Homeowners have been warned to avoid thousands of pounds worth of damage to their homes as we enter the season for invasive plants to thrive. Spring officially arrives on Thursday, March 20 as the spring equinox falls on that day. That means that plants will start to bloom and gardens will start looking full and colourful. However, there are some plants that we don’t want to see and some can even result in thousands of pounds worth of damage to our houses.

Experts have shared why we should be wary of ivy right now to avoid having to potentially pay huge costs to repair houses. Ivy can look nice in gardens, but it should be welcomed with caution, according to property experts Gaffsy. Now is the ideal time to get rid of ivy from the walls of homes before it grows too much and starts to cause damage. Gaffsy explains how damages caused by invasive ivy can cost British homeowners as much as £2,500 to rectify.

But what exactly is wrong with ivy? It is a picturesque addition to British gardens but when it grows too much, it can be “highly destructive”. Ivy can cause structural damage to homes as it grows by eroding brick and woodwork. 

As well as damage to homes, ivy can deplete nutrients from garden plants and smother trees. Meanwhile, it provides the perfect hiding place for insects and vermin which can attack plants. 

Inside the walls of your home, invasive ivy can cause serious moisture damage as it holds onto damp. It can result in damaged wallpaper, peeling paint, crumbling skirting boards and even mould and mildew growth, which can cause health problems. 

There is a way you can safely remove ivy. Firstly, you can cut it off at the bottom and wait for about a week for it to die. 

You can then lift the main root ball out of the ground after the ivy has died and apply a weed killer to the area to make sure that it doesn’t grow back. You will then have to monitor the area for new growth to make sure that ivy doesn’t return and cause damage to your home or garden. 

“Many people underestimate how invasive ivy can be, but once it takes hold, the repair bills can be staggering – potentially reaching £2,500 or more,” said Oren Kander, senior valuer and director at Gaffsy. “Worse still, most home insurance policies won’t cover these repairs, leaving homeowners with an unexpected financial burden.”