Poison Oak

[ericm979]

We have a lot of poison oak. Many large stands, some up to 20' diameter, plus oak in trees that I want to take down. I'm very allergic to it. So far I have been attacking it while suited up in overalls and old clothes, using an electric pole pruner to cut the stems low down. I apply Technu blocker beforehand and wash extensively using Dawn after. If I do it right I don't get too bad of a reaction. I've also used the loader bucket to shove it into a pile, but to do that I need access to one side and a place to shove/pile the PO on the other side. I got a Piranaha tooth bar and that lets me pull the PO around some but I'm still limited to pushing it into a pile. Our land is steep; the places I can take a tractor are limited.

What sort of implement would let me pick it up and carry it off to a better disposal site on my land? It seems that grapples are for larger material. PO vines would slip through the teeth. Tree pullers could grab the PO near the ground and pull it out but wouldn't be able to control long vines while in transit to the disposal area.

Hiring it out to people who are immune is probably the smartest thing but I'm trying to figure out how to do it myself.

 

[beowulf]

I am also allergic to poison oak. I see you are from Santa Cruz - I got into a mess of poison oak over there one summer - hiking. We have a bunch here to - maybe not as much as you do. I will take it out if it is somewhere I may be hiking or need access to but I can't take it out everywhere - so I try to be careful and watch for it. I put on gloves and long sleeve shirt and have a bucket of water and soap handy in case I contact it. With some care you can cut and pull the vines out by hand but you may have too many to do that. There is a brush killer spray the will also take it out - I have used that as well.

A final option may be goats if you are fenced for it and the area is not too large. I have heard that goats will eat it - not sure though.

Sure is not a lot of fun to make contact with it . And BTW, I have heard that inhaling the smoke if you burn it can also cause problems.

I was told once that the phrase "caught red handed" came from a practice in Japan where they would brush on poison oak or poison ivy resin on top of gold leaf in temples - then if someone tried to steal the gold leaf they would have red hands.

 

[ericm979]

I'm only worrying about it in places I want to get in to. There's a huge stand on and on the bank above an old road I want to open up. It's too big to get at with the pole pruner so I went at it with the tractor yesterday. I got maybe halfway across it but the pile is huge now and the tractor's having a tough time pushing it. There's another PO bush in front of and in an elevated kids playhouse the previous owner put in. I want to remove all that as that's where I eventually want to build a shop. That one was small enough that I could cut all the stems with the pole pruner but I still need to push it out of the way. I think I can get the tractor in there and shove it off to the side but if I could haul it off to a better disposal site I'd rather do that.

 

[oosik]

Hi down there. I'm deathly allergic to poison oak. My first suggestion - go to your local Dr and get PO shots. Years ago when I lived where there is a lot of it - I got the shots and was not bothered with it for an entire year.

Be very careful burning it - I helped the Forrest Service on a wildfire burn and when the fire burned thru a large patch - four of us ended up in the hospital with an intense rash.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Absolutely don't burn it. If you breath the smoke, you can wind up with a serious situation in your lungs. Even if you stand upwind from it, a downwind neighbor might breath it. Or, as oosik said, you can get it one your skin. Just don't do it.

 

[newbury]

OP -
Have you tried exposing yourself on purpose?

I've a lot of PI around the house. I used be a field Biologist and took ImuIvy which worked great. But they stopped making it
But I have also found if I just "contact CAREFULLY" in the early spring with a leaf I don't get affected much.
I rub a fresh leaf on a spot that I can put up with itching for two weeks then I don't get it much the rest of the year.
I'll infect a small spot on my left forearm and just put up with the bother. But I make sure to wash everything else. Not much worse than getting a PI itch in the groin.

Now there is a product called "Oral Ivy".
One reviewer on Amazon wrote:

Years ago I used a product called Imu Ivy (there was also Imu Oak) which came in a packet of four vials and was taken orally once a month.. The local Telephone Company kept it in stock for their linemen. Worked wonderfully and I used it for several years! And then they quit making it.

It doesn't work for everybody, but when it does work it's great.

/edit - now if just eating deer ticks would work

 

[ericm979]

I know about not burning it. I'm a former USFS firefighter. In any case it's essentially impossible to burn in my county. Oosik do you know what the shots were? The only ones I can find in a search are corticosteroids which don't last. The oral prednisone I've had to take a few times due to PO has some bad side effects so I would not want more powerful steroid shots unless I was really hurting. I've not tried deliberate exposure or the homeopathic stuff.

But even if I was immune I'd like a way to move the stuff around with the tractor and get it out of the way. Being allergic just means I want to avoid touching it. Any suggestions?

 

[RNeumann]

The grapple will move the piles but not do much for taking small vines- especially around other plant you want to keep. I'd get the disposable tyvek jump suits, nitrile gloves with disposable cotton gloves over those. go to town for a day or two until the big stuff is out. Then you will need to stay on top of it with round-up or a commercial bush killer.

By the time you buy a bunch of tools or implements it may be cheaper to hire it done.

As for purposely exposing yourself- I got the shots for several years. Went from being bed ridden with the stuff to normal-below normal reactions.

 

[oosik]

ericm979 - No, I don't even think I knew what it was at the time. I do know that it wasn't some special, mystical potion because the Dr was well aware of the shots and had them immediately available in our small home town.

I should explain this was in 1958 & 1959 - so in all likelihood that treatment method may have long gone by the wayside. I just figured some form of shots were still available ??

 

[RNeumann]

To clarify their are two types of shots. One is used to build immunity. It is typically a derivative of PO. The other is a post exposure shot to help with symptoms. Typically that is a steroid. The other post exposure treatment is an antihistamine- but those are typically given orally.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Thankfully I don't react as badly to it as I used to. For the bushes, spray with brush killer and mow 10-14 days later. The vines I do the same as you cutting them off with a pole pruner. I cut out a section of several inches, to make sure it doesn't grow back, but I don't know if it could but I like to be sure. I just leave the vines in the trees though, I don't see the need to remove the vine unless I'm putting a deer stand in the tree. In that case I use a machete to cut off however high I need it removed, then pry the remaining vine off of the tree with the machete. Spraying the vine stump is probably a good idea. Spraying the vine probably isn't a good idea unless you can spray every leaf.

 

[Oldoak]

I avoid poison ivy and poison oak like the plague.

I was always highly allergic to both although not quite as intense now. I used to say if I looked at it, I got it. I had it so bad when I was young, I looked like a burn victim with large patches of oozing blisters on my body. Absolutely nothing funny about poison ivy or poison oak. Fortunately, today doctors have much better treatments available for intensive cases. As also noted by others.

And a reminder to some who have never been affected by poison oak or ivy, you can become allergic to it at any point in you life. So it doesn't help to become to complacent when working around it.

 

[k0ua]

I don't know if this would help you or not, but I made an attachment for my grapple to deal with small saplings and vines. It is a plate system so that I can grasp on to small things. I use it often to pull on our grape vines that are embedded in our trees.
You can look at the construction and usage pictures in this thread below.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...y-wicked-grapple-bush-grabber.html?highlight=

 

[beowulf]

A bit of information re PO and PI - copied from an article on Medicinenet.com

What causes a poison ivy, oak, or sumac rash?
Exposure to all of these plants can produce a rash, which is caused by sensitivity to an oily resin found in these plants called urushiol. This substance can be found on the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots of these plants. Interestingly, it can remain active even after the plant has died. Exposure to even very small amounts of urushiol, amounts less than a grain of table salt, will lead to the development of a rash in 80%-90% of individuals.
The rash (an allergic contact dermatitis) can be caused by direct contact with urushiol by touching the plants or by indirect contact with the plant oil that may have contaminated a pet's fur, tools, clothing, or other surfaces. Airborne contact is also possible if these plants are burned and the urushiol particles land on the skin, and it can affect the lungs as well if the urushiol is inhaled. In the United States, Toxicodendron dermatitis is the most common cause of contact dermatitis.
Sensitivity to urushiol occurs when individuals come into contact with it. The first time a person is exposed, they may not develop a rash. However, with repeated exposure, sensitivity develops that ultimately leads to the development of the characteristic rash. Most people (about 85%) will develop sensitivity, while a small percentage of individuals (about 15%) never develop an allergic reaction to urushiol.

 

[tractorshopper]

I'm very allergic to it. When I get it, I typically have to get a shot of cortisone to clear it up.

I recently sold my property that had the PI that I fought for years. Whenever I buy another property, I'll be looking for property that does not have it to begin with.

By mowing regularly and clipping chunks out of the vines up the trees, I could keep it knocked down, but never got rid of it altogether, especially in the woodsy areas.

 

[hslogger]

My poison oak story and I ain't a lying.
Late 1970's I was logging the foothills of the Oregon coast range and found myself in a patch of poison oak that was thick in the timber stand I was working in. Around noon I found myself scratching and red on my arms and face. I could feel it getting worse and skin was sore. I was in some pain and really uncomfortable, sores were beginning to swell up. I headed home and stopped at a small store for a soda and the guy in there I knew, he said, "man you got into some poison oak" I surely did. Never was savvy to it. He gave me some Hyland Laboratories tablets, small like saccharin and told me to take them in a series and take the bottle home with me. I was beginning to look and feel miserable. By night fall I wasn't itching so badly at all. Inside of three days the sores subsided, no itching and I was much much better. To THIS DAY, I am immune to the stuff. I can grab a handful of it and chase people around with it and it doesn't bother me a lick. Hyland's Poison Ivy / Oak Tablets | Hyland's Homeopathic
This stuff is a homeopathic remedy and I am a testimonial to the healing effect it gave me.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I have heard that inhaling the smoke if you burn it can also cause problems.

If you call having weeping, itching boils inside your lungs "problems", then yes, it can cause problems.

It can be fatal.

To THIS DAY, I am immune to the stuff. I can grab a handful of it and chase people around with it and it doesn't bother me a lick. Hyland's Poison Ivy / Oak Tablets | Hyland's Homeopathic
This stuff is a homeopathic remedy and I am a testimonial to the healing effect it gave me.

I am highly skeptical of the value of homeopathics...... but.... I have heard similar reports on the effectiveness of this particular remedy from this particular company.

 

[ultrarunner]

OP -
Have you tried exposing yourself on purpose?

I've a lot of PI around the house. I used be a field Biologist and took ImuIvy which worked great. But they stopped making it
But I have also found if I just "contact CAREFULLY" in the early spring with a leaf I don't get affected much.
I rub a fresh leaf on a spot that I can put up with itching for two weeks then I don't get it much the rest of the year.
I'll infect a small spot on my left forearm and just put up with the bother. But I make sure to wash everything else. Not much worse than getting a PI itch in the groin.

Now there is a product called "Oral Ivy".
One reviewer on Amazon wrote:


It doesn't work for everybody, but when it does work it's great.

/edit - now if just eating deer ticks would work

That was me that wrote the Amazon review... Poison Oak is the bane of existence on the folks property... 25 years of all out war has eliminated most of it...

 

[newbury]

That was me that wrote the Amazon review... Poison Oak is the bane of existence on the folks property... 25 years of all out war has eliminated most of it...

Well it was attributed to:Tennessee Gardener .on August 18, 2014

 

[ultrarunner]

Interesting... I did a write up and contacted the original manufacturer of the product to ask why it had been discontinued...

Still have a pack in the original vials as it was standard issue for the Telephone Company and the linemen said it really worked well.

Will have to look for it and follow up...