Getting Rid Of Wild Grape Vines

Q: We have wild grape vines growing in our ivy. We tried pulling them up, but they keep returning. Any other suggestions? 

A: Your “wild grape” could be muscadine vines but they might also be porcelain berry vine or perhaps possum grape. All have similar leaves. One of the techniques these wild vines use to survive is to break apart when joints above ground are tugged. So if you simply pull them out of the ivy or shrubbery without pulling out the roots, the vine survives to invade once again. Try gently tugging on the bad vine to find its origination point and then pull it and its roots out of the ground together.