Poison Ivy - how to get rid of it

[hmm]

Hello all

So this is my really first post of a new thread. (also somewhat new here)

I was just in the yard and found PI - yuck

Ok - i am not pulling it out. I would like a spray or something that works.

Any suggestions? the product should be over the counter and easy to use.

OR is there another thread with additional information

thanks all

hmm

[sotc]

round up

[lumberjack]

Round Up +1

[Skwerl]

Yes, Roundup is the stuff. It's systemic, absorbed through the leaves. Don't bother spraying the dirt because it does nothing that way. Just wet the leaves.

[Frans]

Brush-Be-Gone. Round up is a bit weak for poison oak and ivy.

Also apply the herbicide during the fall when the plant is translocating energy down to the roots (brush be gone and round up are systemic). This way you get a better kill of the roots instead of just burning the leaves.

If you must apply now, attempt to buy a 'Contact Herbicide'. You may need to find someone with a license to buy it for you. Or hire a company to do it for you.

If you do use round up at this time of year, buy a thickener which is a product that increases 'stickyness' of the product. I also like to use a colorant so I know where I have sprayed. No sense in over spraying and wasting the product.

Like Skwerl said, apply until just before run off on the leaves.
Spraying on a hot day is better because the cells of the leaves are open.

[lumberjack]

Yep, foliage or injected, definitely not a soil drencher. Figure you need to wet half the leaves, more is fine and less can be pushing it.

Ivy is fairly tender, a weaker solution will do the job (similar to grass). We buy the 41% concentrate and mix it according to our needs.

[Frans]

Interesting! I did not know that the 'cuticle' of poison ivy leaves is tender and soft.

Here we have poison oak. The leaves are softer and less waxy than say, English ivy, but they are still tough leaves. Unless you get them when they just come out.

I have clients who have spent years and years trying to get rid of the stuff.

[sawinredneck]

If all else fails there is always 2-4D and deisel on a hot sunny day!
It ain't right, but it works!

[xtremetrees]

Hmm just private andy, andy knows alot!
Why is tree killing on a tree health thread!>? :0 :P
I guess I could see how it fits yo, kinda like "How to get rid of Kudzu:"
I will say ."we we eat the poision ivy plant so we can become one with, sure it taste bad for a few days but, it is therefore the reason for abscence of affliction"
Save the Poision ivy! When i say eat the plant sure just one half a small leaf, dont be chewing on the waxy ones, and dont kiss your wife after you eat it.IF you want to be a great stewart of forest when your friends come over just sit rite down in a patch of poision ivy and explain.
Where are you from in GA hummm?

[top hopper]

and here I thought this was gonna be a rope giveaway.

[MasterBlaster]

I thought someone was unhappy with their new PI rope, too.

[hmm]

No, I enjoy climbing on my PI.

It's that invasive vine that is what needs to be gone.

thanks for the suggestions.

hmm

[okietreedude]

for killing the poison ivy, i use 41% glyphosphate (round up, but I buy the off brand) mixed at 6oz/gal. to that i add trimec at 3oz/gal and a sticking agent (surfking).

Its really strong, but it works like magic.

if you have it growing in large vines up the side of a tree, youll need to cut the vine and apply something like tordon rtu. spraying the above mix on a non-leafy vine wont do you any good. when cutting, make sure NOT to cut into the tree and dont overapply the tordon. it will kill the tree too if you get it on it. You probably wouldnt have to cut the vine in two, just scar it up.

good luck!

[treelooker]

why not just pull it? Roots come right out if the soil is soft.

[hmm]

i've had the itch and really do not want it again. I have pulled a bit as the soil is more decomposed leaves so that is easy to remove, BUT it is gaining on me. I figure use something so I can keep it under some type of control ( sure keep nature undercontrol)

hmm

[lumberjack]

Depending on how much it is, Round Up and a 25 gallon sprayer (or bigger) with an electric pump makes for a quick death. It's what we do for controlling vegetation, drive the golf cart around squiting as we go, before you know it you're done :)

[Bodean]

I agree with that guy,

Get evil and pull it up by the roots.
Try gloves too.

That's just me though.:)

[MasterBlaster]

But some super sensitive types don't wanna touch it, gloves or no gloves.

[Frans]

why not just pull it? Roots come right out if the soil is soft.

Because this plant spreads by rhizomes (and seeds).

That is why everyone is recommending systemics.

[lumberjack]

That and it's easier to just spray. No mess to clean up either.

[sawinredneck]

But some super sensitive types don't wanna touch it, gloves or no gloves.

My mother even breathes the stuff her lungs get infected!! Seriously alergic to the stuff!!
Me, I can roll around in it, but poison Oak, I am toast!!

Even trying to burn it off can get a lot of people infected, it can be nasty stuff!!

[hmm]

Where are you from in GA hummm?


currently living up 400 at the end - where the roads meet the hills that are called mountains.

pretty up here

hmm

[sotc]

Me, I can roll around in it, but poison Oak, I am toast!!



that seems odd, its the same oil i think on both plants. urushiol or some such oil

[sawinredneck]

that seems odd, its the same oil i think on both plants. urushiol or some such oil

And I can't argue that, but it's true!! I can climb, drop and load a tree covered in ivy and be fine, I go fishing and get into Oak, I am covered with sposts and have to see a doctor!

[woodworkingboy]

I hate working when wearing long sleeves during the hot months, and we have poison oak/ivy all over in the woods...and around vacation homes. They use the urishii sap for lacquer work, but I'm very susceptible to getting the swelling and itch when contacting the stuff. Just a caution to you guys who don't get infected after contact, that can all change after one good exposure, and then forever after you can get it. Getting it on your privates is some kind of torture, take my word for it! Home remedies: If you get in the shower and flow water as hot as you can stand on it, it takes away the itch for a number of hours, even though it can itch bad while you are doing that. Regular household washing bleach, diluted to half strength with water, then put on the swelling a number of times per day, helps to stop the itching, and will dry out the rash in a few days. That's what I find works best for me.

[darkstar]

urushiol oil it all good its all the same.
The giant pagoda in china is painted with what???

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Urushiol is real heavy duty sh*t. It only takes 1 billionth of a gramme, sorry gram to cause a rash. And apparently it would take just a 1/4 of an ounce to cause a rash for every person on the planet (if we were all allergic that is). Anyone else reading July's 'The Tree Worker'?

[CurSedVoyce]

We use Remuda here that is basically a stronger round up. 6oz to the gallon. There are also a few other things we do to prep the site to kill it more effectively. First we cut it at the base and if in trees, try to pull all we can out of the tree. Ground cover, we cut and pull it by the roots if possible. this will minimize what you will have to spray come spring. We start this process in late summer, fall and winter as the plant becomes dormant (leaves turn red on PO) Sap will be less present and it is cooler weather for wearing full clothing, protective suits and gloves Tyvek suite works good and is cheap and you throw it away). Chipping and burning are bad for those who have bad reactions. We chip and burn it here as Rob and I don't react much to it and neither does the crew. The ones that do don't last.. LOL Clean up is a must and use a 6 hour rule. You been in it go shower after 6 hours to minimize your reaction. Tech nu and many other remedies are available to help. Bleach, Rubbing alcohol and astringents also work well in cutting the oils. Remember, the oil can penetrate your epidural layers in 10 minutes min.. The more you react, the more you should wash with dove or ivory and or alcohol to help cut it and dry it out. Mix salt with the soap BTW. DO NOT USE SCRUBBING TYPE PAD, be gentle. Cold water so pores don't open.
Next phase is spraying. We will spray two times a year in conjunction with phase three. First in spring when it is sprouting fresh leaves, but after any rains. I want a week of no rain to let the spray to penetrate. Warm days also .. I spray above 75 degrees F. Next spraying for PO is then in July right before it goes dormant so that it takes what poison it gets back to the roots as it is taking its nutrients there also before fall from the leaves.
Phase three... Weed eat or brush growth in between spraying to help starve the roots.
Most success we have seen is if you can be religious about spraying and hit it biweekly. Homeowners do this here and have good luck with it.
PO and PI takes years to eradicate and will still come back up from the smallest of live root or seed. Diligence is the key.

Note: only 10 percent of the population has little or no reaction to PO or PI. 10 percent of fire fighter workmans comp is from PO/PI inhalation during wild land fires. And is often times a permanent disability. PO/PI sap/oils are 5 year residual on rocks and trees, let alone the dead sticks of the stuff.
The oil/sap reaction is the T cell attacking it (you have a good immune system).

[Che]

"was just in the yard and found PI - yuck"

While Round-Up will work, you'll lose the grass too if you spray it on the ivy. If it's in an area that you don't want to kill the grass as well, use a broad-leaf herbicide like 2,4-D. I'd put in a spreader sticker....sticker spreader?....whatever....put in a surfactant (I use dish washing liquid) to help out.

As they are systemic, the plant needs to be actively growing to take on enough to do the trick.

Don't be too paranoid about it though....it's not magic....it's just an oil. Keep the oil off your skin, you'll be fine. Double nitrile gloves are good if you want to handle it at all...but just be sure you don't break through if they've gotten woody. The other problem is when you grab it, and a 'tendril' sneaks around and even lightly brushes you....you got it.

[Drella]

One thing I did to get instant relief from the itching is to rub a thin layer of tube-paste over the infected area.

And, if you're working in it, immediately wash with a bar of Fels Naptha bar soap

My grandfather used to make his own remedy consisting of borac acid and
iodine.

You would bust the bubbles and apply the liquid, then use a hair dryer to keep down the stinging and to dry completely. Within a few minutes, the rash would turn blackish and dry up completely within a few days...