Poison Ivy removal?

Your dh should absolutely try the homeopathic stuff then!

I am the queen of poison ivy/oak reactions. Been hospitalized 3x, had to have damaged skin that would not heal surgically removed 6m after the fact. Had it externally, internally, .... Lived on cortisone for 3m after and still broke out once the cortisone withdrew.

Hylands makes tablets. Have used a tincture made by someone else. All absolutely amazing. I can tell I've been exposed/in contact - will get maybe 3-5 pinpoint eruptions that never ooze... and that's it. No 3" blisters filled with blood...

Really, have dh try it. Amazing.

Don't forget to send him home to his mom when he's finished at your place LOL!!

PI is getting stronger these days. I disagree with the poison ivy specific herbicides, I've had nothing but good luck. Our tree guy took down the worst vine, he estimated the vine was 50 years old. The dogs will have to crush the leaves or stems in order to get the oil on their fur. So far so good with our dog and cats. But then again, cats are smaller and less likely to crush plants.

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Sorry - didn't read every line so someone else may have made the same comments:

- We found a product called Tech-nu that works very well on poison oak/ivy to treat your hubby, post-exposure. My son is EXTREMELY allergic and this has worked well.

- If you ever cut/bush-hog these plants, DO NOT burn it with your husband anywhere near. The smoke can give him a terrible outbreak, including internally!

- Roundup didn't work well for me but CrossBow did. Goats are also awesome.

I use a stuff caalled 'brushkiller' in a red jug, you mix it with water and it kills....

everything.

works on woody poison ivy very well, I spot spray with it.

I like to cut the big stuff in the fall after the leaves have dropped, spray the new tender growth in the spring when it starts to leaf out, spot treat as you find it. Use a strong solution and stay on top of it, you can win at this.

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Well in NC if you don't have Kudzu, you probably have Poison Ivy; personally I'd prefer the kudzu but PI is what we have everywhere. I have a rash somewhere all summer long. But, with some precautions you can keep it manageable without spraying. We do not let much time elapse after exposure...30 min. tops. Then it's out of those clothes, clothes into washer, person into shower. Use dish detergent in the shower - cleans off the oils best. If you are going to be in the field for too long, take a jar with Rubbing alcohol and a cloth but you have made yourself more vulnerable to PI by removing the natural skin oil barriers. Technu does work well but is expensive and we have found frequent showering to be the best answer...but I let too much time go by cuddling the goats. Then the hot water trick is a great remedy. We use the pruners to cut those large arial roots, goats and sheep. If you do any looking about Round up you will see it has been banned in Europe...does nasty stuff in the ground water supply.

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Oh Tonya that looks so painful! Youch!

Next time I'm in town I'll stop at the health food store and see what they have in the way of homopathic treatments.

If we were there more often, I've no doubt we could lick it, it just gets out of control with our rare visits.

PI was really bad this year period, the Ozarks had a lot of rain and the stuff just went wild!

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On a homeopathic note: My son took to a nasty patch of Ivy and we found a homeopathic remedy that was a mild form of Ivy in a dissolvable pill. (comes in tincture too) Anyways after three days a couple times a day of taking these your body creates an immunity to poison ivy. Tried it myself, after day 5 of taking a single dose daily I could rub crushed leaves on my arms and nothing would happen from it. To keep the immunity you need a daily single dose, but it is worth it if you are in the field a lot.

Peace.

CJ if you can find the crossbow its the best i have ever used it will kill all brush and vines and stuff its well worth its weight in gold.
i get mine at my local farm store but i think tractor supply carries it also.

There's a tractor supply store down here in AR where we're parked in the RV, I'll go in a check on the CrossBow, if not hopefully our MFA back home carries it.

Thank you everyone, for the great ideas! Someone posted on my blog also, that you can carry a lemon around with you, and when you're exposed to the ivy, wipe the skin with the exposed lemon as the acid will neutralize the oil in the ivy.

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I'm another who very much recommends Crossbow. That has been far and away the best broadleaf killer I've used. It's an oddly slow killing chemical. Things will wilt a bit in a day or two, and you'll think it isn't working. But then gradually over the next few weeks, the broadleaf plant disapears.

24D formulations work well as broadleaf killers as well. But I've always had interesting drift problems with them.

Roundup is a poor poison ivy killer in my experience. Doubly so with the new ultra formulation.

the thing that causes the rash from poison ivy is the oil in the plant.

before a big ivy weed/pull I will smear my arms, legs, face with oil, regular old canola oil from the kitchen, it's hot and messy and you feel sticky but because your skin has absorbed all the oil it can... the good oil from the kitchen, there is no way for the poison ivy oil to be absorbed.

I suit up too, long pants, bags on my boots, rubberbands, long shirt, hat, gloves, a couple pair, plastic ones first then the cheap cheap cotton ones I throw away. I don't want to go the chemical route so I usually do a good pull in the spring and another in the fall every year gradually expanding into the woods near my garden, I'll never eradicate it all but have really put a hurting on it over the years.

I know slathering yourself with oil and dressing like someone pretending to be with a haz-mat team isn't the answer for your husband or anyone who just wants to hang out for the day or the weekend where ivy is near but you guys could try to make sure you add some sort of oil to your bath and make sure your skin isn't dry. Lotions don't seem to do the trick, it moisturizes my skin but doesn't "lock" that moisture in which the oil does. Burts bees makes a nice apricot oil for babes if you can't want canola in your bath!

The oil trick works with hot peppers also, it's the oil in those that get you too, so oil your hands before you start cutting and the same thing will happen, the hot doesn't absorb and you can wash your hands when your done and not get your eyes burning when you rub your eyes or put in your contacts.

Remember NEVER burn ivy plants, the smoke can be deadly!!!