there. Anything that went over that midpoint into his side was fair game for him to cut back to said midline. There was legally no onus on us to stop the ivy going into his bit or to cut it back on his side ourselves.

I realise you have a fence rather than a wall and the ivy is poking through in parts but I'd have thought the legal principle is the same and your neighbour can just cut any bits that escape through to his side back.

I think in these cases it is often not really about the stated issue at all but is all some sort of power struggle and one upmanship. Your neighbour has no right to be speaking to you like that and is a dick. So sorry to hear of someone else with an unreasonable neighbour. My mental health and sleep have improved so much since I moved.

My neighbours buddleias have just broken two fences and they’re not doing anything about it despite being updated on steady damage.

I have sympathy for your neighbours, it’s annoying when your neighbours weeds encroach in your garden.

.

Some extreme reactions on here!
I have Ivy growing on a fence in my alleyway thats been there ever since we moved in. I have not had a problem with it. I just cut it back every few months. The fence has been there for about 10 years and is still solid. I also have some Ivy in the front garden (coming from the neighbours side) and do the same, a good prune a few times a year sorts it out.

I think the type of fence makes a difference - those cheap slatted fences can’t deal with anything growing on them really.

I think the issue is when people don’t maintain their gardens and let plants grown rampant.

@kistanbul It’s none of that! Ivy roots can cause issues in drains and can separate mortar between bricks and damage foundations. It’s got aerial roots too and they go everywhere. The roots grow from the stems and it’s how the plant climbs but they damage what it clings to. No one is wrong or mistaken except you. As it’s evergreen it’s poor for birds and doesn’t have fruit birds like.

It's awful at the moment. I have cut ours back three times already this summer and the bastard stuff grows back immediately. It's laughing at me. It's completely unaffected by any form of extreme weather and ruins anything it's climbing up. I would ask them to show me what they were concerned about tbh if you have cut it back already. Sounds like they are fixating on it.

YANBU. I don’t understand Mumsnet sometimes. It’s on your fence - not damaging their fence or worse, any brickwork. You cut it back when asked (your neighbours are incredibly rude to call you lazy, so I wouldn’t hurry to do so again in future!). They are obviously welcome to cut anything that does come over to their side. There are far worse neighbour annoyances than ivy on a fence -your neighbours would love my garden, it hasn’t been maintained in years apart from some basic lawn mowing 🤣

You must be getting ivy confused with something else.

It absolutely destroys walls. And it maybe good for wildlife but that includes rats, for whom it’s makes the perfect environment to climb, nest and hide on the way to the roof.

Show us the ivy and we might be able to judge better. Personally hate the stuff

Tell them “It’s our fence and we like it. We keep it under control from our side. Your side is up to you.”

Are you sure it’s not Virginia creeper. Looks identical.

Cut it at the root if they’re that bothered, it’ll grow back within about half an hour

This. They sound like petty dickheads - ignore

I had both! have spent £100s getting it all cleared and dug out, bamboo planted by idiot neigbour and ivy that appeared from a wall that runs across the back of all the houses, It has been a nightmare. I doubt that either are fully vanquished so i keep a watchful eye open for their return.

Ivy is thought to attract rats,cindonr know if it's true but I know people thnk this.

So that might be one reason they're so against ivy. Maybe someone has recently mentioned it to them which is why they've been fine up until now.

Ivy is a complete pain in the arse. The school behind us doesn't control it and as a result I can grow fuck all in my garden, have spent hundreds on trying to kill it unsuccessfully cos I can't get to the roots, and it's now growing under my patio causing a ton of expensive damage. You need to sort it out.

We've got ivy in a few places which isn't causing a problem - I quite like it there (most places zero tolerance for it though due to the other plants). It's on one bit of fence and rather than damage it it's sort of reinforced it! I would probably wouldn't have it on a shared fence though.

So much misinformation about ivy here - I'm amazed! Speaking as a Landscape Architect & garden designer, I've been planting it in projects for over thirty years & it will not cause any problems IF IT IS MAINTAINED PROPERLY - which is the same for any relatively vigorous plant in your garden.

Generally speaking the species (Hedera helix aka English Ivy) grows fastest, but there are many cultivars that are much slower-growing & more ornamental eg Glacier, which is variegated. Ivy, contrary to what some posters have said, is brilliant for wildlife - it flowers in autumn when insects find it a great late source of nectar, & birds love its berries, which are very high in nutrients. It also allows insects to hibernate.

It will only damage walls if they are already cracked or in poor condition - if your masonry is sound it will not cause damage, & in fact studies show it generally protects walls. Whereas over-forceful stripping of ivy from house or garden walls actually causes damage! Ditto ivy will only damage tiles on roofs etc if left completely unchecked.

The OP's ivy is on a fence. Ivy will not "rot" a standard timber fence or trellis - most cheap fencing will start to fall apart within 20 years anyway. If the fence isn't close-boarded then there's a possibility that some stems growing through will thicken with age & could warp the fence. However, checking & trimming it once or twice a year will prevent that, & also keep it from overhanging into your (anally retentive ..!!) neighbours' garden. That's all - no more effort than trimming a hedge twice a year, & an awful lot less than mowing lawns!!

And if you don't believe me, maybe you'll listen to the Royal Horticultural Society ...?!! Maybe, OP, you could send this article to your neighbours ... 😁

https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/ivy-on-buildings