How do I get rid of ivy bind weed permanantly from my garden,coming in from my neighbours side?

Question

Please help on this. I keep cutting it down after it growing all over my shed roof and garden.It was well established,I cut it all back,but keeps growing,what else can I do?

Answer 1

Have a word with your neighbour and tell them that you are sick of it. If you were to apply a brushwood weedkiller or similar without telling the neighbour you could be in trouble. Do you know that the plant on your side still belongs to the neighbour and therefore you are legally obliged to return the clippings to them? They could well get hacked off by having to get rid of the clippings and kill the plant off themselves.

Answer 2

This isn't going to be the answer you WANT to hear, but is about the best advise you can get. No instant gratification is to be found.

Field Bind Weed is a really tough weed to kill. It's tap root can extend 30 feet deep and it propagates by both seeds and rhizome. That means that we must prevent it from seeding and we must kill the roots to eradicate it. Preventing seeding involves pulling or killing the branches before they flower and complete their reproductive cycle. The weed will come back because of its rhizomes unless we kill the root. The roots have spare energy reserves (carbohydrates) to keep sending up more shoots. There are a couple of ways to kill the roots - poison or starvation. Neither is very convenient. With uncooperative neighbors who allow their infestation to thrive and flower and reseed, the best you can expect is to control its spread.

It sounds like we want to use a two prong approach. Use Roundup on the stuff growing up the shed and other places that you can easily spray without risk of killing desirable plants. In a week or two, rake up the dried up carcasses and send them far away - those roots should die back to about 15 feet deep. In areas that Roundup cannot be used effectively, repeatedly allow the weeds to grow until they are just ready to flower and then pull the weeds right before they flower (more explanation on this later). We still want to bag the weeds and send them far away or burn them.

One way to address part of the neighbors bindweed challenge is via chemical barrier. Some people sacrifice a narrow strip of greenery with Roundup. Neighbor bindweed that encroaches the strip gets sprayed - its roots die. Unfortunately, bindweed flowers can create a lot of seed - If the neighbor isn't on board with the mission, then the best you can do is control the infestation. His bindweed seed is bound to find its way into our yards. That means that little plants are bound to get started next spring. Its small comfort knowing that killing the weed by the starvation method is easier when the root system is immature.

STARVATION METHOD EXPLAINED

Root systems store and supply energy to the growing plant in cycles. Roots expend energy trying to create seed. Once its primary mission is accomplished, the plant pumps carbohydrates back into the root system to prepare for the next season. We can kill the roots without chemicals but it will take much more time. It involves repeatedly 'pulling' bindweed at the right stage of development, thereby starving the root system to death. Let it grow until it forms the flower buds. The weed taps into its store of energy during this process - the roots deliver more than they get. Don't let it flower, though. Pull the weed right before it is ready to flower. There is no seed - and the roots don't get their energy recharged back to maximum reserves. This method strains the root system. Repeat this exercise for several seasons. The idea is to yank the tops after the root system has expended maximum energy and force the roots to grow more greens and flower buds to fulfill its primary mission - create seed. Each time, the roots expend more energy than they get back and slowly use up all their reserves. The roots literally starve to death, albeit slowly. Let them grow and pull them again. This is a battle of attrition. It may take a few years to kill it 'completely'. At least we get the satisfaction of knowing that the weed is slowly losing the war with each battle that we win. Over a season or two, we notice that the weeds lose vigor. Eventually, our work load gets lighter.

Answer 3

im sorry to say that it will take alot of patience. i had it in mine and it took about nine months to get rid of. you have to dig down around the root , and follow it  to the end, if it brakes it grows again. you can see a tiny amount above the ground, but it can be at least a foot long under ground.i found it a challenge everyone said i would not  be able to get rid of, so i have and i have had none at  all in the last six years, good luck  

Answer 4

You could try digging a 'slit' trench along your boundary, inserting heavy black plasric barrier and removing all the roots left in the soil atv your side.  This sounds tedious, but will work if you are vigilant with rooting out any new shoots.