How to Remove Grapevines

Cut and pull away as much of the green, growing vine as you can reach. For garden grapes, you can probably reach most of the vine. However, don’t tug on a wild grapevine that is tangled high in a tree or you may severely damage the tree or cause limbs to fall.

Cut a garden grapevine about one foot above the ground with loppers or pruners. If the trunk is more than two inches in diameter or too large for loppers, use a pruning saw to sever it. For a wild grapevine that reaches into a tall tree, cut the grapevine trunk as high as you can comfortably reach, then cut again about one foot from the ground. The upper portion of the vine will die without the roots.

Dig up as much of the root system as you can with a sharp shovel. Use pruners or loppers as necessary to aid in cutting apart dense roots.

Follow the spread of the roots and vines along the ground and dig up as much as you can find. Grapevines regenerate quickly from remaining roots and stems if sunlight is available.

Inspect the areas where you removed grapevines in the spring and fall of following years. Remove any leaves that may appear. Look for lateral growth along the ground and dig it up. Without leaves to photosynthesize food, grapevines will die. By removing the foliage regrowth as it appears, you can “starve” the grapevines. Watch for and remove new grapevines that may sprout from seeds spread by birds.