Uh Oh Poison Ivy.....

[cisco]

Hmm, had poison ivy on about 1/3 of the trees on my country property when purchased (7.5 acres, approx. 60 trees). We trimmed the trees, and they needed it badly, and cut the poison ivy off near the ground. Wearing a long sleeve shirt and gloves worked most of the time - just peel them off, dump into washing machine and hit the shower after work. Anyhow, the next year the poison ivy started growing, but a backpack sprayer (5 gallons) filled with Round-up at twice the "kill tough weeds" strength and a long walk (took most of a day, and about 40 gallons) zapped all the poison ivy except a few stems, which were killed the next year by another Round-up session (as were a bunch of briars). Three years after the PI massacre, my trees (mostly oaks) are fine, and there is no PI - none.
Zanfel, and other stuff is available, works fine as a barrier, but so does a long sleeve shirt (if you're not sweating).
If PI gets you, topical steroid (large tubes of 1% hydrocortisone are available at SAMS and COSTCO) will slowly work in most folks without major reactions, and others may need oral prednisone (cheap, generic).
So, my grandchildren (when I get any) will never see poison ivy on my property - it's gone.

 

[Rimmer]

"I'll keep an eye out for the Crossbow. Where do you normally buy it?..."

I get it at the local agricultural chemical supplier -- the guys who sell everything from off-road diesel fuel to bulk fertilizer, including doing custom chemical applications. In my area the company is Southern FS (formerly Farm Service Co., and Fruit Belt Service Co. before that).

Probably any of the big ag chemical outfits (Cenex, etc.) would have it or something similar. It is classified as a brush killer, and the nice thing about it (as compared to Roundup) is that it won't kill everything (i.e., it leaves the grass alone), so that if you have a big area to spray you won't end up creating a mini-dust bowl.