"what about a chain-saw?" - takman

NOOOO!!! What ever you do never ever use a power tool to cut poison ivy vines. You'll instantly splatter the juice and oils all over the surrounding area and you. There is also the possiblity of raising a mist of juice in the air. If you inhale it you'll more than likely end up in the hospital. Same goes for any smoke from the burning vines.

If you must cut it then use something low-tech and low-impact. Use long shears, tree limb shears, or other levering cutter. Cut slowly on any vine over 1/4th an inch.

You should really go to the link I posted just above your post: http://www.poison-ivy.org/

It tells all about PI and has stories from other people. There are also picuters of different looking poison ivy plants and pictures of what happens when people allergic to it come into contact with it.

Remember, if you are not allergic to it and do not get the rash, your frineds and loved ones might. If you get the oils on you and then spread it around the house friend and family might not like that too well.

Believe me.. this is a true story,last Tuesday May 16th.2006,I had surgery on my hand
and all came out fine except, we (the doc's and I) thought I had a reaction to the meds because I broke out with a rash early the next morning on my face...red and blistery...well, I got to the local doc's office and they changes my meds( we're still thinking surgery related) for 2 days then Thursday, I met with the surgeon..he thought it looked like poison ivy but we changed the meds again and he put a warm wet splint cast on my arm and away I went home ..well,let me tell you before I got home my hand and wrist area REALLY started itching and blistering...do you know where the story is going????? yes.. I did indeed search my memory and remembered that Sunday (before the surgery) I went fiddleheading, and dug up wild flowers ..mowed a new patch of lawn..and yes, indeed today, Monday the 22,2006... I saw a doctor who said yep, you got a hellova dose of poison ivy on you.....(eight day later we figure it out!)Oh, the story of my life from my legs ALL THE WAY to my neck (let me tell you there's alot of me between the knee to neck area) ,mostly the sever part is my right wrist and arm, and yes it was my right hand that had the operation.... I'm such a pretty site!!!!(and no, there will be no pic's included!) Got to tell you after 25 years with husband, Jeff, he seems to be staying on his side of the bed quite well now! So the moral of this story is look out for Tuesday's for it take 12-48 hours for poison ivy to appear... All is OK and now, I find this last whole week just a humerous story ,got to tell you though,any new scratching that needs to be attended to, really makes me pay attention!
Cindy L. Jackson Maine

I've just read almost every posting on the page and still have one question. I, like many of the posters, have a number of locust trees here in central VA with forearm-thick poison ivy vines growing 15-30 feet up them. I am planning on taking action against them using a low-impact method and taking all the necessary precautions. The question, however, is this: Once I deal with the vines by cutting them, can I use the above-mentioned products (like Round-Up or Brush-b-Gone) WITHOUT doing any damage to the trees? The point for me, of dealing with the PI is to help the trees, they seem to have taken a beating from the PI. So, do I just cut the vines and deal with them that way, or do I cut them and then also apply some herbicide that will be safe for the locust trees?

Thanks in advance!

I, too, have been successful at controlling poison ivy plants using Roundup (also Ortho Brush-B-Gone.

Do not get allergy shots, or vaccinations if you have a poison ivy rash or your body can overreact to the shot.

Young box elder seedlings and shoots look a lot like poison ivy. The leaf form is almost identical. However box elder has 3-leaflet sets opposite each other on the stem unlike poison ivy. A lot of poison ivy has reddish stems.

regular, not ultra, Palmolive dish soap is very good to remove poison ivy, and it isn't as hard on the skin as Fels Naptha. I use Palmolive dishsoap diluted in water to clean my garden tools, followed by an oiling if needed.

We have been battling several acres of poison ivy here in New Hampshire
for the past 5 years. We discovered that mowing does not do much if you
only cut several times a year. Our goats help somewhat but they are
browsers and are anything but thorough. We don't believe in using
chemicals so that option is out of the question.

What has worked is hand pulling and intensive grazing. Root systems in
certain areas seem to pull up easily and in no time we had mountains of
roots drying in the sun. What little that does grow back can be easily
pulled the next time round.

In our pasture areas, putting lots of animals on a small space and
allowing them to graze it down to putting green length has worked wonders.
We got a new horse last spring who seems to enjoy eating poison ivy and would
happily clean up whatever anyone else left behind. After just one summer,
huge areas of persistent PI have vanished and only grass has returned this year.

I recently began helping a friend's mother reclaim her ~1 acre yard in southeast MA after many years of neglect after her divorce. I've battled the dreaded PI for 2 summers, only about 4 times per summer and have had quite a bit of success.

The Ivy was coming in from the neighbor's yard which is home to dozens of 5-8" thick hairy monsters climbing 40' into unsuspecting trees and even up their garage. It was easy to track how it all spread, and the surrounding woods and stone walls are just smothered in the stuff. The first thing I did last year was suit up and saw through the neighbor's vines that were overhanging the yard, spreading thousands of berries annually. Some areas in the yard had vines growing up oak trees and through some arbor vitae, so I used some good loppers and cut every one of them. I didn't treat any of the stumps I cut, but none of them have shown any signs of regrowth. Areas where there are runners covering the ground I sprayed with good old roundup in a 2 gal sprayer. I used the super concentrate which is just 50.2% Glyphosate:

http://www.roundup.com/index.cfm/event/ProductGuide.product/documentId/c05f89183aca85e98c0310c4f823da48

with good/great results, and have since switched to their poison ivy killer which has 2% Triclopyr (what's in brush b gone) and 18% Glyphosate (regular roundup):

http://www.roundup.com/index.cfm/event/ProductGuide.product/documentId/1c47822e380daf9bbdb20570cf00d81b

which does a little better job on larger woodier runners. I would probably have used Brush B Gone, but I never happened upon it at stores, and the less potent products were working quite well. I used almost double the potency suggested for the super concentrate, and found it worked quite a bit better than regular dilution.

I should note that these both claim "rainproof in 30 minutes", and this seems to be nearly true. I had it rain pretty hard about 45 minutes after I finished spraying, and everything I sprayed that day still died in 2 weeks.

There is still work involved in collecting the dead branches off of trees and a shed, and we're throwing down a good 4" of loam over most of the areas previously covered by low runners to avoid bagging a half acre of dead PI, but I have not had one itch due to PI (although many due to mosquito bites while out in the yard). I'm confident I can teach my friend's mother to spray any new plants, and I can assure her she won't have to touch a bit of the stuff (oh, does she ever break out).

Anyway, the PI problem is under control now, but will never really disappear from that yard until new neighbors appear and all the surrounding woodland is transformed into suburbia. I'll take the PI any day.

What do I do after I spray PI with Round Up? When is it safe for people to walk through or play in the area? I don't know if I'm allergic or not but my husband and at least one of my five children are. I afraid to let my children (all under nine) go near the trees in our yard until I know it's safe. I've been spraying over the past month and most of the leaves are brown.

After a childhood of seemingly being ammune to PI -- we used to walk through patches of it at my grandparents cottage in Northern Ontario -- I have had repeated brushes with it the last couple of summers in Southern NH. There's about a 10-15 wide by 50-60 foot long patch of it immediately behind (which used to extend onto) my yard. Apparently, we must also have the vine and/or bush varieties around here too, as 2 of the cases I have gotten over the last couple of months have resulted from wanders in the woods, rather than work at the back of our property.

The Rhuli gel someone spoke about above -- rebranded by J&J as Oak & Ivy Calagel -- will work to dry your rash out. But it didn't seem to do much for the itch. Two things that have successfully kept the itch down are (1) an antihistamine every 6-8 hours & (2) Gold Bond Extra Strength lotion -- in the green bottle, about $7 at Wal-Mart for a 14 oz pump. A healty application of the lotion will soothe the itch for up to 6, even 8, hours. It lets you get through the night and helps tame the itch while at work...whether you're taking a steriod or not.

My experience seems to suggest that washing with dishsoap after you come in is also helpful. I always scrub my hands and forearms with dishsoap and a nail cleaning brush when I come in from doing anything in the garden. None of my PI rash has been below the elbows.

What I am wondering, though, is whether you can use "plant warfare" as a long-term solution? In effect, crowd out the plants by introducing something else (the same way purple loostrife takes over in marshes) ?? The area with the PI isn't on my property, so I'm not about to go plant and maintain grass there, or put a lot of time and money into spraying it to oblivion. So I'm interested in some other low/no-maintenance alternative...

For instnace, daylillies grow and multiply very well here. A couple of rhyzomes can grow into a dense ball of fibrous roots in just a couple of years. Based on the transplanting I've done (I've harvested all of my lily plants from the side of the road!), they seem tough as nails and will grow (though not flower, or flower as much) in full shade and a wide variety of soil & moiture conditions. But would they outcompete the PI ????

Hello everyone!
This has been a goldmine of information. I've been taking notes on what to do to protect us and kill the poison ivy from our yard. My husband has had several cases of p.i. outbreak since his initial one several years ago and on the last one he had driven his riding lawnmower too close to our fig trees and scratched his arm pretty bad. To our surprise he developed a severe case of poison ivy from that! We found out that fig tree is in the same family or related somehow. We also visit the Virgin Islands on vacation and have discovered (second hand thank goodness!) that mango is also related in some way and that several people who were already suseptable to p.i. had had very bad cases from touching the skin and juice of the mango! I pass up the mangos in Walmart now and have cut down our small fig trees. Just thought I'd pass this information on in case it helped someone.
Paula

we have poison oak, which is similar. i'm from minnesota, though, and we had it there in abundance. i work outdoors, doing restoration of native habitat, and come into contact nearly daily with poison oak. here's my advice:

1) when exposed, use Technu (hardware stores usually sell it) to removal the oils, but this must be done within one hour of exposure because the oils soak into the dermal layer (below the outer surface of your skin) by then, and you'll get the rash regardless of how well you scrub. follow the directions (apply soap to skin before water, etc.). i usually do it twice. the forearms are very absorbent and you can get a case systemically because of all the vascular tissues there. i usually get it in the creases of my elbows, but have had it MUCH worse places. some people believe in gradually adjusting your body by using it to make tea. i think this is a bad idea, as thraot tissues can absorb the oils and become inflamed, as well.
2) foliar application of roundup to PO (poison oak) doesn't usually have 100% efficacy because it 'burns' the leaves without translocation into the root/stem tissue well enough to kill the plant. i recommend using a cut-stump application (cut the stem, then paint on the chemical immediately). MAKE SURE YOU WEAR NITRILE GLOVES. latex doesn't provide a sufficient barrier for herbicides. the label will tell you what "personal protective equipment" is necessary. there are other options aside from glyphosate (roundup), some are thick and applied to bark, some are oil-based, etc. be choosy and specific about what you use. herbicides are formulated according to physiology of specific plants, and vary in safety for people applying them.
*NOTE: the formulation available commercially is much stronger than roundup pro, so i recommend looking up the MSDS/label on the web and reading the entire thing. you should know what you're spreading in the environment, especially if you have wildlife or water nearby. a dilution may be necessary, and the label will give directions by species (or call the toll-free info number and ask them).*

It has been mentioned a couple of times by others with no response so let me try it again. For small patches of poison Ivy, just cover it up with a large tarp. Even posion ivy can not live without light. Round up works as well as the often mentioned brush killer but, it must be made into a stronger concentration. If you buy the super concentrated formulation in the larger sizes, a gallon or more, it is much cheaper than the brush killer. Try putting full strength Round Up immediately on the large vines that climb trees where you have cut in the spring when the plants are actively growing. This sometimes kills the plants and prevents shoots from popping out from the roots. You can use a small hand held sprayer that was used for glass cleaner for example, one of the better hand held sprayers that has a lever used often by janitorial services or, use a paint brush. This also works well with trees that have a tendency to sprout from the trunk such as Sweet Gum or Maple. As a veteran of the PI wars, I have found some success with these methods.

The insidious poison ivy vine sneaks up a tree.Oh, the humanity! {{gwi:1354137}}

Very informative thread -- I've learned a lot. My specific question concerns the aerial PI vines, thick and hairy, that have attached to our tallest pines and go way up. I have a healthy respect for this nasty stuff and plan to kill it with triclopyr, then dig the roots (although I am amazed at how the roots travel and branch out. This will be a long-term project), bag them, and take them to the dump. BUT HOW TO GET RID OF THE HAIRY THINGS GROWING UP THE TREES? Some of them actually jump to neighboring trees (we're in central NC). I know the urushiol stays active for a long time after the PI is dead, so want to handle them as little as possible. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Itchy_2007

This is what I do and it works.

I buy generic Round-Up (glyphosate) in 41% concentrate (that is the common agricultural pre-blend strength). You can buy it most often in 2.5ga containers at Farm stores (TSC, Farm&Fleet, etc). With Monsanto's patent on glyphosate expired this chemical has dramatically come down in price. I would never buy "Round-Up" again at a Lowe's or Home Depot, WalMart, etc. Not when generic is so cheap. You may be able to find it this year in gallon containers at about $20 per.(again, for 41% concentrate).

I add water to the 41% glypho to achieve a 5% concentration (the booklet that comes with the container gives measures. I then spray all ground PI with this 5% mix. I have also added a couple table-spoons per gallon of Tide non-sudsing detergent as a surfactant additive to help the plants absorb the spray.

5% kills all ground cover PI within 10days to two weeks...quicker if done during real hot weather. A 4% mix will do it too but not as effectively.

For the long ropy vertical vines ----and I have plenty of them (or HAD plenty) ---I use a long machete to sever the vine close to the base. I then used a small hand held commercial-grade sprayer to apply the pure glyphosate (the 41% concentrate) to the cut stump.

I do most of my vine PI work in mid to late July after the flowers have set....and then right up to about October 1st. I then just leave the vines to rot off the tree. It takes about 3yrs. I have gotten a rash from these dead vines in the second year after the treatment....but it seems to be mild dose. Sometimes with this ropy vine treatment I'll go back the following summer and give the base of the tree a quick spray of 5% solution to kill the small vines than come off of the cut stump. But then it is dead for good. Seems to not come back again in that spot.

With the ground cover PI I spray whenever the new leaves are bright green and glossy. Again, I try to pick a hot day....as it appears to aid in the plant's absorption of the chemical.

Your normal precautions when handling chemicals or PI apply: With the machete I button my collar & cuffs, wear good gloves, a bandana around my exposed neck, and keep a bottle of water in my back pocket for a quick wash in case a flying PI chip hits my face.

And then as far as the rash: Yes, hot water is cheap & quick relief. But nothing works (for me) like Zanfel.

PS....for those folks who grasp the roots and pull them out by hand.....well, good luck. I wouldn't try that on a bet...ever. The only contact I want with PI is at the end of the machete.

Swimming in a commercial chlorine pool work great to dry it up fast. I used to work at a pool and saw this all the time, as well as experiencing it myself. It's not just a dab as you would do with bleach on a cloth, when you go swimming you are in there foar at least 1/2 hour.

A friend told me that you could kill poison ivy plants by spraying them with a mixture of ivory liquid soap and water. I have read most of the posts on this site and have not seen anything about such a remedy.

Is this an urban myth, or is there something to it.

Thanks.

Ivory liquid soap and water ...hmmm... I doubt it. But hey, try it and let us know. If it doesn't work, at least the PI will be very clean.

I might have discovered the ultimate PI killer, as well as other weeds. I am in the draft beer service business, and I decided to try my draft line cleaner, along with some salt and dish soap. Just to see what would happen. Well, I was overjoyed with the results. I made the first application late in the afternoon, and the next morning the leaves were brown on the tips and starting to shrivel. So a few days later, I made another application in the early am. By 6 pm the leaves were back...and could be crushed in your hand...3 weeks later...and no new growth if anything. The chemical make up of beer line cleaner is sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. My solution was 16 oz of beer line cleaner, quarter cup salt and a small bit of dish soap to 2 gallons of Hot water. It will kill what ever it hits. So be careful. You can get beer line cleaner on the internet or at any place that sells draft beer equipment. A quart will cost about $13 or so. Now no long term trials have been done..so I don't know if I have sterilized my soil. Hope this helps everyone.

if you go to www.oralivy.com you can buy an extract to take before the season starts, and it will elinate or greatley reduce the effects. there ia also a lotion over the counter thatis appproved by the us food and drug admin. call bentoquatam that you apply on exposed skin 15 minute before coming in contac with poision ivy. i am a slow typer sorry. have a great day and hopes this helps

We have a few plants and some runners at our church. I sprayed it today with RoundUp, but I'm wondering what else I can do. I cannot tear it down because I'm so allergic to it. The runners have grown on an abandoned house's siding and are growing sideways on this house. I sprayed the stuff out of 'em with the Roundup, but wonder what more I need to do. The RoundUp I bought was in a large container, ran about $13 and has a nozzle attached to the bottle that you simply "snap" in place.

I *have* to get rid of this stuff. We will be tearing the abandoned house down this coming spring. Any advice? And also what do I do with the vines and such that we pulled from the house and had planned on burning? Thanks!

BTW, we are *not* going to burn it now, due to the wonderful advice y'all gave. It's hard to believe how deadly this stuff can be!

Hi..i am new here and have read all the wonderful things and ways to kill the poison ivy. I know it is so hard to kill and i sure do wish some company would come out with something that would only kill the PI. The house next door to me has a lot of PI and this summer with the strong storm we had it knocked down the tree that had at least a 2-3 inch vines on it. I was glad to see that part of the PI gone but he has so much that it has been growing up so badly by the side of my garage.
I am like most of you here highly allergic to PI and i do get severe cases like tis yr i got it and then i got the hives with it also and it took about a month to get over it. That sure was no fun at all and expensive too going back and forth to the Dr.
I wil have to say that i have used the BRUSH BE GONE FOR PI AND ROUND UP HERE and i can tell you that if you use it a couple of yrs in a row the PI gets use to it. I have been fighting this PI for a lot of yrs now...i use not to be allergic to it but had gotten my first case about 10 yrs ago or so and the dr told me that what happens is that our imune system changes when we get older and i have found that to be so true...
I am going to try some of the things i have read here to try and get rid of the PI on my property.....BUT I SURE DO HOPE THAT SOMEONE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT WE COULD BUY TO GET RID OF IT PERMANENTLY AFTER ONE SEASON. LET ME KNOW IF ANY FINDS ANYTHING OUT..

Ok, I'm going to try this again...

to Brightwood and anyone else with a PI rash,

Thank you so much!!!! I have been up all night in tears with the severe itch of poison ivy that I got in the woods chasing a runaway kid (I work at a residential treatment facility). Nothing had worked including the Ivy Dry my avid gardner father swears by and the doc's scripts. I went to an all night CVS and picked up ZANFEL.

YOU ARE MY HERO. Honest to goodness.

I have no more itch. I can actually sleep. I really cannot thank you enough! It's expensive, but totally worth it! Thank you thank you thank you!

Bless you, and have a wonderful and PI free day

Hi I am new to this site and have found it to be very helpful. I personally ahve never had a reaction to PI and I am 41 But my husband gets it 4-5 times a year. He has a very bad case right now . He has gone to the doctors and got a shot and 2 meds. After he got the shot the rash has gotten so much worse. Anyone know why? He just put the medicated powder on it and he says that works better than the cream he got from the doc. Thanks for all the info.

I have never had a rash b/c I have only seen the plant about 3 times until recently.I learned what it looked like in scouts,and have heard horror stories from my parents,so I have always stayed way clear of it, until recently while doing some long overdue yard work for my great aunt.
My great Aunt has about 15 HUGE rose bushes in back of her house,growing up about 2/3 of the 3 story house,extending about 20 ft into the yard,about 8ft tall at the edge,and severely infested with Poisen Ivy.
I don't wish to kill the rose bushes but I will if I have to...A group of kids decided to pick flowers for their moms for the 4th of July,and ALL got bad rashes.
If anybody has ANY advice to save the bushes but out the IVY,please let me know....and thankyou all for your time

Now that I am working on getting rid of my poison ivy, any suggestions on how to prevent my neighbor's PI from encroaching? He's trying, too, but it doesn't seem to be a committed effort.

Poison Ivy is covering my fence line at my new home and I have three dogs who love to roll in it and rub against it and then against me. I do not want to have to be washing them down each and every time they come in from outside.

But I am highly sensitive to all the poison plants so right now I am battling a rash that will not go away went to doctor and am now on the steroid pills and tropical cream treatment. My immune system has no defense over them any more, each outbreak last longer and is more severe and I do not want to be on steroids for the rest of my life.

I read in the earlier posting where pureeing the Impatients plants except for the roots and boiling them and using it as a suave to help with get rid of the rash

But has anyone tried this concoction as a way of eliminating the plants themselves? What about pouring the concoction directly on the existing poison ivy plants to kill the bushes and vines has anyone tried this?? Do you think it would help eliminate the bushes and keep them from coming back?

I was also thinking about planting the Impatients next to my fence line where the poison Ivy is so that the Impatients take over that area, do you think it would coke out the ivy prevent them from coming back??
Has anyone tried this? I am thinking of sacrificing some Impatients tonight if I can find some, my friend also suggested just pouring boiling water on the plants to kill them might try that too. Thinking outside the box here and need some old time remedies and solutions, I dont do the chemicals around my animals if I can help it.

Use the new Round Up Poison Ivy spray..It works.I have ivy all around my house and have used the Round up.It killed the plant and killed the other ivy plants that are connected..This spray has been a god send.

I think that anyone who pulls poison ivy with their bare hands or even gloved hands and advises others to do the same thing is not very sensitive to poison ivy. I have a poison ivy root growing in my favorite lettuce bed and will have to find another place to plant lettuce or kill the root because I have now gotten a rash twice from planting lettuce there both times. Someone has asked what to do with the hairy vines that grow up the trees. Others have described elaborate and expensive plans to rid many acres of the vines assuming that everyone who reads this thread has the same endless supply of time, resources and wealth. I lost my job as a hotel maid, and now I am growing watermelons on my mother's property to sell them at roadside markets. While I wait for the watermelon vines to grow, I have to cut limbs from a nearby tree to get sunlight to the watermelon bed. That tree has hairy poison ivy vines growing up it, and I need to find the most inexpensive plan to rid the tree of that vine because I may have to climb the tree to cut a branch. So what did I do today while I surveyed how I would get the branch cut? I used my pruning shears and cut the vine at the base. Bleach is cheap, and after reading this thread I will use the bleach that I already have on hand to soak that vine's stump to see what it does to it. I will cut all the vines that look like they can be removed with the same cutting shears and throw the vines over a fence. I have no magic formula for removing the vine and I am afraid of the plastic bag idea because it sounds like too much handling, and some of the stuff might rub against me in spite of my best efforts to avoid it. Benedryl taken before the venture sounds like a cool idea, and now that I know this, I might get brave and try more stuff. I already have some of that on hand. Fred's Dollar Store has an imitation Zanfel in a white box with blue and green and black letters that only cost $5. However, I do not have that much cash in my pocket at this time. Furthermore, Freds Dollar Store is located in I think about fifteen states, but I am sure there is some inexpensive imitation Zanfel in a store like it near you. I don't know what I will do with that cut vine either, but I know it did not cost me anything to cut it. The cheapest way that I have tried to get urushiol off my pruning shears was to stand them up in the dirt beneath my feet because I figured that it rubs off into the dirt. I do not know if it worked because I have not touched the blade since I did that, but you can't beat it for a cheap idea.

I have personally found Round Up to be of no big help. The poision ivy just keeps coming back. The BEST course of action I have taken that has worked wonders is using a garden rake-with about 4 metal tines? I take it and rake near the poision ivy in all directions around it. This inevitably pulls up the vine that is connected and running on the surface of the ground but is hidden from my sight by grass/weeds. I keep pulling! This usually takes me to another poision ivy center popping up above the grass.

The stuff on my property has all grown in this manner, and if yours is similar you should have luck with this technique. Only AFTER pulling up the roots (I wrap them around the rake while pulling), I spray them with round up and bag them in a garbage bag. DON'T burn them! It spread the oil in the air and is dangerous. Good luck!

Mertsie,
I've had excellent results getting rid of poison ivy with RoundUp. The generic glyphosate is much less expensive if you have to tackle a large area. If RoundUp didn't work for you, I'd guess that either your mixture was too weak (never use the premixed, ready-to-spray stuff recommended for easy-to-kill grass) or your RoundUp was bad (old, contaminated by dirty mixing water, etc). Also, time of year can make some difference. My success rate getting rid of massive amounts of this plant with RoundUp is way too good for me to doubt its effectiveness.

For those of you who don't know, poison ivy can be transmitted to the skin via air, (wind) smoke, and probably in other ways. You do not have to touch it to get a good dose of it. I have it in my woods too, and found that Round-up will work to kill it out, but you have to give it about three good doses. I also found out that when I have touched the plant, or otherwise come in contact with it, that a good sit in the hot tub with highly chlorinated water will keep an outbreak from happening. It seems the chlorine kills it on the skin before it has time to create the rash. Maybe using Chlorine granules such as is used in hot tubs would be a good wash for arms and legs even if you don't have a hot tub. Just fill a bucket with hot water, add the granules until they dissolve, and wash thoroughly rubbing the skin gently with this solution. Hope this works for you, let me know.

I'd suggest at least taking a good shower before getting into the hottub. I've hard of people spreading the urushiol in the tub. I can just imagine introducing it into a hottub and then having a family member jump in and get it on them. I have no idea if/how chlorine would break up the urushiol, but it wouldn't "kill" it. Urushiol is an oil and isn't alive. Maybe the chlorine could provide some "degreasing" effect; I don't know about that.

has anyone had success in choking poison ivy out with plants like horseradish?

Anthony

years ago we were told to use water softener salt on an area that had poison ivy, we figured why not because we had tried every thing else. We poured a whole bag of salt around a lilic tree stump and it killed the PI and it never came back.

Put a whole bag of salt on any plant and it will kill it but you won't be able to grow anything else in that area.

Hi Everyone, what a great thread!
Here are my questions I am hoping someone(s) will help to answer:
* We have a few vines of PI in a few different areas of the yard. Once I spray with Round Up Concentrate and all is dreid up - what is the best way to remove?
* If the dogs happen to run against it - how long does it stay "alive" on their coat?
* Our yard is mostly weeds - once the vines/plants are dried and removed, is it smart to plant some grass seed in attempt to not allow the PI return?
* We have vines of Virginia Creeper growing through the yard which I heard is most likely to contain PI as well. Open to suggestions on controling this so we can enjoy our new space!
* With the vines on the trees - if not removed and allowed to rot, does the oil die? Or is it more dangerous to being disturbed and spread?

Look forward to your replies - thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way late to post, but I have heard that the oil in poison ivy can take a couple of years to break down.

Virginia creeper is a different plant, and not poisonous. It just likes the same growing conditions as PI so people confuse the two, to my knowledge.

I have had excellent results getting rid of poison ivy by using Triclopyr. Its sold under several brand names and is available in bigbox stores. I don't spray it. Spraying risks killing the neighbor plants or the trees near the poison ivy. Instead, I pour a bit into a glass and paint a bit onto a few leaves. The plant absorbs it and circulates it through the whole plant including the roots. A week or two later and its dead. Its tedious but effective and beats trying to uproot poison ivy. For really big thick vines, cut some gashes through the bark into the vine and paint the wounds. This method sometimes requires several reapplications because the vine is so big but it works. Triclopyr is also deadly on honeysuckle but I will spray it onto honeysuckle. Now, if it would also work on english ivy...

We are closing on a new house in mid-August. Being a gardening newbie, I did not realize until recently that the backyard is completely overgrown with poison ivy.

Our backyard is about 0.6 acres of land (so very small compared to others on this site). But I have 2 curious preschool-aged children who love exploring in the woods and picking random leaves. I'm terrified of letting them loose in the new yard.

What am I realistically looking at? I know I will have missed the window to treat during the spring growing season.

How does one permanently remove poison ivy? My husband suggested that we cut the trees near the property, kill the PIT with round up, and then roll grass sod over the area. For the rest of the yard, he suggested putting down landscape fabric and mulch. Will this work?

I'm kind of bummed at this solution, since I had envisioned growing a woodland garden filled with fun native plants. But the safety of my young ones come first!

Thanks so much!

Hello,

I live along a creek in No.Cal. that runs into the county reservoir. We are in severe drought conditions. The creek dries as soon as rain stops. I have a long narrow 4 acres that completely parallel the creek 1 side & road the other. I have huge thickets of wild blackberry & massive amts. of poison oak & stinging nettle. 10 yrs. ago I had goats; otherwise I have left it all alone so wildlife has refuse. Now medically unemployable & have become more interested in hurgenkulture. I want to cut the dead oaks, over grown 50'Xmas trees and place them along the creek bed. I will being cutting the willow trees & bringing up to dry. If I spray brush be gone numerous times, when poison oak is dried & dead I lay the logs in piles over where p.o. was, cover with dried willow sticks & other dead sticks, compost, leaves, manure, dirt a few inches of top soil; will the poison oak grow through into my hugelkultur gardens. Ultimately my goal is to plant almost 1/10 mile of creekbed with these beds. They are drought resistant gardens for as the trees stumps hold water & release it they eliminate almost all watering. I plan to plant gardens most distant from the house with blueberry, currants, gooseberry and grapes. Then potatoes, onion, garlic, melons, squash and finally nearest gardens with tomato, peas,beans, and other daily veggies. Would it be best to use product that sterilizes creek bank soil killing poison oak, nettle & blackberry first? My husband is a firefighter & on the big wildland fires has gotten systemic poison oak. I always pray he doesn't get it in his lungs. Many of the firefighters have become highly sensitized. Thank you, Moni

Moni, I just yesterday read about "hurgenkulture". I must say, an interesting set of ideas and one near and dear to things I've done in the past-not knowing they had such a name and backlog of info!

Best of luck with your venture.

+oM

Let me testify that poison ivy can turn on you with a vengeance. I went from no reaction at all to a major allergic reaction the next year. It is so bad that it leaves scars.

Now let me pass on some advice that a very mature seasoned lady gardener passed on to me.

When you come in from gardening immediately strip in front of the washer and throw in everything and wash it in hot water. Immediately climb into a bathtub of warm water with 2 cups of Clorox in it and soak.

She never has poison ivy, chigger bites, ticks or any other skin nuisances.

For what it's worth.

Oh, and whatever you do don't gather it up and burn it! My brother did that and his allergic wife went out to talk to him and inhaled the smoke. She nearly died. She was in the hospital for over a month.

Proceed with great caution around that evil stuff.

Tehcnu Rash Relief spray is the cat's meow!!! It will numb the area then dry it out. Wash immediately after contact with the plant with the technu scrub. Once you have it the scrub doesn't help as much but the spray is a miracle worker!!

Anyone know if using lime to alter the ph will do-in poison ivy? I don't have any to try it on but some of our public recreational lands need major help so I am looking for alternatives.

Helpful Hint #1 - Never gather poison ivy cuttings into a pile and burn it and inhale the smoke. My sister in law went out as my brother was burning it and breathed in the smoke. She was in intensive care for several weeks.

Helpful Hint #2 - My mother got rid of a large patch of PI using this method. She filled several large soup cans with Round Up. Then she would find the end of a PI vine and stick it down into the roundup and weigh it down with something to keep it in the can. It killed that particular vine all the way back to the roots. Everytime she saw green PI she would repeat this process until one day - Voila! No poison ivy remained.

Anyone know if using lime to alter the ph will do-in poison ivy?

No.

How about getting a few goats or renting some...Don't they eat everything!