Poison Ivy -- HELP!!!

wushaw · May 20, 2007

Brush B Gone and the Round up Poison ivy killer works on the stuff I have sprayed in the last five years.

dknarnd · May 20, 2007

I would have to cast my vote for the Brush-B-Gone also. And where you have large vines climbing up the trees I take the weed wacker with the blade attached every spring and walk the stone rows cutting all that I see.

buckeyefarmer · May 20, 2007

Another Ditto for Brush B gone. Roundup will not kill it nearly was well. As the name implies, Brush B Gone will kill trees if you cover all the leaves well. A little bit won't hurt the tree's. As I recall it does not kill grass. I need to mix some now for a little bit of ivy.

BTDT · May 21, 2007

If you have the fence for them, I hear goats work real well. They supposedly love the stuff. Then you can get a return on your investment with a bbq in the fall.

MikeB44 · May 21, 2007

BTDT said:
If you have the fence for them, I hear goats work real well. They supposedly love the stuff. Then you can get a return on your investment with a bbq in the fall.

I agree with BTDT on the goats. Two TN fainting goats, some temporary electric fencing & you won't be worrying about the ivy.

Our first place was a 4 acre poison ivy farm in NW PA. I cut vines 4-6" thick & carted them off by hand. I also got the itches real bad (Dr visit, steroids, etc). Use Tecnu for any contact with posion ivy (tools, clothes, skin, etc.). A bush hog might be a little big to wash down, especially underneath. But it works well for axes and the like.

Ben Meadows sells the stuff (get a few friends together for an order and reduce the cost)
tecnu&#174 Poison Oak-N-Ivy Cleanser - Ben Meadows Company

I used Round Up, Super Concentrate and mixed the stuff to brush strength. That worked well for me. You just have to be persistent (more so than the plant) as continual maintenance is required & the stuff spreads by vines/roots/seeds. Once past the first year of mega-spraying, the maintenance spraying is much easier. (Our company arborists recommend Brush-B-gone as well.)

As has been told, burning releases the oils into the air. Breathing the oil coats the inside of the lungs and can be deadly to some people.

Soon, I'll have to clear a trail (with poison ivy) between our house & the farm. I'll probably clear it using the brush hog & then just avoid getting my bare hands underneath it from now on.

Your area of the country is quite beautiful. My better half & I visited there on our first vacation. Has the lake monster been spotted recently?

Good luck, be safe, & let us know how it goes.

fishpick · May 21, 2007

When Central Tractor was going out of business years back - I found this all things green killer on the back of a shelf with the label half rubbed off... it weighed about 4 times what you would think a jug of that size would have - so I figured it had to be good... It had a book zip-tied to it with industrial mixing instructions. The instructions for mixing it up includes dilution mixtures with water or kerosene or diesel... I'm sure I needed a permit for it - but don't have one.
It can and does penetrate hard thick woody bark of anything when mixed with diesel... and kills the whole whatever you spray it on...
The mixing instructions included things like "face mask", "respirator", "full rubber gloves"... the active ingredients are actually about 55% of the "components" that make up the infamous "Agent Orange".
It works with darn near one application - follows all the rots and runners for about 50' back through the plants. - of course I have never seen it anywhere else...

But - if you are looking to do this the environmentally "green" way - get a goat... they LOVE the stuff!

AndyMA · May 21, 2007

For years I have been using Round UP professionala strength and it has always killed all the poison ivy in an area. Just remember that all the leaves need to be covered and Round Up only works if the plant is growing and sucks the salt into it's root structure. Also it needs to not rain for about 24 hours after application. It takes about 2 weeks to see the full effect of the application. Also cutting the stems of the larger plants is cheaper and more effective than spraying.

Andy

tuolumne · May 21, 2007

And don't chip an brush with poison ivy on it! They had a big knock down last year at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod. A massive chipping operation took care of the downed trees, but also ensured that poison ivy now covers nearly all of the underbrush in the park. I've only had luck with concentrated roundup directly applied to the leaves. Some of the older specimens on our property were as much as 6" thick going up the trees.

Efreet · May 21, 2007

Thanks for the super useful advice, guys. I just got a big bottle of Brush-B-Gone concentrate, and will treat a test plot. I will post "before and after" photos soon.

The goat idea is very intriguing... partially because there is a goat farm within a couple of miles from my house. I will call the people and see if I can get a couple of "rentals".

Is electric fencing the only way to go, or do goats do well on a tether?

hazmat · May 21, 2007

In case y'all are wondering why there seems to be two different titles to this thread - it's because I merged my thread with this one - since they are exactly the same topic at near the same time, why be redundant?

Let us know what the daily rate is on rental goats

- in the meantime, I'm going to pick up some brush be gone.

MadDogDriver · May 21, 2007

Hazmat,

How'd you merge these threads? Or are you one of our TBN members with Super powers?

weldingisfun · May 21, 2007

hazmat said:
In case y'all are wondering why there seems to be two different titles to this thread - it's because I merged my thread with this one - since they are exactly the same topic at near the same time, why be redundant?

Let us know what the daily rate is on rental goats - in the meantime, I'm going to pick up some brush be gone.

I'll rent a couple dozen to you, cheap!

But, you have to pay transportation and my goats won't settle for less that "First Class Seats".

woodlandfarms · May 22, 2007

In the Pac North West most people I talk to have mixed results with Round-up and Brush B Gone. Crossbow seems to be the hero of the day but boy is it nasty stuff...

Also, there is an old farmers trick of putting in a cup of Ivory Soap for every 5 gallons of mixed solution. I guess it helps stick to the leaves....

Carl

MikeB44 · May 22, 2007

Efreet said:
Is electric fencing the only way to go, or do goats do well on a tether?

Possibly, depends on what they are used to. Some places that rent goats will set up the temporary fence and fencer for you. One reason for the fence is to deter dogs or other predators from getting in. ( A Chattanooga farmer lost a number of his rental goats to dogs. I believe he was doing clearing work along the roadways for the state.)

fishpick · May 22, 2007

MikeB44 said:
...A Chattanooga farmer lost a number of his rental goats to dogs. I believe he was doing clearing work along the roadways for the state...

With respect MikeB44 - this is a very Tennessee post!

From my experience with goats - a goat on a tether as seen by you is a goat with food attached to its neck as seen by the goat.

MikeB44 is right - a fence protects the munching, chewing, eating everything is sight little buggers from being dinner for critters higher up the food chain.

AlanB · May 22, 2007

How effective are the goats? There is a guy with goats in a pasture about 4 houses up from me, and the pasture seems mighty overgrown, all though admittedly I have no idea how many goats are there, or how big the pasture is.

I have to think the goats are cheap (I am thinking $50 each?) or maybe I am crazy, but if I could buy a roll of field fence, and a pair of goats, and work through some of the underbrush on my place, I would be all for that.

However, if they got out and decided to eat the wires on the backhoe, or something else expenisve, it would be time for goat stew.

Anyone with first hand experience?

hazmat · May 22, 2007

MadDogDriver said:
Hazmat,

How'd you merge these threads? Or are you one of our TBN members with Super powers?

I don't know about "super" but perhaps "special" powers.

1bush2hog · May 22, 2007

I investigated the goat idea too. Goats require protection from predators, fresh water source, and proper vet. care.

Also, free or cheap goats may have existing health issues - so beware.

Regarding herbicides, I use Remedy as both foliar and cut stump application. Some of the vines on my trees are 5-6", so I cut these at the base of the tree and then treat with more concentrated mix of herbicide and vegetable oil.

Regardless of what type of method you choose to use, you will probably have to fight this battle more than once, meaning it is unlikely you will totally eradicate poison ivy the first go around.

schmism · May 22, 2007

I have been useing a combination of spray and mechanical removal via my FEL and bucket teeth. Used to scrape it up and push it into a pile.

I spray, mechanical removal, then spray again.

All area's ive worked have remained clear and ive been able to seed with grass to keep the ivy which has "profited immensely from the "edge effect", enabling it to form lush colonies in such places" (Edge effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) out.