Uh Oh Poison Ivy.....

[ChrisBWJ]

In the process of brush-hoggin our field I ran over a bunch of poison ivy and didn't realize it until I'd gone through about 30 yards of it. Now it was dry and dust was flying everywhere...

What has been people's experience in getting rid of a field of poison ivy. Brush-hog it until it goes away? Roundup? Then what?

Appreciate your comments and hope that I didn't inhale too much of it.

I think I've showered three times today already...and think there's another itch....well maybe not, who knows...can't tell at this point. It's probably all in my mind.

 

[ultrarunner]

The only way that I have been able to keep it under control is by aggresivily spraying. Roundup works but you need to keep going back each time you see new sprouts. Brush B Gone works well but is more expensive.

The best remedy that I have found right after exposure is to use ZANFEL. It is made just for Poison Ivy/Oak and nuetralizes the oil on contact.

If you already have itching, CortiCool or Benadryl help some.

When I plan to run the tractor through an area with poison ivy/oak, I have found that ARMOR by Oak-n-Ivy is a very effective pre-exposure Barrier Lotion for face, neck and hands.

Good Luck and don't give up!

 

[jinman]

Chris, the organic folks would say if you use roundup around trees, you will do some harm. If you don't want to use a toxic chemical, you can try a straight vinegar (not the cooking kind, but the kind you can get at some feed stores or organic gardening centers). The best solution is to get a couple of goats or borrow some from a friend. Goats eat poison oak and poison ivy like it is candy. Over several years, they will totally eliminate it. To my knowledge, no herbicide or any other method can make that claim. Good luck. I hope you don't come down with it. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I'm lucky in that I am not allergic unless I rub the plants hard against my skin. I also mowed a field and lots of woods the last two days and the ground is covered in it. This morning I picked a half-gallon of wild blackberries and poison oak was all in that too. If I'm itchin', it will probably only be from chiggers. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Felix]

Chris: I bush hogged two weekends ago. Subsequently, I got poison ivy so bad, my doctor had to put me on prednosone. Never knew they used steroids to treat poison ivy. Worked like a champ, though.

I'll be wearing sleeves in there future.

 

[California]

A good first treatment after Poison Oak exposure is to wash exposed skin with cold water and strong soap. Then a cold shower with more strong soap. You want to rinse the irritant oil off while keeping your pores closed. I assume this applies to Poison Ivy as well.

Also wash clothes alone, first cold then repeat warm, to avoid spreading the oil into others' laundry.

I'm not sure Benadryl lotion is for everyone. I used it once on a small heat rash and it caused immediate hyperactivity like the label warns about. I couldn't sleep until hours after I identified the problem and washed the stuff off.

That ARMOR pre-exposure Barrier Lotion sounds good. I think heavy sunscreen slopped on helps to keep the oil out of your pores too.

 

[ChrisBWJ]

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the goat idea. I'll take a look around at the new neighbors. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm quite allergic to poison ivy/oak. I have a routine I go through after known exposure. Usually it gets most if not all of the oil. I can deal fairly well with a small contained exposure. I guess I'm more concerned about what I may have aspirated than anything else.

If anybody else has suggestions, please bring them on!

 

[PineRidge]

Poison Ivy, we eat it for breakfast! Actually my wife and I have have had it for each of the 4 years that we have lived here on this lot, so you would think that we must eat it to catch it that often. Prednosone pills knock it out in short order, of course you also put on 10 pounds while you are on the stuff because it makes you want to eat constantly. When I'm on the stuff I fill my tractor toolbox up with candy bars. Yum, bring on that pesky poison ivy, and pass the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Junkman]

Electrical linemen keep a jar with a rag soaked in gasoline and wipe down with that when they are exposed to it. The gasoline wipes away the oil and then dries the skin. Then they use brown laundry soap to clean up after-wards. If they do get poison ivy, then they just wipe the area down with ammonia. This gets rid of the poison ivy, and it was once explained to me that it causes a mild chemical burn that will heal faster than the poison ivy will. I have done this in the distant past, but haven't had poison ivy in many years.

 

[To20Chris]

I too have to work at it to get much of a reaction, but I am realizing that my wife is quite sensative to it. She just started using the brush hog last year, and our fields are full of it. I'm not sure if she is getting it by cutting the fields while on the tractor, but I have been starting to worry that she is having systemic itch reactions due to it.

I am amazed how the pioson grows around here, it comes up throuh lawns and fields, everywhere! I am thinking that I need to spray big time, and am starting to look at buying/renting a sprayer. I'll want to use Brush-B-Gone, (or equiv), as it does not harm grasses, but it really hits broadleafs. I think Roundup does a better job systemically, but it kills everything, and is slower. I'm still looking into the cost!

I'd really rather avoid the spraying, but I'm hoping that one good dose, along with continued cutting, with knock it back. Goats will definitly happen, but I don't think I'll get to that this year!

 

[magicbuss01]

I have a naturalist friend in California. While we were walking through a patch of "real aggressive" poison oak, miles away from any cleanup, he said - whatever you do, don't scratch it. Abrading the skin apparently improves the delivery of the oil and will greatly increase the likelyhood/severity of a reaction (of course, running around on your land and operating a CUT will NEVER cause any abrasions /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif ). Seems to me any of the above mentioned cleanup processes (anything which will remove oil) will work fine. The sooner you get the oil off of you, the less likely you are to get it.

Whatever you do with the cuttings, DONT BURN THEM - the fumes from the fire will still carry much of the oil. Breathing the fumes would be bad - your eyes, nose, throat, lungs don't have the thick skin your hands do.

I can't say much about the dust - hopefully your exposure to that was low and you're body won't react.

-Michael