There is probably no need to remove the ivy from the upper portions of the tree. I use a hand saw and cut about one foot above ground and again about four feet above ground being careful to not cut the tree bark. Remove all of the cut ivy and the rest of the ivy in the tree will die and over the next few years will fall from the tree. Dead ivy in the tree is no problem. The ivy will grow again from it's roots and will need spraying with Roundup at least 3 times when it has leaves during the growing season. Some of the ivy I removed was 3 inches in diameter.
The photos are of a white oak on our property that had english ivy clear to it's top. This tree is about 3ft. in diameter breast high. About 4 years ago I cut the ivy off in a band like I've suggested above. I found chainsaw cuts in the bark from previous attempts at killing this ivy. Using a hand saw and a couple of hours I was able to remove this ivy without cutting the bark.
