How to Kill Ivy in Yard or Flowerbeds

To get rid of ivy, such as English Ivy and make a new flowerbed in its place, follow the steps below.  It is best to start this process in either the spring, or during a dry winter:

1. Spray the ivy with brush killer.  Make sure that the spray is designed for woody-stemmed brush, not just plain weed killer/defoilater.  Make sure that you include a sticking agent in the sprayer.  Follow the instructions for the brush killer that you purchase.
2. Re-spray the ivy twice, waiting seven days between each application.  That will total three applications (first application, wait seven days, second application, wait seven more days, third application).
3. Wait for the leaves to turn shrivel up and turn brown.
4. If possible, mow the ivy once the leaves are brown.  Beware of hidden stumps or rocks in the ivy bed that could ruin your mower.  Set the mower to the highest level possible.  The idea is to reduce the amount that you have to remove by defoliating and destroying many of the vines.
5. Once defoliated, wait 14 days or so for the newly-exposed vines to dry up.  This will make them much more likely to break than to be flexible.
6. Either use a rototiller or a stone rake and pull the vine-roots up by hand.  The rototiller is best, but will tangle if the roots/vines are still too green.  Once they die off and dry enough, they will be more apt to break up and less likely to wrap around the tines.
7. Once the ivy is clear, test the soil to figure out what nutrients will need to be added, as Ivy tends to deplete many nutrients and thrives in poor soil.

source:  http://www.greenthumbmomma.com