Household bleach can kill the ivy foliage it contacts. However, horticulture experts strongly discourage using sodium hypochlorite, the active ingredient in bleach, as an outdoor weed killer. This product functions as a non-selective herbicide, meaning it destroys any plant it touches. Its negative consequences for the surrounding soil and environment far outweigh any perceived benefit.
How Bleach Affects Ivy and Plant Life
Household bleach is a solution of sodium hypochlorite that acts as a contact herbicide. When applied to ivy leaves or stems, the chemical rapidly causes a caustic burn that breaks down plant tissue. The hypochlorite ions are strong oxidizing agents that penetrate the plant’s cells, damaging cell membranes and disrupting essential internal processes.
The visible damage is often immediate, with the foliage turning brown or white due to chlorophyll degradation. Since chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis, its destruction inhibits the plant’s ability to produce energy, leading to the rapid decay of the treated parts. This contact action quickly kills the above-ground portions of various ivies, including English Ivy or Poison Ivy, giving the appearance of successful eradication.
Despite the immediate surface kill, bleach is ineffective for long-term control of established ivy. Ivy species have deep, extensive root systems that store significant energy. Since bleach does not travel systemically through the plant’s vascular tissue down to the roots, the underground parts remain viable. This often results in the ivy regrowing from the root system shortly after the surface foliage has died back.
Environmental Damage and Safety Concerns
The most significant drawback to using bleach outdoors stems from its damaging impact on soil health and the surrounding ecosystem. When sodium hypochlorite breaks down in the soil, it leaves behind sodium chloride. This residual salt significantly raises the soil’s salinity, making it difficult or impossible for other plants, including desirable grass and landscaping, to absorb water and nutrients.
The high alkalinity of bleach drastically alters the soil’s pH balance, which can stunt or prohibit the growth of future vegetation. The chemical also kills beneficial soil microorganisms necessary for nutrient cycling and fertility. This long-term soil contamination effectively sterilizes the area, and it may take several seasons for the soil to recover enough to support healthy plant life.
Using bleach also poses a significant risk of non-selective damage through runoff. Rainwater or irrigation can carry the bleach solution away from the targeted ivy, killing any adjacent plants it flows past. If the runoff reaches storm drains or nearby bodies of water, the chlorine component is toxic to aquatic life, contributing to water pollution and harming ecosystems.
Bleach is a corrosive agent that can cause chemical burns to the skin and eyes, requiring careful handling with protective gear. It is highly dangerous to combine bleach with other common household chemicals, such as ammonia or vinegar. Mixing bleach with ammonia produces toxic chloramine gas, and mixing it with vinegar releases toxic chlorine gas, both of which are hazardous to inhale.
Recommended Methods for Ivy Eradication
For effective and lasting ivy control, use methods that target the entire plant, including the root system, without causing widespread environmental damage. One chemical approach involves the careful application of systemic herbicides containing active ingredients like glyphosate or triclopyr. These chemicals are absorbed by the leaves and translocated throughout the plant’s vascular system, traveling down to kill the roots. To increase effectiveness on waxy leaves, it is recommended to first cut the ivy back and allow some regrowth before treatment, or to add a non-ionic surfactant to the herbicide solution.
Natural and manual methods offer environmentally safer alternatives, though they often require more time and repeated effort. Physical removal by hand-pulling or digging out the roots is effective, especially after a rain when the soil is soft. All removed ivy material, especially Poison Ivy, should be bagged and discarded to prevent re-sprouting, and should never be burned due to the risk of inhaling toxic smoke.
Other non-chemical treatments include solarization, covering the area with plastic sheeting to cook the ivy with solar heat, and the use of horticultural vinegar (acetic acid). Horticultural vinegar is a safer contact herbicide than bleach, but it primarily kills the above-ground growth and requires multiple applications to deplete the root reserves of established ivy.