Poison Ivy

[samtmc]

Hi all. I am looking into how to get rid of poison Ivy that is all over my property. I am highly allergic to it and get it 4-5 times a summer for several weeks at a time (most of the summer) So after doing research I have found that a couple of options. (but am always looking for more)
1) You can use Ivy killer but it is pretty toxic stuff and could endanger the trees (Which are stressed trying to fight off oak wilt in my area)I have been told it takes several years of doing this to get it to not come back and that the deap plat is still Poisonous.
2) Goats ,I guess they love the stuff and will eat the roots and all. I think I may run into problems with the county and township though.(as well as the coyotes running around the area)
3) Suit up and pull by hand (this would kill me i think)

4)This last one is the reason for the post. I just had a guy tell me to run some skid loaders thru the area then plant ferns (specifically ostrich ferns) he said they will spread very rapidly and once they grow into an area they will choke out poison Ivy.
Now i really like the last option but will it work?

Any thoughts/opinions?

 

[MMagis]

I highly doubt it.

 

[beenthere]

Well the coyotes shouldn't have a problem with the goats.

As to spraying the stuff, I've had marginal success ridding it with that method over the 40 years I've had these 22 acres. When I have to work in the woods, I make sure I wash within two hours of exposure (that works for me), am careful to wash the clothes I wear, and make it a habit to wash immediately after putting on my work boots and tying the laces. That procedure has worked well for me over many years now.

What appears to me over these 40 years, is that the 5 leaf ivy (Virginia Creeper) appears to crowd out the poison ivy patches I've known of but haven't sprayed. Don't know if that is something that can be planted or if it is any easier to do than fencing for goats.

Is Ivy killer you mention just a 2-4-D poison or something else? I find PI to be one of the toughest broadleaf weeds to kill.

When I was younger, PI didn't bother me and I worked in it all summers long. But at about 30, the resistance wore off.

Last year, I cut an ash tree with this heavy vine growing up into the top. Realized when I got into the top, that it was PI. Usually doesn't come in the vine form around here. Just as ground cover. So now I need to look up. I got a touch of it when cutting that ash tree up, and think it was from the chainsaw chips thrown down my shirt.

 

[MW66]

This has been my exact same experience. I used to play in the woods and fields all the time as a kid and never got poison ivy. About 6 years ago I chainsawed through a tree that must had a vine and the shavings hit me. That was my first experience. Now, I get it almost every year. Last summer I got it three times. You have to spray it when it is actively growing. I thought about chopping through the base of the vines in the winter, but i was too busy this year. Try the spray and hit as many of the green leaves as possible.

Well the coyotes shouldn't have a problem with the goats.

As to spraying the stuff, I've had marginal success ridding it with that method over the 40 years I've had these 22 acres. When I have to work in the woods, I make sure I wash within two hours of exposure (that works for me), am careful to wash the clothes I wear, and make it a habit to wash immediately after putting on my work boots and tying the laces. That procedure has worked well for me over many years now.

What appears to me over these 40 years, is that the 5 leaf ivy (Virginia Creeper) appears to crowd out the poison ivy patches I've known of but haven't sprayed. Don't know if that is something that can be planted or if it is any easier to do than fencing for goats.

Is Ivy killer you mention just a 2-4-D poison or something else? I find PI to be one of the toughest broadleaf weeds to kill.

When I was younger, PI didn't bother me and I worked in it all summers long. But at about 30, the resistance wore off.

Last year, I cut an ash tree with this heavy vine growing up into the top. Realized when I got into the top, that it was PI. Usually doesn't come in the vine form around here. Just as ground cover. So now I need to look up. I got a touch of it when cutting that ash tree up, and think it was from the chainsaw chips thrown down my shirt.

 

[Jim2]

Maybe somebody else knows. . . . Would a llama protect your goats from the coyotes? Folks on Craigslist are always claiming the llamas that they're selling will protect other herd animals--from what I don't really know.

Jim

 

[EddieWalker]

Everybody has the potential to be affected by poison ivey. The oil is what causes the reaction, and it can come from a branch that the ivey used to be on, but hasn't washed off of. It is potent year round, and just because you have never been affected doesn't mean you are immune from it forever. As you get older, you are more likely to be affected by it. Once it happens, you will always get it aftr that first time.

For me, it was right after highschool the first time that I got it. Before that, I could play in it and would actually pick it and chase friends around who would get it for fun.

The best thing to do to avoid it is to wash with soap and hot water as often as possible, as quickly as possible. You have to get the oil off of your skin. If you do this fast enough, you won't have a reaction.

If you get the oil on your clothes, then that oil on the clothing will cuase anybody who touches it to risk a reaction. Be careful with your laundry and get it in the washer right awy. The oil will not go away, and the longer your clothes sit out with the oil on them, the more likey it is that somebody will come into contact with the oil.

Only the oil causes the rash. Once the rash breaks out, it's too late to really do anything about it. You can control the itch with different products, but I've learned that everbody had one product that works best for them, and not really very well for anybody else. I really like the alchohal, clear gels, but Gold Bond and Benderdryl cream also work for me. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

A person who has the rash is not contagous. Nobody can catch poison ivey from anohter person. You can only get it from the oil, and only if it's still on the person who has the rash. If that person has taken a shower and washed, then the oil is gone and there's no way for anybody else to get it.

As for killing and getting rid of it, poison ivey does not like the sun. Taking out the trees opens it up to the sun, and in a very short amount of time, it will die and disapear. That is the only way that I know for sure to get rid of it.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[eepete]

I spray 1 part laundry bleach and 2 parts water on the leaves. The bleach interacts with the oil (which is a base, and is what gives you the blisters). With the oil gone, the leaves have no protection and die. Most other plants are not affected by it. The Sensitive Fern is the exception.

It may take a few years with a treatment per year. What you will see is new sprouts on the vine that come up each year. That's because unlike a "real" herbicide, you are just killing the leaves. But this does not nuke everything, so it's good for a mild infestation. If you've got ivy in a bush you want to keep, this is the way to get it. BTW, when I had heavy ivy I just used roundup mixed a little strong. I also cut the vines on the trees in the winter. I've cleaned up an area about 2 acres big this way, it started out with solid ivy up to my waist.

So give this a try and see if it works for you. Mix up a half gallon or so and give it a shot.

Pete

 

[beenthere]

Eddie
I agree with your well-stated explanation of PI.

...up until the last paragraph. The one place I cannot get rid of PI is in the sun. It grows on the edge of an alfalfa (or corn) field, and maybe gets just enough shade from those two plants to continue to survive and grow out into my lawn. Been dealing with it for 20 years. Just keeps coming back. Maybe I'll try pulling it up this year and see if that helps.

eepete
I will give that mix a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[2manyrocks]

Ortho brush killer will kill it-lightly wet the leaves. Don't soak the tree bark and everything in sight. Whatever active ingredient there is in brush killer will also kill poison ivy pretty effectively, but I forget what it is.

But I'd try eepete's formula first.

We have poison ivy growing in the grass in the field and other places exposed to the sun. We used to not have so much of it, but it has really spread.

 

[ray66v]

Only the oil causes the rash. Once the rash breaks out, it's too late to really do anything about it.

It's never too late.

I was among the lucky ones as a child, never had a sunburn, never had PI rash.

As I got older I started to react to PI.

Now I am very allergic. I have had to take the steroids, in the past, to help control it.

Now, 24 hrs after expose, when the first itchy spots appear, I scrub the affected areas vigorously, and until they are red, with a white Scotch Brite pad, and mechanics hand cleaner.

The oil bonds to the skin. Removing the top layer of skin, with the Scotch Brite pad, removes the oil, and stops the rash at whatever point it is discovered. The itching will start to subside, almost immediately, after the oil is gone.

I still will have a few, much less itchy bumps, for a few days, but it is quite tolerable, and does not spread.