Combatting Poison Ivy

[husky429]

Alright, folks. As always I'm coming to the yard in the off-season for all my needs.

New house has poison ivy encroaching from 2 places. It's climbing and going through the chain link fence in the back that we got for my dog. I am one of the lucky few who just doesn't react to poison ivy. My wife is not, and is currently on steroids. (Apparently is isn't funny to call her Ronnie Coleman all day or yell "yeaj buddy!").

I sprayed it with some poison ivy killer that came in a jug from Home Depot maybe 3 days ago. It doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Help me out? I am normally big on being environmentally friendly. Today I am not. What radioactive, carcinogenic, vile materials that could kill most species on earth, and forbidden techniques will help me kill this god forsaken ?

So I just need to get a few gallons of this poison ivy killer and blast it every day for a month?

 

[Deepster]

I guarantee my dog is cleaner than 98% of this board.

I'd take that bet any day of the week. And I guarantee your house stinks.

 

[uconn_jack]

Burn it.

Not really of course, worst thing that can be done and can kill you if the smoke/vaporized oils are inhaled.

 

[Scottzer]

Burn it.

Not really of course, worst thing that can be done and can kill you if the smoke/vaporized oils are inhaled.

Burning poison ivy was the inspiration for xyclon B!

 

[Scottzer]

Can you store it or is it the kind of thing you make when you need it?

I store it and use it every summer. I’m not sure how long it lasts, but At least for a month or two.

 

[borninansonia]

If poison ivy is like poison oak, dig it up. I had 3 acres of poison oak in my yard, and lots of poison oak outside my yard. Spraying did not help -- it killed the leaves and sprouts that I sprayed, but not the plant because the roots were at least 3' deep and 3" in diameter and went out of my yard. The only method that worked was digging it up.

I came to believe that the poison oak plants in my yard were the same plant as the poison oak in a friend's yard 2 miles away. She had to dig it up too. I asked an Oregon State U researcher who responded that poison oak may rival aspen trees for the largest organism in the country. We could not get money to do a DNA analysis.

 

[Scott2Tate]

Noted. I'm going to CVS in a few for materials and will look for it

Alright, folks. As always I'm coming to the yard in the off-season for all my needs.

New house has poison ivy encroaching from 2 places. It's climbing and going through the chain link fence in the back that we got for my dog. I am one of the lucky few who just doesn't react to poison ivy. My wife is not, and is currently on steroids. (Apparently is isn't funny to call her Ronnie Coleman all day or yell "yeaj buddy!").

I sprayed it with some poison ivy killer that came in a jug from Home Depot maybe 3 days ago. It doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Help me out? I am normally big on being environmentally friendly. Today I am not. What radioactive, carcinogenic, vile materials that could kill most species on earth, and forbidden techniques will help me kill this god forsaken ?

So I just need to get a few gallons of this poison ivy killer and blast it every day for a month?

I am highly allergic like your wife, and have dealt with poison ivy in my yard with Roundup. I don’t give a crap how toxic it is, bc I kills the poison ivy. I have been down the road of having to get prednisone one too many times bc of that nasty plant, so when I’m using roundup my only thought is “DIE, m’fer, DIE!”

Also- if your wife thinks she has come in contact with it, Technu helps, IvaRest is good too, and don’t bother with the calamine lotion. That stuff doesn’t touch PI when I get it

 

[uconn13]

yer gonna need an ocean, of calamine lotion

 

[Woodson]

For your wife’s sake, you should move. You’ll never get rid of it and it’s pure hell

 

[husky429]

For your wife’s sake, you should move. You’ll never get rid of it and it’s pure hell

Well, we just moved in and I spent 5 months renovating the place, so I'm thinking that isn't an option. It's only along the back edge of the fence... I think she can manage to stay away if needed.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I have a relative who swears my a mixture of vinegar, soap and salt.
If you can get it out to it safely, boiling water pour on it can do the trick.

Also, I'm impressed no one made a Batman reference here.

 

[DCHuskyFan]

Well, we just moved in and I spent 5 months renovating the place, so I'm thinking that isn't an option. It's only along the back edge of the fence... I think she can manage to stay away if needed.

Assuming that renovations cost you big, spending a little more on a professional company to remove it physically and with commercial chemicals might be the way to go, and it will save you from getting exposed. They will also remove other noxious plants and give you a nice weeding baseline. Keeping up with weeding after establishing a baseline is also far easier than attempting to do it yourself. On a personal note, the only thing I hate worse than folding laundry is weeding.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

Herbicides with the active ingredient Triclopyr will do the job. May need to 2 applications to guarantee best results. Good luck.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Systemic herbicides do take time and you may have to give them several applications depending on weather. The plant also has to be actively growing. If you contact it wash with soap and water taking care to remove and wash rings watches etc. The active agent is an oil - urushiol, and you need lots of soap to remove it. One fallacy is that once the rash appears that if you touch pustules it it will spread. The rash is the bodies immune system reacting to the oil - its contact dermatitis so where you contact the most you will get a stronger reaction sooner. Also the oil is throughout the plant, stems, roots and leaves. DO NOT burn it as noncombusted oil will deposit in your respiratory tract. It usually takes up to two weeks for the blisters to appear and about another two weeks for the blisters to subside. Cortisone cream and Benadryl help but do not fully stop the itching. Last before you sprayed you might consider renting some goats, Goats to Go! They love poison ivy and are not allergic to it!

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Before you sprayed you might consider renting some goats, Goats to Go! They love poison ivy and are not allergic to it!

This reminds me of the business venture idea I had about 20 years ago to rent puppies to single guys on the beach in order to meet girls. Never came to fruition.

Anyway, I’d rent the goats….then open a petting zoo for a day or two and charge the neighborhood kids $5 to come pet them and this would partially pay for said goat service.

 

[NJHusky]

This reminds me of the business venture idea I had about 20 years ago to rent puppies to single guys on the beach in order to meet girls. Never came to fruition.

Anyway, I’d rent the goats….then open a petting zoo for a day or two and charge the neighborhood kids $5 to come pet them and this would partially pay for said goat service.

And then u could also sell the parents the rebar poison ivy cure when the kids touch the ivy!!

 

[superjohn]

Alright, folks. As always I'm coming to the yard in the off-season for all my needs.

New house has poison ivy encroaching from 2 places. It's climbing and going through the chain link fence in the back that we got for my dog. I am one of the lucky few who just doesn't react to poison ivy. My wife is not, and is currently on steroids. (Apparently is isn't funny to call her Ronnie Coleman all day or yell "yeaj buddy!").

I sprayed it with some poison ivy killer that came in a jug from Home Depot maybe 3 days ago. It doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Help me out? I am normally big on being environmentally friendly. Today I am not. What radioactive, carcinogenic, vile materials that could kill most species on earth, and forbidden techniques will help me kill this god forsaken ?

So I just need to get a few gallons of this poison ivy killer and blast it every day for a month?

 

[jibsey]

Funny enough, I just picked up my yearly prescription for steroidal antibiotics to stop my spreading poison ivy. I dno where I get it but every summer I step in some and 2 weeks later my whole body is covered

Brutal and reason enough to never do yardwork.

 

[Kitaman]

Here’s a treatment that few people who haven’t hammered iron know. Quench water. Next time you have a good sized fire, put a piece of rebar (or any non galvanized, non painted steel), and get it orange hot. Using players or tongs, quench the orange part in almost hot water (ideally around 110( in a steel bucket. When that water cools you will have a fast acting relief that costs nothing.
I’ve done this stove top with a propane burner. Steel only got black hot, and while still effective, it wasn’t nearly as good as doing it in a smaller batch of water, with a very hot piece of steel.

It’s better than any lotion.

I once stood scratching my arse off in a hot shower. I knew it was bad but I was scratching like a junkie, grinning all the way. Made it worse but that 10 minute high was worth it.

 

[SoCalCanine]

I know more about this than I ever wanted, certainly know more about treating poison ivy than basketball. I am one of those who is HIGHLY allergic. The key is getting rid of the oil. The Technu stuff works but you need to use it repeatedly and it's kind of expensive, but worth it. Regular soap is worthless for this. If you can find old fashioned brown laundry soap, it works just as good and is cheap. It comes in large bars and used to be available everywhere under the brand name Fels Naptha, but it's hard to find these days. Here in California there is a Mexican brand called Liri that is the same thing. I keep it around, it lasts forever. Consider bathing your dog regularly woth one of these soaps. No matter how clean you think your dog is, the oil is invisible and he may be a carrier without showing symptoms. Thankfully poison ivy is rare out here, but poison oak abounds. It is usually easy to spot and avoid. Thankfully it's been years and years since I had it because I am VERY careful. I have no experience with eradication of the plants, but know that burning it is the worst thing to do.

 

[Kolumbo]

I got hit last weekend, just getting over a couple of rashes. Posted the Poison Ivy song in the Digging Tunes thread

as for the PIA vile weeds

 

[temery]

My only comment is don't shred or burn it. I had a neighbor 30 years ago who mowed the poison ivy then burn it, inhaling the entire time.

She ended up with a bad rash/reaction from her lips, down her esophagus, trachea, lungs, etc.

 

[Toki]

My daughter digs it up routinely as part of her landscaping business. We have not been able eradicate it from our yard with herbicides alone. It keeps coming vack to life like a zombie. Digging up the roots put an end to that.

 

[temery]

I had a neighbor years ago who cut a vine and stuck the rooted part of the cut in a jar of kerosine. It did seem to work.

 

[Yardigan]

I am highly allergic like your wife, and have dealt with poison ivy in my yard with Roundup. I don’t give a crap how toxic it is, bc I kills the poison ivy. I have been down the road of having to get prednisone one too many times bc of that nasty plant, so when I’m using roundup my only thought is “DIE, m’fer, DIE!”

Also- if your wife thinks she has come in contact with it, Technu helps, IvaRest is good too, and don’t bother with the calamine lotion. That stuff doesn’t touch PI when I get it

After a weekend of yardwork warrioring, it seems each year (3 of the last 5 apparently), I wind up with eyes swollen almost shut, puffy from some poison fill-in-the-blank weed. Prednisone is really an amazing thing....