Poison ivy - what to do with it

[ge66]

After browsing a number of the poison ivy discussions, I didn't really find what I needed. We recently bought 7 acres here in central Illinois. 4-5 acres are fairly clear, mowable. Much of that had poison ivy shoots thick enough we couldn't see the ground. Not worried about that, Crossbow seems to work well.

My concern is the wooded, brushy area, 2-3 acres. We have cleared a fair amount of it by either pushing it out, or brush-hogging. There are a couple of brush piles that existed when we purchased the property that we are adding to. Plus, we will be having a bulldozer come in to clear the larger stuff we can't. There are quite a number of mature oaks, hickories, walnuts, and other trees, with poison ivy vines up to 2" thick climbing into the canopy. When the bulldozer does his thing, plus the smaller brush that we've already pushed and piled, there's no telling how much poison ivy will be in the brush piles, and we have no way of knowing what was already in the brush piles before we purchased.

My dilemma is how to proceed. I've read all the horror stories about burning. It would not be practical to attempt to bury that much material. Taking to landfill/composter would take a number of semi-trailers and probably cost as much as the land did.

There you have it. Would appreciate any guidance how to proceed. How can I dispose, reduce, clean up or otherwise get rid of these poisonous, monster brush piles?

Thanks very much for your help!!

 

[vabiker23518]

GE, I don't have the answers but certainly feel your "pain"...as I'm prone to getting it easily; you're spot on on burning....you don't want to be anywhere down wind from that! If you search this site, you'll find a couple poison ivy threads that might be of assistance. Good luck!

 

[DT86]

I would wait as long as I could to burn any newly formed piles that contain Poison Ivy.

If you leave any trees standing with the 2" thick vines take a axe to the vine and pour a little Crossbow on the cut ends, especially the root side.

 

[rekees4300]

Would appreciate any guidance how to proceed. How can I dispose, reduce, clean up or otherwise get rid of these poisonous, monster brush piles?

Wait for everything to dry then burn it. The poisonous part of Poison Ivy is the oil on the leaves. When the oil dries up the plant becomes non-poisonous. I'd let the piles dry for a year, that way also the wood will be much easier to burn.

 

[dodge man]

I agree, wait as long as you can to burn the piles, maybe two years if possible. The best way to kill the large climbers it to cut them and treat them, like the above poster said. I personally won't do that because I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff.

I'm not sure where your land is exactly, but I live west of Peoria in Macomb.

 

[NorTracNY]

DT is correct. When we bought our poison ivy acrage, I cut the major vines and sprayed the roots. Now the bad news that I have is that the other posters are correct. You have to wait for the ivy to dry. I'm told that this may be 5 years! The oil is in the roots worse than the leaves, so it will take a lot longer to dry than just the foliage to die off.

I'd recommend that you wear ivy block any time that you are going to deal with the poison ivy. It's a very cheap form of protection for your skin. I'd also recommend that you wait to burn as long as possible and then coordinate with anyone down wind from you. It's too serious of a burn to just hope you don't hospitalize someone.

 

[newbury]

You get winter around there right?
Make your piles as compact as possible, let them dry, then monitor the weather so you can burn in the winter with noone downwind and only a light wind.

 

[Dingeryote]

Wait a year, three is better, burn in winter, late in the afternoon when the wind lays down, and everyone is inside.
Use enough accelerant to avoid ANY initial smolder, and compact the piles for a fast HOT fire.
Light down wind, and leave immediately with the wind in your face. Get the heck away from it as soon as it whoofs and stay away.

Oil, and Urishoil in this case, doesn't evaporate. It will break down with sunlight and time though, but not quickly.
I have gotten reactions from the stuff, left on the loppers from 2 seasons previous.
Be VERY prudent about precautions when burning the stuff. People die from inhalation of the smoke, and it's a horrible death on par with anything cooked up in a chemical warfare lab. It's just plain evil.

In the woodlot, wait until Mid Fall, mid to late Sept. when the perennials are drawing nutrients back to the roots for dormancy, and nail the crud with the Crossbow, cutting and spritzing vines. You will get a substantially better kill, because the evil crud above ground simply dies back in the spring and summer, then sends new runners up from the still healthy roots. Get the Garlon or Crossbow into the roots, and it is truly dead.

One trick we use to get a better kill, is to add a spreader sticker to the mix. That oil on the leaves that causes so many problems, also keeps herbicides from getting to the leaves cuticle. A good spreader/sticker/penetrant, breaks down the waxy/oily film of P.I. like Gojo lets water get under the grease on your hands.

We use Miller Nu-Film 17, and so far haven't found anything better. It ain't cheap, but is worth it in the long run, when we don't have to go back and spray again. Bonide markets a spreader/sticker on the homeowner side that is similar, but more affordable in smaller quantitys.

Good luck to ya!
And show that Evil weed no love, or mercy.

 

[rekees4300]

When I said to wait a year, that was only my guessimate. I will defer to the other posters who say to wait longer.

 

[CliffordK]

What about chipping it or grinding it, then just tilling the chips into the soil or using them for cover?

How bad of reactions do you get to Poison Ivy? Around here, we don't get any of it. I've been essentially immune to Poison Oak since at least being a teenager. I think I may have gotten mild reactions to Poison Ivy when I was in the midwest a few years ago, but not much.