Working In and Around Poison Ivy

[MadDogDriver]

How far down do the roots grow? How much depth would have to be scraped away? There is a place to pull or push it and cover it over... and then there is loam coming in to recover the area. Would this really be such a worthless project??? Remember... this lady has fought the battle with chems and lost. This is her idea... not mine. The thought of working in and around poison ivy kind of creeped me out... but a paying job is a paying job! Dougster

I'm not sure about how deep the roots grow. They're fairly deep though and I'm not sure that you can bury them deep enough to prevent them from eventually coming back. They're sturdy buggers.

Disposal of the plants is a must, because even the dead ones still can cause a reaction, because urushiol remains active for several years after the plant dies. Special disposal may be required by your local municipal regulations, of course that's not a problem right Doug? NOT!!!

You could milk this one for years (or until she gets tired of paying you to keep killing it). The chemical plan should eradicate it in about two or three years. Problem is people are still exposed to it during that time, and mowing (which should not be done to it) just expedites spreading it all over the place.

EDIT: basically same answer as IRWIN's. Also, I didn't catch what she was spraying it with, but refer to my earlier post for several chemicals that work well and have been used by many county road maintence crews. Ortho's Brush-B-Gon is probably the easiest of them to get without a license. Also, whatever you do, DON'T INHALE the urushiol. People have died from inhalation of it. Seriously!!!

 

[tallyho8]

Judging from the posts on this thread, I must be one of the luckiest people around. I have been clearing my property of poison ivy since I bought it 6 years ago and most of the vines I cut down do not come back. Of course after I clear an area, I maintain it and with regular cutting, the ivy never shows up again. After Katrina knocked down 60 trees on my property, I had the pleasure of cutting, piling and burning them and most of them had poison ivy vines on them larger than my arms. Naturally, I always stayed upwind of the smoke. I had to chain saw the vines and moved most of them barehanded and the only precaution I took was to wash my hands and arms throughly every couple of hours with dishwashing detergent. I have never cleaned my saws or implements of the residue and I have not had any itching in over 20 years. The only other precaution I take is that I only deal with poison ivy in the winter and this is because I can no longer do hard manual labor in our hot summer months and avoid clearing brush in summer because of the heat, snakes, spiders, bugs, briars, ivy, alligators and other things. I did get a rash from poison ivy about 20 years ago when I was hunting and can remember the terrible itching for days and do not know why it does not seem to bother me anymore.

 

[irwin]

You could milk this one for years (or until she gets tired of paying you to keep killing it). The chemical plan should eradicate it in about two or three years. Problem is people are still exposed to it during that time, and mowing (which should not be done to it) just expedites spreading it all over the place.

Yes, and one more thing about mowing..I've gambled and lost with mowing it, not just spreading it around more.. ..which is bad enough, but mowing it durring a dry evening and having a small clould of finely chopped poison ivy land on me and the lawn tractor, the oils waiting for me to touch something before I've decontaminated everything..nasty..nasty! was on prednisone for two weeks!

 

[Dougster]

Hey Doug you may be able to make this work for you..but she needs to help. Impress her with what you've read here, and on the links provided, and tell her you MAY be able to help, but no promises. Tell her it could take a couple of years but it's worth it. ////first SHE must spray AND spray with dilligence a few times a month, then after the majority of PI is dead you can plow it under for her.Make her understand there is no magic instant PI fix... she must spray often and thoroughly.... If it works out and she's happy with the results ...hey word of mouth, the best form of cheap advertisment....
I'm a believer in spraying ..it worked on my last piece of property, and I have no doubt I'll kill most of it here.. but it's because I hate this stuff and what it does..so it's a vendetta, the plant must die and I must do what must be done.....

I hear you Tim. Trust me, I have made no promises. I will do as she instructs me to do. Mostly, I'm just concerned about doing what she wants safely!

This lady is no fool and has apparently lived with... and fought... this problem for quite some time. For whatever reason, this is what she wants to try. For all I know, she plans to hit it with chems again one last time before it gets plowed under. Who knows? I doubt I could ever really impress her with my vast knowledge of how to deal with poison ivy... even with all this good coaching! It may be best simply to play dumb... quite natural and easy for me actually... and do exactly as she wishes. In the end, I'm just a dumb tractor guy who is far more interested in his own safety while working with this stuff. Just can't afford a major bout with poison ivy.

Dougster

 

[Dougster]

Judging from the posts on this thread, I must be one of the luckiest people around. I have been clearing my property of poison ivy since I bought it 6 years ago and most of the vines I cut down do not come back. Of course after I clear an area, I maintain it and with regular cutting, the ivy never shows up again. After Katrina knocked down 60 trees on my property, I had the pleasure of cutting, piling and burning them and most of them had poison ivy vines on them larger than my arms. Naturally, I always stayed upwind of the smoke. I had to chain saw the vines and moved most of them barehanded and the only precaution I took was to wash my hands and arms throughly every couple of hours with dishwashing detergent. I have never cleaned my saws or implements of the residue and I have not had any itching in over 20 years. The only other precaution I take is that I only deal with poison ivy in the winter and this is because I can no longer do hard manual labor in our hot summer months and avoid clearing brush in summer because of the heat, snakes, spiders, bugs, briars, ivy, alligators and other things. I did get a rash from poison ivy about 20 years ago when I was hunting and can remember the terrible itching for days and do not know why it does not seem to bother me anymore.

Hi Dudley - Have I got a job for you!!! When can you start???

Dougster

 

[irwin]

I hear you Tim. Trust me, I have made no promises. I will do as she instructs me to do. Mostly, I'm just concerned about doing what she wants safely!

This lady is no fool and has apparently lived with... and fought... this problem for quite some time. For whatever reason, this is what she wants to try. For all I know, she plans to hit it with chems again one last time before it gets plowed under. Who knows? I doubt I could ever really impress her with my vast knowledge of how to deal with poison ivy... even with all this good coaching! It may be best simply to play dumb... quite natural and easy for me actually... and do exactly as she wishes. In the end, I'm just a dumb tractor guy who is far more interested in his own safety while working with this stuff. Just can't afford a major bout with poison ivy.

Dougster

I hear ya brother, do what's best for you and your responsibilities, buy some good soap and a big bottle of isopropyl alcohol, tape your pants legs up and use latex and cotton gloves.(cotton under latex) and make some money. Maybe wet the area down so the oils won't travel with dust and wind.

 

[Dougster]

You could milk this one for years (or until she gets tired of paying you to keep killing it).

Ha!!! MadDog, I think you're overthinking this... something I am often accused of myself! I am just a dumb tractor guy. I dig ditches and move dirt. If the lady wants it moved into this ditch area and then her land spread with loam... who am I to question? Just tell me how to do it without getting sick! That's all I ask!

Dougster

 

[tallyho8]

If I can use your Mahindra to do the job, just send me a roundtrip ticket and pack an ice chest with cold ones, I'll be there.

 

[Dougster]

Yes, and one more thing about mowing..I've gambled and lost with mowing it, not just spreading it around more.. ..which is bad enough, but mowing it durring a dry evening and having a small clould of finely chopped poison ivy land on me and the lawn tractor, the oils waiting for me to touch something before I've decontaminated everything..nasty..nasty! was on prednisone for two weeks!

Well, this is one of my main concerns... airborne poison! Gotta figure out how and when to do this for my maximum protection... although no way she wants to wait until next winter!

Dougster

 

[Oleozz]

Sounds like she's been using "play spray". You've gotten enough info here to give her some good advice on what sprays she can use to kill it then you do your thing with the plow.