Poison Ivy, UGH.

[Oleozz]

One of the best poison ivy killers on the market today is a product called Crossbow. In Pa you need a pesticide license to buy it.
I've found that RoundUp spray will hurt it but will also kill the broadleaves that are in the area, the poison ivy will then regrow and choke out everything else and be worse then when you first sprayed with Roundup.

 

[ByronBob]

Can you reduce your interaction with the poison ivy if you go after it in the middle of winter? I don't know if this stuff dies in the winter or not.

 

[MAG]

I have wiped out poison ivy with one good spray of RoundUp. You have to get every plant though. The roots will grow 20' or more underground then pop up a new plant. Be sure to use the 40% concentrate to paint or spray on a stump. Some one earlier mentioned using barrier cream on hands. A cheap way is rub your hands with detergent and let it dry. When you wash the deep layer of detergent makes things come loose much better; great for working on your tractor too.

 

[The Gardener]

I am highly allergic and am trying to find out how best to get rid of it.

Plan A
I suggest a call to the local authorities [highway maintenance department or a park and recreation department] to see if they have a plan. They must have to deal with it on public property once in a while and should have some type of procedure that works for them.

If not,

Plan B
If it can be accessed by a backhoe and you can find a local contractor with a FULL SIZE excavator, I would hire this guy to dig it all out.

That's the easy part.

I have NO idea what to do with all of it once it is dug up. Chances are slim that he'll take it from you because I cannot imagine where he could bring it. If it were layed on a large cement or tar parking lot for a few weeks, it'd most likely dry up and die. Of course, finding an abandoned parking is near to impossible. And, after it dies, it is still dangerous to the touch for years.

Best Wishes!!!
The Gardener

 

[Ranger Rick]

One thing that I have found that works well if you think you may have come in contact with poison ivy is a product called "Tecnue". You use it like soap to wash off the oils of the poison ivy. All of our parks keep bottles of the stuff on hand for the staff to use after they have to cut up poison ivy infested trees that fall in inappropriate spots. You can buy it at your local drug store.
Ranger Rick

 

[dillo99]

Can you reduce your interaction with the poison ivy if you go after it in the middle of winter? I don't know if this stuff dies in the winter or not.

The oils in the vine are just as nasty in the winter - so you have to be just as careful.

 

[Bob_Young]

I can vouch for the Fels Naptha soap. Works great if you shower with it and scrub down carefully after working in PI. Don't wait too long though. Be sure to shower by the end of the day because once the rash gets started, the FN soap won't help much. At something like $1.67 per bar, it's well worth searching for compared to that $40/bar stuff.

I still get into trouble with PI...but only when I've been in the stuff and don't know it. One of my worst mistakes was to try to reuse gloves that had been used to work in PI. Gotta remember to buy the cheap throwaway gloves for that work.

Like others here, I've got some very nice property with PI growing everywhere. It seems to love to grow in the shade of evergreen trees. The evergreens kill most of the weed around them, but not PI.

I do tackle the vines with a chainsaw. That doesn't cause any particular problems...if I remember to scrubdown. I like the goat idea. If I lived on the property I'd definitely try that.

Tearing out PI vines in winter isn't too bad, but can lull you into a false sense of security. Got a case this winter from sawing up a bunch of locust trees the neighbor had bulldozed out of a hedgerow. There were some vines wrapped around some trunks and I happily sawed through them without a thought....and without the after work FN scrubdown.
Bob

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Did not read all this post so I may be repeating others.

I wash with Automotive hand cleaner when I am around Ivy. Scrub real good with one of those net kind of shower things. Warm water and hand cleaner does the job. Just need to get rid of the oil from the ivy.

If you have a problem with it you can kill it with weed killer but do not burn it. Just leave it be and let it dry up and it will take care of itself.

Next years nip it early in the spring. One thing about poison Ivy you can real spot in in the fall. Turns a beautiful red...

 

[Tom_H]

The "Rural Living" and "Releted Topics" forums have a number of long threads on Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac. Tons of great info in the archives there if you search.

Glad nobody has talked here about burning it. Those other forums have stories from members who burned/breathed it & then were in the hospital for months and barely survived. There are also other stories of relatives and neighbors who burned it, breathed it, and then didn't make it.