Poison Ivy

[Mrs. Homesteader]

We have poison ivy growing at the back of the house. Michael is really allergic to it. I don't want to use round-up or chemicals. Any ideas?

[Marcia in MT]

If you cover *thoroughly* and wash the clothes separately in hot water afterwards, you can pull the plants and put them in a plastic sack in the garbage. They will regrow from the roots, however -- chemical eradication is the only sure thing I know of. Hopefully, someone else will have a non-chemical suggestion for you.

[NostalgicGranny]

Borrow a goat - they love the stuff.

[Tricky Grama]

Can you mow it? we've eraticated it in areas that we mow. 10% vinegar will do serious damage to it...hasn't come back for us where we've done this.

good luck! i'd come do it for you if I lived near-I only get a few itchy bumps.

Patty

[EDDIE BUCK]

What you could do is cut the vines at ground level and just spray the new shoots that sprout up with brush killer,which should be a lot less than spraying the whole vines. Oh,and don't think that when its winter and no leaves on it it won't bother to touch and pull vinesI had the worst case of PI by doing that,so never again that route.

[Txsteader]

Originally Posted by EDDIE BUCK

What you could do is cut the vines at ground level and just spray the new shoots that sprout up with brush killer,which should be a lot less than spraying the whole vines.

That's how I do it. Seems to be the most effective that way===one time usually kills the plant.

get some 10% acid vinegar. boil some and put in salt , based on 1 cup per gallon(so, 1/4 cup per quart, etc), the salt will dilute in the boiling water. add some liquid detergent if you want, it helps the vinegar to stick on the leaves.
Warning, will kill anything it is sprayed on.

[mommagoose_99]

If you decide to mow it be very careful about where the ground up leaves go. Hubby mowed it and walked through the discharged leaves. He never had gotten PI before but sure had a bad case on his ankle and lower leg.
I have a funny PI story. When I was about 12 I lived next door to three boys about the same age. Our backyards were loaded with PI and all of us kids got it every year. The three boys got PI shots one Spring and were bragging how they couldn't get PI . So I dared them to eat it. Not wanting to lose to a girl all three of them ate the PI. Needless to say they spent a week in the hospital with poison ivy at EVERY orafis of their little bodies. I won.LOL
Linda

[mnn2501]

I would mow it, bagging it (wear protection) in plastic bags, then pour boiling water all over the area, lots of it.

[Mrs. Homesteader]

Originally Posted by zong

get some 10% acid vinegar. boil some and put in salt , based on 1 cup per gallon(so, 1/4 cup per quart, etc), the salt will dilute in the boiling water. add some liquid detergent if you want, it helps the vinegar to stick on the leaves.
Warning, will kill anything it is sprayed on.

Do you have to spray this on while it is still boiling hot, or does the boiling just do something to the vinegar?

the heating allows the salt to melt and become part of the liquid. if you don't heat it, it won't absorb as much salt. That's the only reason. I wouldn't try to handle it hot, it would be way too easy for an accident to happen.

[casusbelli]

Use Roundup.
If you eat beef other than your own, it's been fed with Roundup-ready corn. If you eat anything with soybean oil in it, it's been made from Roundup-ready soybeans. You're already using Roundup, like all Americans are. You might as well give something as nasty as poison ivy it's fair share, too.
s

[Windy in Kansas]

Triclopyr, an active ingredient in Crossbow herbicide works well on poison ivy as well as other woody plants.

[NickieL]

I am good at eradication. I worked in the summer killing it in the forest back where I went to college. They had us covered in head to toe but I'm not allergic to it anyway. We cut it from the trees.

What ever you do don't torch it!! the smoke will be very very bad for you.

[How Do I]

I'm horribly allergic to it. Here's what I use to get rid of poison ivy. If you are allergic to poison ivy and think you may have gotten into a patch while working outdoors, wash whatever area you think was exposed as soon as possible. And make it a very thorough wash. Then rinse with rubbing alcohol and apply your favorite calamine lotion or drying agent. Using this combination, I've kept any rash outbreaks minimal over the last 10 years. I was actually ripping a poison ivy vine out of a garden bed just about two weeks ago without realizing it until the whole vine came out. After washing thoroughly I only had two very small blisters between my fingers. So if you do get into poison ivy, get the oil off your skin as quickly as possible.