woodmills1
Gold Member
anyone have a cure for the poison ivy that is ready to invade my entire property?
poison ivy
- Thread starter woodmills1
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wichiwichi
Silver Member
Deisel fuel sprayed on it works wonderful. If you are looking for a longer term kill either salt or a product called total vegatation killer will work. The latter 2 will not allow anything to grow for months though. Something else that works, not quite as well is 1 gallon of white vinegar, 2 cups of salt, and 5 drops of dish soap. Sprayed on the leaves on a warm sunny day does a good job.
patrickg
Veteran Member
I don't know what will work for you but if it were me I could treat it like a cash crop and try to encourage it and it would surely die.
Seriously, woody plant/brush killers are abundantly available. Read the labels, go for the most active ingredients for your dollar then follow the directions. Hand pumped sprayers or backpack are good if you don't have areas big enough to warrant a tractor mounted or towed spray rig. The previous diesel fuel suggestion isn't far from the mark, many herbicides are oil soluble and the instructions give diesel fuel mixing directions. Stuff like Roundup (systemic poisons) that don't hang around long after they are used are kinda environment friendly but can do a real good job. There are some "industrial strength" but not restricted to liscensed applicators stump and woody plant killers. I just bought nearly a thousand dollars worth of Remedy. It can be sprayed on the trunks and cut ends or on foilage. Another good one is Torodon (SP?) It is injected into the soil in 2cc doses at the base of the plant to be killed or in a systematic grid if there is a "thicket".
My problem is that the darned ivy is nearly always growing on something I don't want to harm. It doesn't take much Roundup or whatever to really knock the wind out of a pecan tree or whatever. they get sick and linger in a poor state of helath for years if they don't die. Likewise regarding cleaning your sprayer before spraying pesticide on your fruit trees or whatever. I recommend at least three rinses with the last one a cup of household amonia per gallon of final rinse water. There are COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) products for cleaning sprayers that are used for varying products. I have even painted the leaves of poison ivy with killer when I couldn't spray for fear of "collateral damage". A good strong systemic is good for that.
Alternatively, you and yours could take the poison ivy extract pills that desensitize you to the plant's toxins. Some folks can just about roll around naked in it and eat it and not be effected by the poison ivy. Others get deathly ill if they breath the vapors given off on a hot day even at a great distance . Supposedly the extract makes you more like the first group.
Patrick
Seriously, woody plant/brush killers are abundantly available. Read the labels, go for the most active ingredients for your dollar then follow the directions. Hand pumped sprayers or backpack are good if you don't have areas big enough to warrant a tractor mounted or towed spray rig. The previous diesel fuel suggestion isn't far from the mark, many herbicides are oil soluble and the instructions give diesel fuel mixing directions. Stuff like Roundup (systemic poisons) that don't hang around long after they are used are kinda environment friendly but can do a real good job. There are some "industrial strength" but not restricted to liscensed applicators stump and woody plant killers. I just bought nearly a thousand dollars worth of Remedy. It can be sprayed on the trunks and cut ends or on foilage. Another good one is Torodon (SP?) It is injected into the soil in 2cc doses at the base of the plant to be killed or in a systematic grid if there is a "thicket".
My problem is that the darned ivy is nearly always growing on something I don't want to harm. It doesn't take much Roundup or whatever to really knock the wind out of a pecan tree or whatever. they get sick and linger in a poor state of helath for years if they don't die. Likewise regarding cleaning your sprayer before spraying pesticide on your fruit trees or whatever. I recommend at least three rinses with the last one a cup of household amonia per gallon of final rinse water. There are COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) products for cleaning sprayers that are used for varying products. I have even painted the leaves of poison ivy with killer when I couldn't spray for fear of "collateral damage". A good strong systemic is good for that.
Alternatively, you and yours could take the poison ivy extract pills that desensitize you to the plant's toxins. Some folks can just about roll around naked in it and eat it and not be effected by the poison ivy. Others get deathly ill if they breath the vapors given off on a hot day even at a great distance . Supposedly the extract makes you more like the first group.
Patrick
wroughtn_harv
Super Member
Poison Ivy, yup, one of the favorite topics of discussion for visitors around the shop. I've got it everywhere. Just this morning I plucked a stem and pointed out to an extremely nervous visitor just what to look for when trying to identify it.
Here's some observations of a purely unscientific nature on the lovely weed.
One, it's like cedar trees here in Texas. There's a native (no, I'm not a native but I got here as soon as I could) saying about how to grow a cedar windrow. First you string a wire.
I've found the ivy grows everywhere the birds crap. No other way to put it. The birds eat the pretty little green berries and come visiting and use your toilet which now becomes a nursery for your very own ivy patch.
The other thing is ivy likes to climb. I guess it's a kid at heart. So you will find it thickest where it can play, fences, trees, bushes, etc.
I had it coming in the door of the shop. You literally had to duck your head to keep from brushing your doo when coming in to visit. It was climbing up the walls at the back, got them little sticky thingys just for wall climbing, even metal walls. I had some stems in the restroom. It was everywhere.
Now it stays at the top of the fence where it does what I like it doing best. When you have a shop with all the neat tools I've got the best defense against thieves is a good offense. I'm abrasive and unfriendly as hell and I've got poison ivy just about all around the place.
I have goats. Goats like poison ivy about as much as goats like anything. Poison ivy is to goats what sushi is to coasters.
The problem I have with just spraying the bejeezuz out of the ivey with poisons is birds like them berrys like kids like snowcones.
I suggest pulling the ivy as it comes up. It's easy and if you're alert not hard to find when it's just a little bitty thing. You can be aware of the likely hood of it's presence is where the birds are gonna sit and doo. Under your feeders, trees, fences, etc.
BTW my goat Bill is a Tennessee fainter. He's not only a great ivy trimmer by nature. He's fantastic for entertainment, just naturally.
Here's some observations of a purely unscientific nature on the lovely weed.
One, it's like cedar trees here in Texas. There's a native (no, I'm not a native but I got here as soon as I could) saying about how to grow a cedar windrow. First you string a wire.
I've found the ivy grows everywhere the birds crap. No other way to put it. The birds eat the pretty little green berries and come visiting and use your toilet which now becomes a nursery for your very own ivy patch.
The other thing is ivy likes to climb. I guess it's a kid at heart. So you will find it thickest where it can play, fences, trees, bushes, etc.
I had it coming in the door of the shop. You literally had to duck your head to keep from brushing your doo when coming in to visit. It was climbing up the walls at the back, got them little sticky thingys just for wall climbing, even metal walls. I had some stems in the restroom. It was everywhere.
Now it stays at the top of the fence where it does what I like it doing best. When you have a shop with all the neat tools I've got the best defense against thieves is a good offense. I'm abrasive and unfriendly as hell and I've got poison ivy just about all around the place.
I have goats. Goats like poison ivy about as much as goats like anything. Poison ivy is to goats what sushi is to coasters.
The problem I have with just spraying the bejeezuz out of the ivey with poisons is birds like them berrys like kids like snowcones.
I suggest pulling the ivy as it comes up. It's easy and if you're alert not hard to find when it's just a little bitty thing. You can be aware of the likely hood of it's presence is where the birds are gonna sit and doo. Under your feeders, trees, fences, etc.
BTW my goat Bill is a Tennessee fainter. He's not only a great ivy trimmer by nature. He's fantastic for entertainment, just naturally.
Ken_NC
New member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2002
- Messages
- 19
- Tractor
- Kubota 2710 purchased used with 179 hours
I've just about eradicated it from my property by using Roundup. Here is how I handle it:
1. If it is growing on the ground, I spray it with Roundup.
2. Then I look up from that spot & search the trees to see if I can see any there. I figure the chances are good that seeds dropped from above.
3. If I see a vine in a tree, I use loppers to cut the vine about 2-3 feet above the ground. Then I paint full strength Roundup on the cut end that goes into the ground; I use a small paint brush. I leave the part in the tree; it will eventually dry up and fall out (may take a year or 2).
4. Every year at this time, I walk the area & spot spray any new plants I find. After the initial eradication, the touch-up work each year is easy.
Ken
1. If it is growing on the ground, I spray it with Roundup.
2. Then I look up from that spot & search the trees to see if I can see any there. I figure the chances are good that seeds dropped from above.
3. If I see a vine in a tree, I use loppers to cut the vine about 2-3 feet above the ground. Then I paint full strength Roundup on the cut end that goes into the ground; I use a small paint brush. I leave the part in the tree; it will eventually dry up and fall out (may take a year or 2).
4. Every year at this time, I walk the area & spot spray any new plants I find. After the initial eradication, the touch-up work each year is easy.
Ken
I'm with Ken NC. I'm in SC and am "rehabilitating" 7.5 overgrown acres, on which every tree (and there are a lot) was poison ivy or oak (look different, but pack the same wallop - heck, I even had poison sumac - didn't know it, but sure found out). I cut the stuff off at ground level (industrial strength trimmer), as I did all vines (prickly, mostly). The next year, as the stuff sprouted - well below the level of leaves on any tree, I zapped anything within 2 feet of any tree with RoundUP, at twice the recommended strength (when I used the "weed" strength - the poison ivy and brush ignored it) via a back-pack mounted sprayer. I walked around the property a month later, with the same solution in the sprayer, and zapped anything still hanging around. Now kids can wander my property and climb any tree - no rashes to bother mom with. Yup, it's labor intensive, but I did not kill any natural tree or shrub I didn't want to, and with RoundUp, you do not have to worry about contaminating your water supply. If you've a lot of land, the least expensive RoundUp concentrate (the 50% stuff, not the 25% stuff they sell you at the same price at their Walmart outlet) is at SAMS, but Lowe's has a multigallon bottle of such for $150 if you have 10 plus acres and loads of poison stuff. Good luck, and wear gloves.
bobnewjersey
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2002
- Messages
- 96
- Location
- (Wantage Twp) Northwest New Jersey
- Tractor
- New Holland TC40D
Good advise, Ken.
exeter_acres
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2002
- Messages
- 76
- Location
- SE Michigan
- Tractor
- Craftsman Garden Tractor (Hey! it's a start!)
This is the method I have been using as well.. Unfortunately the ivy had starngled a few trees so they had to go...
Yep, just cut it and then I just use the pump spray of Roundup.. Early spring is better cuz the oils in the ivy aren't flowing as much. Just be careful, because the oils are now on the lopers.
We had a couple vines as big as an arm and when I cut it the oil actually sprayed out a bit!!!
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is this:
DO NOT BURN IT!!!!!!
Unless you are a LONG, LONG way from other people and there is absolutely NO wind.
If someone breathes in the fumes (ie: the smoke from the fire) it can get very ugly!
Good luck and when you are done, come on over and help me!
Curtis
Yep, just cut it and then I just use the pump spray of Roundup.. Early spring is better cuz the oils in the ivy aren't flowing as much. Just be careful, because the oils are now on the lopers.
We had a couple vines as big as an arm and when I cut it the oil actually sprayed out a bit!!!
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is this:
DO NOT BURN IT!!!!!!
Unless you are a LONG, LONG way from other people and there is absolutely NO wind.
If someone breathes in the fumes (ie: the smoke from the fire) it can get very ugly!
Good luck and when you are done, come on over and help me!
Curtis
Inspector507
Super Member
Rob,
I used to receive a series of 3 shots at the beginning of each summer. That worked for me, buy they too were taken off the market. Not enough proof that they worked, or so the FDA said /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.
I used to receive a series of 3 shots at the beginning of each summer. That worked for me, buy they too were taken off the market. Not enough proof that they worked, or so the FDA said /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.
