Removing Shrubs Hedges

[JohninCT]

If you are talking boxwood hedges, the simplest thing is to use a chain wrapped around the base. They pop right out. Wear long sleeves and pants to protect yourself from the ivy and wash yourself and your clothes right afterward.

 

[kensnelling]

I'm also blessed with an extreme poison ivy allergy. What has worked best for me has been to wait till winter to work on the ivy. The leaves on the plants are gone then, and I've been told, the sap in the vine is in the roots, like on a tree. Been doing it like this over 15 years no and haven't ever had a winter ivy rash. The other 3 seasons we won't talk about ivy rashes (got one now).
Ken

 

[Fusefinder]

To: Deere Dude
I have used some Ivy killer but it killed everything. Do you happen to know a name or brand that you used.

To: Ken
I have to use Ivy Block, surgical rubber gloves, a second pair of gloves over them. Long sleeve shirt with socks cut open over the wrist. and long pants. Last week was killer trimming them in the 95*+ heat.

 

[Deere Dude]

To: Deere Dude
I have used some Ivy killer but it killed everything. Do you happen to know a name or brand that you used.

To: Ken
I have to use Ivy Block, surgical rubber gloves, a second pair of gloves over them. Long sleeve shirt with socks cut open over the wrist. and long pants. Last week was killer trimming them in the 95*+ heat.

My wife used Roundup Poison Ivy + Brush Killer. I thought it killed just the poisonous stuff but it kills all the poisonous weeds and also almost everything else.
I think I would still use it rather than get the itches.

 

[ChuckinNH]

One thing my son learned in part of his Army training was to wash down as completely as possible with COLD water after possible exposure to poison ivy. The cold water closes the pores in your skin, and rinses the poisonous oils off your skin at the same time. A hot shower will just make matters worse. He told me that perhaps 15 years ago now, and I haven't had a case of poison ivy since I started doing it. Hopefully this will help someone else.

 

[Short Game]

If it wasn't for the allergy, the Brush Grubber works great. Definitely a fast, two person operation, when there are a lot of shrubs to pull up. If the person hooking it up isn't allergic, you could pull more than one per minute. I'm allergic to many things, but thankfully, not poison ivy. Here's a couple of pics of my Brush Grubber with the easy operating handles I added:

I have no idea how I ended up with a couple of 8 inch cotter pins in my junk collection.

 

[ustmd]

THe ideal piece of equipment to get this done:


Pay someone else to do it.


You are highly allergic to Poison Ivy, there is no way this ends well.

 

[RobertN]

I would use the loader. But, I have also used the choke chain to remove brush.

You have multiple obstacles though... First, you gotta get the brush out. Then, you gotta get rid of it. Then, the tractor is going to be covered in the oils from the poison ivy/oak.

Even if you kill it and come back in a few months, the oil will still be in the dead leaves, and especially in the dead twigs and roots.

I have got poison oak from the tractor weeks after the last exposure I had to it. Greasing fittings, changing oil, chaining it on trailer ect.

USTMD has the best idea, but I cannot afford it. So, I take just deal with the itch. I suit up, coveralls, gloves, Avon or Technu pre-exposure cream, Technu after, and a week of itching and oozing sores.

I dont know if it helps, but I spray the tractor with degreaser and power wash it afterwards...

 

[JimP]

Hmm, I have been cutting brush all summer and have had poison ivy all summer. If I was in your situation I would spray with poison ivy killer, wait till late fall/winter and pull everyting using a 20 foot chain between tractor and choker. With two people you can pull a lot of shrubs this way in a short time. How to get rid of the pulled shrubs is a good question.

 

[Elkins45]

Hire a non-allergic helper to hook up the chains and run the tractor yourself. Poison ivy does a number on me as well, and its not worth the misery IMO.