Poison Oak

   / Poison Oak #11  
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.
 
   / Poison Oak #12  
I avoid poison ivy and poison oak like the plague. :eek:

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.
 
   / Poison Oak #13  
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=
 
   / Poison Oak #14  
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.
 
   / Poison Oak #15  
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.
 
   / Poison Oak #16  
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.
 
   / Poison Oak #17  
beowulf said:
I have heard that inhaling the smoke if you burn it can also cause problems.
Click to expand...

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

It can be fatal.


hslogger said:
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.
Click to expand...



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.
 
   / Poison Oak #18  
newbury said:
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 :)
Click to expand...


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...
 
   / Poison Oak #20  
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...
 
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