Use a foam paint brush.

wow good idea

I keep poison ivy at bay with Poison Ivy killer, which is probably concentrated Roundup.

btw, I got a poison ivy rash last week - I think from petting the cat. I used Tea Tree Oil on it, full strength, several times a day, and it quit itching and quit oozing. There is still a long red mark on my arm, but it looks more like a scratch now than poison ivy.

Marti, is the poison ivy intertwined with any plants? Does the poison ivy killer destroy everything that it gets on? I have poison ivy growing among some plants in an outside bed and would really like to send it to poison ivy heaven or wherever it goes when it dies.

If I had poison ivy I'd use the soaking bucket method. You get a bucket and surround it with something heavy to keep it from tipping over. (I'd use bricks.) Then you take a piece of the LIVE, UNCUT vine and place it down in the bucket. Then fill the bucket with Round up so that the plant soaks it up. You'll also want to use a lid with a wedge cut in it to fit the vine, or something as a solid lid (piece of wood or metal) to hold the vine down in the bucket of round up. It stays that way until the vine has soaked up enough of the herbacide to die all the way underground to the roots. I hear you leave it this way for quite a while.

I have succesfully used the painting-on method with strangle vine and poison ivy. A foam brush or even a q-tip will work so you can avoid getting it on any desireable plants. Try to find the most concentrated glyphosphate (Round Up) you can. Check the bottle, you can often find 50% or better.

If the vines are huge and healthy, you may have to treat them more than once. The vine might appear to die, then sprout again from the roots. Just paint it again, and it will eventually die.

Hi, please be very careful around the roots of the poison ivy - the top may not be visible but the roots gave me a horrid case of rash that required steroids.

There's a Round-up specifically for poison ivy, shrubs, and trees that I've used with a foam paint brush on a number of things. It should kill anything that it touches, so be careful around wanted plants.

I am not as concerned with "touching" a wanted plant as I am with the roots being intertwined. This is a concern that I wish someone with more experience than I can answer for me.

Good question Carrie. I'm not sure about root grafting of big plants. I know that I've killed Bermuda that was wrapped around another plant (had to be underground too) without killing the second plant. I wonder if large shrubs or trees act differently than a grass/perenial mix up? Do they touch enough to graft and exchange chemicals? IDK?

Carrie I found an article. Don't get poison ivy killer on the other plants or it will kill them. You have to "paint" out the poison ivy being careful not to touch other plants or cut the ivy to the ground and spray/paint the stump without touching other plants. It takes several rounds to get it done.

Thanks, now I just need to decide if I want to take this chance.

I hear that Miss Carrie! I hate removing plants all tangled in my garden!

Yes, Poison Ivy killer will kill everything it touches. I think it's like extra strength Roundup. Using the method pjtexgirl suggested would work. With other vines, I have put some Roundup in a soda bottle & stuffed the tips of vines in there - and placed rocks around the bottle so it can't roll around. I've also put the bottle in a ceramic planter (empty) so it can't tip over. It works on the one plant without bothering any plants around it.

Another method that will work if the stems can be made accessable is Remedy RTU. It is a woody plant killer good for vines and trees. You brush it on the lowest 12" of the vine and it will be dead in a couple of days. It's safe for other plants because it's locally applied. Most feed stores have it or the coop in bryan, for sure. It'll be a bit pricey, probably 30.00 or so a gallon, but it goes far because of the local aplication and has a long shelf life.

To kill poison Ivy you need stump killer. Get a few large ziplock bags and make sure you are wearing clothing to protect you as well as gloves and stuff the ends of the vines in the ziplock bag and pour in the stump killer. Zip up the bag and fasten it well. You may have to go back later and add more. The vine will drink until it kills the roots.

Carrie, there seems to be some good evidence of root transfer of Roundup. It's been a long debated question on several forums. My feeling is that it does transfer, but would take quite a dose and the roots would have to be entangled.

I've had good luck getting rid of woody weeds by cutting them off at the base and applying a a drop of full strength broad leaf weed killer to the stump. (I'm not sure how closely related chemically broad leaf weed killer is to glyphosate, the active ingrediant in Roundup.) If the woody weed resprouts I apply a drop or two to the tender new growth and that usually takes care of it.

If you search the GW Weed Forum for 'Roundup' there are 15 pages of references. Here is one that addresses your question. There is one instance cited where some roses were affected by apparent root absorption of Roundup applied to a weed near by, but they recovered.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roundup regarding surrounding desired plants ...

Thanks, Roselee, I think I may try going a safer route if one can be found. I have too many plants that would be affected if this crossover should occur.

I have a question.
What does the root look like on a wisteria?
I dug down and found a root that looked like an alien baby!It was huge!!! There were pounds of them.That was last year and they are back!!!
How to get rid of them .They are in a neighbors yard , but find there way into mine ....I want them gone!!! There is also another vine that has stickers....Don't know what that is called.

What plants are growing near the alien baby root? That might help determine what it is.

We had a wild grape vine, and I used a product called Vine-X. Painted it on lower 6 inches of plant, and it killed it all. Good luck!

deisel