If you’re looking for a lazy Sunday project that doesn’t involve chemical warfare, this is your move. Grab a thick, black plastic tarp or a heavy-duty cardboard box (the kind from your last online shopping spree works perfectly). Lay it over the ivy patch like you’re tucking it into bed—a very dark, suffocating bed. Weigh it down with bricks, rocks, or that bag of mulch you keep meaning to use.
The idea is simple: ivy needs sunlight like you need your morning coffee. Starve it of that, and it will eventually throw up its little green hands and give up. I did this to a patch that was climbing up my back fence, and after a month, it was the color of an old, sad salad. It’s not dramatic, but it is effective. You can sip your iced tea while nature does the hard work underground.
