Poison ivy plan of attack

[Sarah K.]

Hi everyone,

When we moved into our house last year, there was an area with a few shrubs with poison ivy growing through it. This was not something I felt particularly excited to deal with, so it was towards the bottom of my list and did not get dealt with last year. This year, guess what, there is even MORE poison ivy and something really needs to be done with it. I don't want to use herbicides, or even boiling water, to kill the poison ivy, because I would really like to keep the plants that were already growing there. So here is my plan of attack...

1. Put on rubber gloves.
2. Put shopping bags over hands for an extra layer and to protect wrists/sleeves.
3. Pull out poison ivy, being extremely careful not to touch face or other exposed skin.
4. Tie poison ivy in shopping bags and put immediately in trash.
5. Put rubber gloves in trash. Wash hands throughly with soap.
6. Put clothing immediately in washing machine.
7. Get in shower and wash entire self throroughly with soap.
8. Wipe hands and face with alcohol to neutralize any remaining poison ivy oils.

Would anyone care to critique? I do have a reaction to poison ivy, but am not superallergic like some people are. If I can get this taken care of without getting a rash, or much of a rash, I'll be thrilled!

Thanks,
Sarah

[Rockytopsis]

The only thing I can add is to put a layer of petroleum jelly on your face just in case some dirt that the poison ivy has been growing in flips up and hits your face. That way you will have a layer between your skin and anything else. I would also suggest that if you have it, start on benndryl (sp) a few days before you tackle this, that way it will be in your system if you do get some of the oil on you.

Other wise I think you have a working plan.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Wear long sleeved shirt, with the rubber gloves pulled up over the cuffs.

On step 7, use a homemade type lye soap. Goats milk soap is good, but almost any of the homemade soaps available at flea and farmers markets will work. Lather well. More than once.

Can you tell I'm allergic?

[Jeff54321]

Have Jewel Weed on hand just in case.

[Darren]

Pulling it out by the roots will give you the best chance of getting rid of all of the plant without resorting to an herbicide. Another possibility is vinegar. Vinegar is a non-toxic herbicide. It works with varying degrees of success depending on the plant. I doubt the vinegar you can buy will be strong enough to kill poison ivy.

Vinegar is weak ascetic acid. A stronger concentration would probably kill poison ivy. How strong and where you could buy it, I don't have a clue. In the past I found a source if I wanted a barrel of the stuff.

[ldc]

P.I. is very hard to get out by the roots, if these are big vines. Vines need a lot of support in general, and the poison ivy root systems are tremendous. It takes digging, not pulling usually. be very careful, and clean all your tools with alcohol afterward, or your can get the rash from that. Also any root pieces left in the ground will come back. I have taken down vines that covered my house; it is very difficult to do, and whatever happens, NEVER let anyone try to burn it for you. The rushiol (PI chemical) can shut down mammals breathing when burned. Obviously, good luck with this! ldc

[Harry Chickpea]

I don't think you would have any major problems with your plan of attack, but I have some thoughts.

The shower will open up pores unless the water is cold. I'd wash in cold water first.
Dust masks are cheap. Wearing one would eliminate accidental touching of the face, Safety glasses would do the same for the eyes.

If you really want to get rid of the stuff, why not paint the leaves of it with a sponge paintbrush dipped in Roundup? Wait for it to die back, then remove the remains in a few days. It shouldn't affect any of the other plants when applied like that.

I like the petroleum jelly idea, and would add to it this product:
http://www.prestigebrands.com/kerodex.htm

I used to have to use it when doing extensive darkroom work, and it does indeed form a good barrier. Put that on, THEN the petroleum jelly, and if you do get some of the usherol oil on you, the pj will coat some of the oil, and you will be able to wipe the bulk of it off without pushing it into the skin.

[soulsurvivor]

We don't take chances with poison ivy as everyone here is so allergic to it. We keep a spray bottle of RoundUp for poison ivy. Spraying just the poison ivy won't effect the surrounding plants. Spraying also keeps you from having to touch it. Even after it's dead, use extreme caution handling it.

[fantasymaker]

If its not a general dislike of herbicides and just a wish not to harm the other nearby plants I might have a plan for you.
Uses Roundup or a simular contact herbicide in a wick wiper device, you can be very specific about what you touch with it and kill.
AFTER the targeted plants are dead continue the way you had planned to get rid of dead plant parts that can still give you the rash.
Dont forget to double bag the debres ..........your trashman dosnt want the rash either!

[Sarah K.]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses! No, these are not big vines... yet. :-) I'll keep some digging tools handy, however. I'll certainly follow the other reccommended precautions as well. I'm hoping to avoid Roundup at this stage of the game, but if it comes back it's nice to know I can use it without totally trashing the entire area. Yes, we will be very careful with disposing of the debris- we haul our own trash. :-)

[RVcook]

I too wanted to avoid using RoundUp here at the Poison Ivy Ranch, so I tried vinegar, boiling water, solar cooking it...you name it I tried it. But...when none of those worked AND after contracting a severe case of it, it was Game Friggin' On!!!!!

I went to the hardware store and bought 4 gallons of the stuff and started spraying. Last year I sprayed in late spring, mid summer and late fall. The root system must be HUGE since I noticed I have some emerging in the places that I sprayed last year. Suffice it so say that spraying will commence once again and continue throughout the year; THIS IS WAR!

BTW...your plan to completely cover yourself is a good one and works very well. If you don't have Technu for washing yourself, a bar of Fels Naptha works almost as well.

RVcook

[plowjockey]

I'd do it the easy way, plus I don't think you can sucessfully (permantely) pull the ivy out of the ground.

Just cut the vines, with long handle lopping shears, between the ground and where they go into the shrubs.

Leave the vines in the shrubs to die. Pull them out this winter, as there is less chance of contact, since the leaves will be gone.

Carefully spot spray any ground leaves connected to the vines, with roundup. They will go bye-bye very quickly.

[madness]

Well, this is the way my family does it: call me as I have no allergic reaction and get me to pull it all.

But I still do all of the things on your list because I've heard you can develop an allergy. There is some lotion at the store that is supposed to keep it from getting to you as well - can't remember that name. Petroleum jelly works, but apparently not as well. There's also a special poison ivy soap. My SIL is VERY allergic and has used that when she thinks she's touched it and it seems to help with the rash.

Another thought...I know you want to keep the plants around it, but if you decide to do away with them but still don't want to go the herbicide route, get yourself some goats. They love it.

Good luck!

[JohnL751]

I read all that hoping that someone had figured out a way of making PI a cash crop. I'd be rich.

[Jenn]

Sarah I'm organic (ok not on the house ants! ggrrr! ) and I just pulled out as much as possible (roots but no digging, I'd be sure to go after rains etc.) all I could manage every week before garbage day for several months (had a lot) and now I do it every few months to get the bits coming back (less and less) and the new sprouts from the pesky birds.

Also first thing I did was saw through the PI vines going up trees close to the ground (just left the vines on the trees and luckily got those before seed season, now the seeds come from the neighbors' yards). Then those I also pursued pretty heavily to prevent them heading back up the tree again.

I had most of it in mulched by tree leaves areas where the dirt wasn't too hard packed in fact got up miles of roots from under the leaves probably the second month or so- maybe they were weakened by having pulled most of the leaves.

The times I got into trouble were when I worked longer than I really wanted to and started getting tired and sloppy and got some contact. So slow and patient but frequently, maybe weekly so you notice if your method is not working to protect you. Yes, I didn't always use long sleeves- I was new to AL in the summer/fall- but I did cloth garden gloves under plastic bag switched out pretty often to help with inverting bag over particularly long vines/roots and just washed those gloves with the clothes right away as you say and showered off with dish detergent.

[giddy]

When you wash yourself and your clothes make sure you use a degreaser soap-like Dawn. The poison ivy oil is what you need to get rid of. You can get it months later from a coat or clothing that you've worn and hasn't gotten the oil out of it. My sister got rid of it in her yard by using a small funnel and dripping Roundup just on the poison ivy plant. Also, you need the Roundup that is more expensive. The Roundup I bought the first two times was like pouring fertilizer on it. I can't remember if it was Roundup Brush Killer or some other kind that finally worked. Other than that, get some goats, they love poison ivy!

[Rockytopsis]

Originally Posted by plowjockey

I'd do it the easy way, plus I don't think you can sucessfully (permantely) pull the ivy out of the ground.

Just cut the vines, with long handle lopping shears, between the ground and where they go into the shrubs.

Leave the vines in the shrubs to die. Pull them out this winter, as there is less chance of contact, since the leaves will be gone.

Carefully spot spray any ground leaves connected to the vines, with roundup. They will go bye-bye very quickly.

Please do not think that just because the vines have dried that you will not get it. The urushiol, ( the stuff that makes you itch) is still there.

[geo in mi]

Google "Murphy's Law" and print it out for later reference.

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Sarah I'm organic (ok not on the house ants! ggrrr! ) and I just pulled out as much as possible (roots but no digging, I'd be sure to go after rains etc.) all I could manage every week before garbage day for several months (had a lot) and now I do it every few months to get the bits coming back (less and less) and the new sprouts from the pesky birds.

Also first thing I did was saw through the PI vines going up trees close to the ground (just left the vines on the trees and luckily got those before seed season, now the seeds come from the neighbors' yards). Then those I also pursued pretty heavily to prevent them heading back up the tree again.

I had most of it in mulched by tree leaves areas where the dirt wasn't too hard packed in fact got up miles of roots from under the leaves probably the second month or so- maybe they were weakened by having pulled most of the leaves.

The times I got into trouble were when I worked longer than I really wanted to and started getting tired and sloppy and got some contact. So slow and patient but frequently, maybe weekly so you notice if your method is not working to protect you. Yes, I didn't always use long sleeves- I was new to AL in the summer/fall- but I did cloth garden gloves under plastic bag switched out pretty often to help with inverting bag over particularly long vines/roots and just washed those gloves with the clothes right away as you say and showered off with dish detergent.

Also trying to be organic here & have a "Poison Ivy/Tick Farm"
We've mowed it where we can & it is finally not coming back in those areas. Other spots we clip it as close to the ground as possible. Lots of times!
Here we had poison ivy vines bigger around than my upper arm!

Patty

[Shepherd]

I had this problem last year - it was growing into my iris bed. I started pulling it and it grows in cables underground... amazing stuff. Thankfully I had my gloves on. Unfortunately they were my good leather gloves and I've never figured a way to get them clean or safe to use again.

I'd wash my hands and face with alcohol before the shower I think. Don't forget your shoes - they'll need cleaned along with the clothing.