I have English ivy around my house, which isn't quite as invasive as kudzu, but still a major nuisance.
Roundup does basically nothing. The leaves are thick and waxy and so don't absorb herbicide effectively. Supposedly, applying a more concentrated formula on a weekly basis for a month can work, but I don't like the idea of spraying that much glyphosate.
If you have to use poison you can use way less by pruning and putting a dab of glyphosate on the stump. Even dishsoap straight to the vascular system will kill many plants.
I just mow it so I can see the vines and then pull them up and cut them. Over the course of the summer, I cleared a significant part of my land. Now that autumn weather has finally arrived, I should be able to get it all.
You can use ammonium sulfate as a surfactant to cut through English ivy with glyphosate. It works great, and in theory you don't have to use as much Roundup that way either.
This is the only way I was ever able to kill English ivy in the back yard of my old house. I bought glyphosate concentrate, some disposable plastic cups, and a disposable foam paintbrush. I painted it on every damned leaf in the yard.
It works. It may take several applications to do so, but it works.
Top tip. Rubber gloves with some woollen gloves over the top. Soak the woollen gloves in glyphosate and then you can lovingly stroke the plants you want to kill. It’s a bit quicker
I understand your sentiment and share to some extent, but the reason this came into being wasn’t vanity. Having large shrubs or weed areas leads to pests and the spread of disease, while large trees become deadly during storms. In the AmericanSouth and MidWest, seasonal tornadoes make this latter threat far worse. Homeowners then become incentivized to clear their yards of both hazards. Kudzu and English Ivy kill the trees and make them more likely to come down. Once people clear a lawn, the only way to make it look good is by getting that rich green and uniform golf course like appearance brought to you by Bayer.
It wraps all around trees and other desirable plants, and has shoots under ground that can extend many feet away. Digging it up is the only solution but even that is exceedingly difficult. I’ve learned to live with it.
