poison ivy

Hi all. . I have a slope at the edge of my land that has an extensive patch of poison ivy. Every year I notice it advancing towards my garden...... I have decided to tackle it this year but am very apprehensive of course. Please offer me all your best info on ridding myself of this nasty plant without ending up in the ER! Cheers, Greta

Have accidentally atacked poision ivy with a weed eater, please do not do this. Poision Ivy is one (probly the only one) case where I would strongly recomend a herbiside (something like "Round-up"). Good luck & plz let us know how it goes - Dyson

yeah.... my bro did that in shorts, his legs looked like burns. It was AWFUL. I have researched that round up isnt stronng enough for their woody stems so you can use 'brush b gone' but one must be careful as it can watershed to tree roots and kill trees. I am concerned by that. Also, if you kill the living poison ivy plant, it still will have active oils and sap for up to three years , so removal will be difficult? As well, burning is pretty bad as the sap will travel in the smoke and could hurt your lungs terribly. My dad says to wrap them in garbage bags and just yank em..... but this scares me. Im having a fantasy that someone will come forward with a magic formula that Ive never heard of.?!!!!!

Have you tried a search on google? I found a website last year about poison ivy that was very informative, but I've lost the address. As it turns out, we didn't have poison ivy after all (big sigh of relief). I'm pretty sure I found it on google, though. Best of luck!

Greta i have had luck with the round-up though it took multipule applications to become effective. Again good luck.

thanks friends.....

Greta
You will probably have to apply more than once no matter what you use but would recommend that you use something more specific such as Brush-b-gone stump killer or Brush b-gone Poison Ivy killer.

Cut it at the base and paint the chemical on the cuts, quickly. The best time for control is in the early fall when plants are translocating nutrients back into the roots for winter storage. Using chemical at this time means the chemical goes rapidly to the roots. Spring and early summer is a poor time for chemical control as nutrients are being pushed up for spring growth. The plants will absorb less as compared to late summer/fall treatment.

thats so cool! That means I can put it off! Youre a genius! No seriously, you sound informed and I will do some of the bagging tactics for any thats creeps into my traffic area this spring/summer and then Ill get out the BIG GUNS in autumn. Brushing it on the stems should help alleviate my concerns about killing the other plants that I do appreciate. Thankyou for the reply, G2

Get some IvyBlock that you apply BEFORE contact w/poison ivy. And take some benadryl, too. Remove your clothes (don't touch the outside of the clothes) and throw them directly into the washing machine (which was set up w/soap and the cycle ready so all you have to do is close the door and pull out the knob). Go directly to the shower and wash (start w/your hands) then wash from the top down. Rinsing first is always helpful. Even rinsing with the hose after stripping and before you go in the house is helpful. Make sure the water runs where you and your pets will not go. The key is contamination avoidance and control. Do NOT burn the poison ivy. Even if you are upwind, someone else could be downwind and the contaminated smoke can cause some very nasty (sometimes life-threatening) reactions. Or the smoke can settle on grass, plants, etc., and you could inadvertently contaminate yourself later touching those (normally touch-friendly) plants. Take some more benadryl (time determined by the earlier dose).

Oatmeal baths help with itching, should you end up with a rash, as do various OTC preparations (we like the IvyBlock family of products).

IvyBlock website: http://www.enviroderm.com

Poison ivy websites: http://poisonivy.aesir.com
http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=1320

Something we haven't tried, but looks common-sensical: http://www.no-itch.com

Note that any information from before 1997 will not include IvyBlock.

My husband is extremely allergic, and although this isn't perfect, he hasn't ended up needing a doctor or emergency room for PI since we've done this (yes, I have to be careful and wash, too, or I'll end up contaminating him).

None of the above should be construed or taken as medical advice, as I am not a licensed medical professional.

GrayThumb

grey - most excellent advise.

gray, thankyou SO MUCH for all the good info! I hope others will learn from your sources! My DH gets PI very easily... like invisible contact! so I will take care. Its still frozen and dormant here so itll be some time til I go to battle!.......and am dreading it, but I am so pleased with the results of this thread so far. ! Cheers, G2