Burning Poison Oak???

kmanvt · Apr 12, 2005

I guess this would be the right spot to post this. It's more of a question than anything, but I'll describe what I've been doing and where I'm headed. I'm clearing out an old barn lot and about 100 yards of fence row. I'm got the lot mostly down and in piles and half the wire off the fence row.

The problem is that part of the lot fence had Poison Oak intermingled in the wire. Also two dead trees (30-40 feet tall) are completely covered in it. I've got everything down and piled up ready to burn right now. Even though I had long sleeves and gloves on I still got it on my wrists and forearms. I even got it on my forehead where I used the back of my glove to wipe my head, DUMB MOVE on my part!!!! While searching the net about the best way to get rid of this stuff I've read that you should never burn poisonous plants because the urushiol oil will go up with the smoke. Basically anything that the smoke touches will have the oil on it which could cause allergic reactions when touched later. Also if you breathe the smoke you have to go the hospital for a stay.

So to the point, does anyone know how I should get rid of this pile of brush!!!!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

millsnhills · Apr 12, 2005

Thats a tough one.

My three thoughts.

Hire someone to burn it while letting them know whats in there.

Bury it all, get someone in the with a backhoe, tract hoe.

Haul it off.

Jeff

Golfgar4 · Apr 12, 2005

Here's a link Uh Oh, Poison Ivy to a thread that discussed how to deal with poison ivy. I believe the discussion also got into discussing poison oak. Maybe you'll find some useful information. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

jim_wilson · Apr 12, 2005

I ended up with a couple of really big brush piles over the last few years after clearing out my back yard. Typically I would do the clearing in the fall and just leave the pile and burn it in the spring. I don't burning a pile laced with poison oak is a good idea but if you just left it for a few months I think everything would dry out and it might be safe at that point to burn. If leaving the pile is not an option the only safe thing I can think to do with the stuff is to bury it. Have you tried doing some searching on the web? There are a lot of good gardening and lawn care sites out there - must be somebody who is an expert in this type of thing.

creeper · Apr 12, 2005

If anyone is allergic to it, they can't breath in the smoke.

beenthere · Apr 12, 2005

Poison oak and poison ivy are the same thing, I understand.
Regardless, burning does present a problem.
I had my resistance to poison ivy broken when I burned it and was in the smoke.

But, staying out of the smoke while burning it is an option. I don't think I would worry about any residual from the smoke causing a problem. (and I know, the smoke always finds you).

A good practice when being around poison ivy is to wash thouroghly with a couple hours of handling the stuff. That has helped me prevent any outbreaks for the last 35 years, and I have to handle it a lot. I also am very careful about washing my hands after tieing my shoe laces, just to be extra careful.

Good luck. And be careful.

Mark4510 · Apr 12, 2005

I sure would not burn it. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Get some goats if you can, fence off the area you want them to eat, give 'em some water and let them chew through everything.

If you cant do that, then spray it to kill as much as you can. Then get one of those cheap one piece paper type of suits that you wear with some gloves you dont mind throwing away and have at it.

If you do get the oil on your skin I have had really good success with a product called TechNu. It really works well.

Mark

em14 · Apr 12, 2005

I don't think it is a very good idea to burn piosion oak. People with alergies will really suffer as the wind and smoke will spread it a long way. I would poision it, bury it or just let it rot.
Leo

Bird · Apr 12, 2005

( I don't think it is a very good idea to burn piosion oak )

I'd have to agree, but at the the same time, I had lots of poison ivy to get rid of, so I burned it along with other brush. I always tried to do my burning shortly after a rain, and/or early in the morning while the dew was still on the grass, and tried to stay upwind and out of any smoke, and never had a problem. Of course it may be that I was just lucky.

kmanvt · Apr 12, 2005

I need to clear something up, I've already got everything down and piled up ready to burn. It wasn't till I had it piled up that I learned that it's not a good idea to burn it. Also the nearest neighbor is at least a half mile away, if he is even there.

Tom_H · Apr 12, 2005

If you burn the stuff and the neighbor has asthma and breathes this, he could go into anaphylactic shock and die. His family's lawyers will be /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif . You will be /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif .

Poison oak and poison ivy are same genus (Toxicodendron), but different species.

Here is an article in a university library regarding poison oak. It gives methods of managing (killing) it.

rich_ncal · Apr 12, 2005

I use Roundup in the spring on tall poison oak and on short poison oak I cannot cut with my bush hog. Other bush I cut with a chain saw, clippers or rotary cutter. I burn in the late fall after drying during the summer. The poison oak is mixed with other weeds and trees when I burn, so it is a small percentage of what I burn.

I am very sensitive to live poison oak, but the older dead dry poison oak does not seem to be a problem. I always have on leather gloves and long sleeve shirts when I handle the dead poison oak.

bugstruck · Apr 15, 2005

Rich, I use the same methods of handling and agree.

DaMadman · Apr 15, 2005

let it completely dry out, couple months of summer heat and go ahead and burn it. Between it drying for a while, your neighbor is 1/2 mile away and if you stay out of the smoke, best you can, you should be fine.

I have burned brush that had poison Ivy in it that had dried out and like you, it was a small percent in comparison with the larger pile of brush. There were no ill effect for anyone around

SteveInMD · Apr 16, 2005

I think the heat of the fire will drestroy the oils that cause people problems. I say burn it.

Tom_H · Apr 16, 2005

Deciding that something is the "truth" simply because it happens to be what you "think" is a dangerous thing. Religious authorities used to say that the earth was both flat and the center of the universe. People who didn't "think" the same were burned at the stake. Those in charge "thought" it was so, therefore it was deemed to be "infallible truth". It was actually this pope who just died, John Paul II, who released a papal bull in the 1990's saying that the previous doctrine was wrong. Until the 90's it was still part of their church "law" that the earth was undeniably flat and the center of the universe.

Do some research. You can read quite a few postings on TBN of people who got poison oak or ivy smoke on their skin and were hospitalized. Some got lung infections so bad they were on steroids and other medications to prevent respiratory failure. Look up articles on web sites of universities and hospitals and read how serious the stuff is.

The world is full of terrorist who are so extreme because they think that their own "thinking system" is so brilliant that whatever they "think" must be ultimately true.

Still, however, science is about not taking other people's word as true. Science is about coming up with a hypothesis (something you "think" is "true") and rigorously testing it to see whether it really is true or not. So, here is what I propose. If you are really confident that whatever you "think" is equal to "truth", will you be willing to go set afire a large patch of poison oak, walk all around in the smoke, let it get all over your skin and in your eyes, breathe in as much as you can, and then give to us a couple of days later a full report of the results?

If you are so confident that whatever you "think" is equal to "truth", then let's see if you have the courage to try this little test!

ThistleKop · Apr 16, 2005

My Goodness all this writing about poison oak/ivy!!!

TK

Tom_H · Apr 16, 2005

( My Goodness all this writing about poison oak/ivy!!! Remember, "don't sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff".)

Absolutely! The oil from Toxicodendron when in smoke is far more dangerous than it is from mere physical contact. In fact, it is easily lethal.

SteveInMD seems to be in denial about this reality. If he doesn't "think" it's true, he's just going to ignore the evidence. He's like the guy who was looking for the gas leak with a lighted match.

Some people's truth is confined to whatever they "think". It appears that they and those who defend them do their thinking with, as you say, ( small stuff).

mrcaptainbob · Apr 17, 2005

A friend was just telling me a few weeks ago about his neighbor that once burned some poison ivy. Inhaled some of the smoke. Went to the hospital a few hours later. Was in the ground a few weeks later! I make sure all of what I burn is free of the vines. That stuff gets buried or goes to the landfill. I guess most of us get a reaction to the stuff, while some are allergic and still others are immune. I opt for the no-burn.

droy · Apr 17, 2005

Late post, but my $.02, being very allergic to poison oak, & ivy, while clearing 3 acres that was overgrown with both, I killed by spraying mix of Roundup & 2-4 D (4 oz/gal of each). When my sprayer wouldn't reach the top of poison oak vines, I simply cut the vine, painting the "ground side" fresh cut with pure 2-4 D, then returning later to re spray the shortened vine until dead. The other end of the vine eventually dried up, & went away. This took time, but as anyone who has developed the rash assoiated with this knows it is BAD stuff. Definitely do not burn the fresh plants !!! I too know someone who got it in their lungs; stayed in hospital almost 2 mos. & doctors said he was lucky.