Poison Ivy removal?

[CJ]

My poor, poor hubby is so allergic to the stuff. Last weekened we went home and went out to our land. I'd brushogged earlier this year in July, so it wasn't bad, but we took the riding mower along and I mowed it down short before he had to walk around much.

He planted some pine trees in an area I hadn't mowed down yet, and is a mess. Lips, arms, legs... covered. And he was wearing overalls, long sleeve shirt and gloves.

So... as much as I hate to do it, I think I'm going to have to get in and spray all the areas he's going to be working in to kill the stuff.

Can anyone suggest what works well, and does it need to be sprayed at a certain time of year? I realize as I keep mowing/brushogging it will beat it back, but in the meantime...

[Selena]

It is easiest to find in the fall as it turns red (but so does virginia creeper). Round-up makes poison ivy killer as does Ortho. www.dirtworks.com has organic but a gallon of pre-mix is not cheap. Problem is all parts of plant have Urushiol in them and you cannot burn the plant (lung damage). I spray the low stuff (mix my own). If it is on trees that are not along our paths or near the house, I leave it as good bird food. If on trees where it could be walked into, I cut the vine and bag it up. This is a good 2 person job as someone needs to hold open the bag. I also "scout" any areas where I know my spouse is apt to be (be it cutting trees, moving rocks etc). I also have pets and this is my main worry, oil on fur. Best to read up on what to do - no hot water when you wash with some kind of oil dissolving soap. So far I've not had any problems and I know I have touched it (accidentally when weeding). To me, this is a seek and destroy mission.

[Callieslamb]

just using regular round-up. You might have to spray it more than once. Ask at the Farmer's coop near you. Mine told me to spray it when it was flowering.....whenever that is. I just spray when I need to. I dislike sprays but at least a generic purpose spray can be used elsewhere if the occassion arrises.

[bgraham]

CJ,

My husband and son are also very allergic.

I would recommend several things. First, when your hubby is done working out there in his long pants, long sleeves and gloves, he needs to remove his gloves, let YOU remove his pants and shirt, then he needs to scrub his hands and then take a shower. It doesn't do any good to wear long sleeves and gloves if you're just gonna transfer the oils from the gloves/clothes to the rest of your body. He should not touch the clothes or gloves again until you have washed them. I wash them by themselves with bleach.

Our place was covered in poison ivy when we moved here. I started with the lawn and would go from tree to tree and pull it out of the ground. My dh would hold a large garbage bad with the edges turned down. I would carefully place the poison ivy in the bag and when it was full, I would lift the edges up and tie. Keeping the edges turned down prevents it from getting oils on the outside of the garbage bag.

In some places, we have poison ivy vines that are as big around as a sapling and reach 30 or so feet high in a tree. There is absolutely no way for me to remove that. So I took a hatchet and cut it about a foot from the ground. I then sprayed the poison ivy stump with roundup.

Good luck. It's a constant battle!

Beth

[js2743]

there is a spray called CROSSBOW it works very well it only kills broadleaf stuff so it doesnt kill your grass its a lil expensive but well worth every penny. one time should do the job for the whole year, i use it on all unwanted growth and it has killed every thing i have sprayed with it. i got 2 1/2 gallons for $120 but comes in different sizes you mix it with water so it goes a long ways. i mixed mine 1 pint to 4 gallons of water and it has killed very good.

[NWMO]

I question Roundup's effectiveness in getting rid of mine....I know there is a specific Roundup for "poison ivy" or so the bottle says.......but I won't pay the extra money for it, as I have found it to be "tempermental" at best. You really have to pay attention to the weather and temps for it to be effective. And I have had everything else die around the poison ivy, and it looks "singed" but not burnt up!

I finally had to go to the doctor for a shot. I used to be able to roll in poison ivy and not have a reaction.....but now, if I am within view of it, I will find myself breaking out. Constant battle, especially with a wooded area and the neighbor's not keeping thier area "under control"........hate it, hate it, hate it!

[okgoatgal2]

goats will eat it up-they love it. the milk will then help boost the immune system of those who drink it and lessen their reactions to it. that has been my experience, anyway.

[boonieman]

Here's another option that I've used, and it actually does seem to work.
This is a quote from this website: http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldforma...article_id=103

"Poison Ivy Blocker

A good deal of research has focused on finding a substance that would prevent Toxicodendron-induced dermatitis, such as organoclays which might block attachment of urushiol to the epidermis. One such barrier lotion containing an ingredient known as bentoquatam (quaternium-18 bentonite) was investigated thoroughly. The lotion was applied to one forearm of patients with a history of allergic contact dermatitis to the plants.9 After one hour, patches containing urushiol were applied to both arms. When both arms were inspected, treated arms had significantly less contact dermatitis than did untreated arms.

On the basis of this well-controlled research, the FDA granted 5% bentoquatam lotion marketing approval as a poison ivy barrier.10 The product is known as IvyBlock. While other products claim to prevent poison ivy or to act as a barrier, none has yet been proven safe and effective for these claims.11 Thus, bentoquatam represents an entirely new category of nonprescription products. Since it is a preventive, the pharmacist should not hesitate to mention it to patients with an existing rash as a valid means of preventing recurrences. "

[WayneR]

It may be too late to attack it this year, as the leaves around here are turning. There are other posts on this topic on this site, for more information.

Beth, have DH double glove, nitrile then cotton. Rubber knee boots and long sleve coveralls. Warn him not to touch any exposed skin while "dressed".
Once he's through working, put some newspaper on a folding chair (preferably outdoors). Remove outer gloves by the fingertips. Remove the coveralls to below the waist,sit down,kick off the boots and remove the coveralls. Handle the boots on the OUTSIDE ONLY-NOT THE TOPS!!!
Place them where you won't touch them till next time. Put the coveralls and gloves into the washer immediately. Don't let them brush up against the outside of the washer. He should do this as he is still protected.
Wad up the newspaper and place in trash bag. Reverse peel off the nitrile gloves taking care not to touch skin while doing so. Put the disposable gloves in the bag. Wash head to toe.


You should take precautions as well. If you're not allergic now, you could be next week.These precautions MUST be used if doing anything that HAS or MAY HAVE come in contact with the saplin. The minute you let down your guard is when you become contaminated.

It's better than the alternative

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

there is round up and there is round up

the stuff you buy at the retail store is premixed or even if it sais it is a concentrate it is a week one

the stuff you get from the farm co-op is the real deal 2.5 gallons of this concentrate makes 300 gallons at a strenght the kill most weeds a touch stronger and even the toughest plant has no chance.

i have heard that one of the only ways to rid yourself of it is a very thick layer of mulch so that may not be a bad idea for regularily taved paths.

as for treatment once you have thouroughly washed bar soap is fine you need no fancy stuff then wash the area with rubbing alcahol and treat with an anti-biiotic ointment as if it were a minor skin infection so that it does not become inficted

it may look as though it is still speading for 3 days it is the amount of exposer and how much it had a chance to soak in thenit may take 3 to 4 weeks for it to realy clear up

[BAmaBubba]

not sure about killing it but as for TREATING

Go find some poke salit and pull up the roots. wash then then steep in boiling water to make a strong "tea" but DO NOT DRINK!!!! ps root is toxic when ingested!!!!!!!!!! Use the "tea" to rub down any affected areas. They should scab over and begin drying up overnight. Treat repeatedly if needed.

[pheasantplucker]

My wife and I spray Roundup concentrate about every two weeks, after mowing. It's gradually working.

[cathleenc]

to treat the infections go buy homepathic remedies at a health food store - amazing results. I've had PI or poison oak over 60x so far - nothing works as well as the homepathic stuff.

gl

[RebeccaB]

I'll be following this tread! I just got into some poison ivy myself - what I would call a poison ivy tree. (You can see a picture of it on my blog .) The best relief I have found is to run as hot of water as I can stand on the blisters for as long as I can stand. It seems to shut off your nerves so you don't feel the itch as badly. It works for about 4 hours, and it's well worth it!

Now I need to get rid of my poison ivy tree.

[Pops2]

herbicides work best right after mowing, the plant is trying to take in as much nutrients as possible to recover from mowing and so will take in more herbicide.
i like the goat thing too.

[watcher]

Originally Posted by GREENCOUNTYPETE

there is round up and there is round up

the stuff you buy at the retail store is premixed or even if it sais it is a concentrate it is a week one

IIRC, you can buy several concentrations of Round-Up; premixed, concentrate and super concentrate. Also the Round-Up brush killer has a second active ingredient which seems to make it work better on the woody stuff.

[TedH71]

Goats simple enuff plus they'll eat away the other weeds you wanna get rid of also.

[watcher]

Originally Posted by cathleenc

to treat the infections go buy homepathic remedies at a health food store - amazing results. I've had PI or poison oak over 60x so far - nothing works as well as the homepathic stuff.

gl

I don't now about the homepathic stuff but the best stuff I have found comes in a syringe from the Dr's office. One shot and its gone. I only go that route if I have it covering a large are of my body or its in a 'bad' place.

Here's a trick that works for me for the itching. Get the shower just as hot as the effected body part can take and let it spray for just as long as you can take it. It will each like CRAZY while the water is hitting it but it will stop after the water is shut off and not itch for a couple of hours. This is a God send when you are trying to get some sleep.

[CJ]

Goats work great, no doubt. But since we're only out on the property on an occasional weekend, I think the goats would suffer.

Fortunately I still seem to be immune to the stuff. I'll pick up some round up at MFA next time we're home, and spray with it, I'll also check into the CrossBow stuff, thanks.

As for the homopathic remedies... while I believe in them normally, I'm not so certain with poison ivy. People who are bothered by it seem to suffer more with each outbreak of it, rather than building a resistance to it. I know each time my hubby gets it, it's worse than the time before.

I suppose it's likely hopeless until we're living there fulltime and I can keep it mowed/cut back for him. I've always kept it out of the yard before just mowing it clipping it, but we're working with wooded land here, no established pasture or yard yet, just the couple acres that we've got cleared out so far.

Then there's the dogs, racing through the woods, I imagine no matter how carefully we disrobe the poor guy, he's going to get it off the dogs.

Hmmm... maybe I could "rent a hubby" until the land is cleared.. preferably one about 20, muscle bound and immune to poison ivy. LOL

For the first time since we've owned our place we got poison ivy. And of course I had to get into it. Just when I was getting over having it on my arms our Yorkie got into it and laid on my pillow. It wasn't pretty. I didn't know the dog was on my pillow, but I woke up knowing!

I went to the dr. and he gave me a cream to put on it. He didn't tell me it thinned the skin and that got me into more trouble. But when it was done, my skin on my face was so soft and supple! Poison ivy is a chemical burn and should be ttreated as such. Hydrocortisone creams also helped. It took me 3 weeks to heal from this and I still have some scarring on my arm.

We got some stuff form Home Depot that's make for poison ivy. Had to apply it twice, but it's killed it off. Now if I can just get Dh to do the weed pulling like I USED to do.