Do you fancy an ivy covered wall?

This is what happens when ivy is left uncontrolled-so if anybody is thinking about letting ivy scramble up a wall............................read this first

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172491/Ivy-damned-Overgrown-house-blights-neighbourhood-plant-left-run-wild-years.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Oh wow! I'm not a fan of any Ivy type plants anyway, but this! Totally put me off forever!

The Daily Mail seem to like these stories-here is another one from earlier in the year

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2082508/Top-Ivy-league-House-covered-INSIDE-creepers-gets-chop-life.html

But if you look after it

http://www.homedit.com/10-ivy-covered-houses/

Wow, that's some problem!

There is a semi down the road from here that is also almost totally covered, walls & the windows, plus the fences all round it. Almost as if someone wants to be totally enclosed & in the dark. It has recently had a wee trim, but still really bad.

The thing I find most sad about all this is that the neighbours knew the old lady had left yet didn't take it upon themselves to cut it back themselves.  And even worse, it was probably because of fears of prosecution for trespass or elf & saftey.

HyppyByker wrote (see)

The thing I find most sad about all this is that the neighbours ...

I was wondering what sort of neighbours the lady had. You can't even see the windows of the house. The living conditions inside must have been appauling. Would you really allow someone living next door to you to get into that state without offering to do something about it, or even helping to get assistance.

We all get the neighbours we deserve.

You can't always blame the neighbours.  My 95 year old neighbour (disabled) has a lot of ivy growing up the back of her house.  I know this woman very well but in spite of all my offers of help, she absolutely insists she will remove it herself.  It will never happen but what can I do.  The door and windows at the back of the ground floor are covered in it - from the inside it's like standing in an underground aquarium.