Gardening and Horticulture - How To Kill Ivy?

Hello Everyone: I am getting to old to cut lawns so I killed the grass on the front lawn and let Ivy grow and I thought Ivy would look nice, but alot of weeds and unwanted stuff starting growing with the ivy.
So now I just want to kill everything and put down cement plates (or whatever they are called)
Can someone tell me how to get rid of (kill) this ivy, it is about 40 square feet?

Ivy is persistent and a challenge to eradicate. You will find that many recommend different ways. Nonselective herbicides tend just brown leaves. It's difficult for ivy leaves to absorb herbicides because leaves have a waxy coating. Cutting the ivy plant back as much as possible, and then spraying exposed roots or stems with a concentrated herbicide can be effective. Because of its persistence, you may find that you have to do this several times. Many resort to digging and plowing of roots, and keeping ivy mowed down and sprayed to eventually eliminate. For large areas like yours, you may find that repeat mowing at lowest setting will eventually kill the plants because without leaves the roots get no food. Others recommend frequent repeat applications of systemic herbicide without cutting. Some report best results mixing Roundup and brushkiller to which soap is added so herbicide will cling to the leaves.

Twelvepole:

Thank You for the reply. I know what Round up (weed & grass killer) is, but what is Brushkiller, eg. is it a liquid, powder or? And is there a name brand to it?

Different products are available in different parts of the country. Brush-Be-Gone, Enforcer, and others may be available at local garden and home centers. I believe Round Up has a brush killer concentrate, too.

Ok, Thanks
Also, the part I want to kill is on flat ground, but it then drops down to the sidewalk and the slope is about 5 feet to the ground. I would like to keep that ivy (and it looks better than the rest) because if I take that out I would have to probably cement it, but then the snow would keep melting off of it to the sidewalk and I would have a hard time with ice off the sidewalk that way.
Is there anyway of cutting it off at the edge and keep the ivy from growing back on to the flat part?

As you know, ivy grows by leaps and bounds and over and up anything in its path and sometimes through walls. There is nothing that will keep the ivy contained on the sloped bank unless it is pruned to keep it contained. Many consider ivy a menace because it is so invasive.

Areas can be edged, but during growing season usually requires ivy to be trimmed along edge at least every two weeks to keep it within its bounds. Weeds can be spot treated with herbicide. Running hands through bed to pull up long shoots and trim should be done two or three times a year. Leaves can be removed by gently raking or by hand.

Ivy is high maintenance and if not properly maintained, it collects debris and weeds and overtakes the landscape. It is frequently seen on embankments in front of homes that sit above the street because these areas are difficult to mow and often subject to runoff. Ivy is beautiful and adds visual texture and a richer green color to the landscape, but it must be maintained. Otherwise, it will overtake the landscape.

If ivy is maintained, it is certainly a good alternative to mowing. Spot treating weeds with herbicide and keeping perimeter pruned to keep it within bounds may be less work and less expense than the options you are considering.

Ok, do you think this is a good idea>>>>

Cut the flat part with a regular lawn mower to get main ivy leaves off of there stems, then use the weed and grass killer, then cover the whole works with drop cloths (placing bricks atop) to suffocate.

As far as the slope goes I will just keep that trimmed as you mentioned!