English ivy is one of our goats’ favorite foods and one of Atlanta’s most stubborn invasive plants. We treat it year-round, stripping ivy from ground cover, slopes, fence lines and the lower trunks of trees with no herbicides and no crews tearing up your soil.

Winter special: Save 20% on rental fees December through February when you prebook with a 10% deposit. In winter we treat English ivy and other evergreen invasives like privet only. Prebook now >

Why English ivy is a problem

• It’s officially invasive. Georgia lists English ivy as a Category 1 invasive plant, the most serious threat level to native habitat.

• It smothers everything beneath it. Dense mats crowd out native plants and create “ivy deserts” with fewer insects and, in turn, fewer birds.

• It weakens trees. Ivy climbing into the canopy adds weight and blocks light, leaving trees more prone to disease and to blowing down in storms.

• It doesn’t hold slopes. Its shallow roots do little to stop erosion, especially on steep banks.

• It keeps spreading. Birds eat the berries from climbing ivy and drop the seeds in new places, and it has no natural pests here to keep it in check.

• It holds moisture. Thick ground mats can create damp spots where mosquitoes breed.

How goats treat English ivy

Goats strip the leaves and tender vines, defoliating ivy down to the ground. Without leaves, ivy can’t photosynthesize, so it has to burn through the energy stored in its roots to grow back. One defoliation damages the root system, but it doesn’t kill established ivy on its own. Research on goat grazing for English ivy found that browsing in two consecutive years reduced ivy cover more than a single year of browsing.

Our recommended treatment plan

Established English ivy is never a one-and-done job. It takes repeated passes and continued disruption to photosynthesis, often over several years, to kill it off completely. We recommend one of two approaches:

1. Repeat grazing: bring the goats back once or twice a year. Each visit removes the new growth before it can rebuild root reserves. Our maintenance plans spread the cost across the year.

2. Sheet mulching: after the first defoliation, cover the area with overlapping cardboard and a thick layer of mulch. This blocks light and keeps regrowth at bay, and if it stays covered long enough (usually several months or more), it can kill the ivy underneath. Overlap the edges well and check the borders, since ivy creeps back in from the sides.

After the goats leave

• Goats only reach the lower part of tree trunks. Cut any vines climbing higher at about chest height so the upper growth dies off.

• Watch for new shoots in spring and summer, especially along edges and fence lines.

• Replant cleared areas with native ground cover so ivy has less room to come back. We can help with native plantings and cleanup.

The details

• Most residential projects run $850–1,500; commercial and municipal projects typically run $1,200–3,000

• Most residential jobs take 4–7 days

• Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties

• Need cleanup after? We offer post-goat landscaping and debris removal

Dealing with other invasives? See privet, kudzu, poison ivy and brush, or read our land clearing FAQ.