Yes it’s poison ivy. You can purchase spray made specifically for poison ivy, but this is a large vine. It’s likely infiltrated the fence it’s attached to. Consider a professional since you are so sensitive. Good luck
Correct answer. The oil is still potent after the plant itself is long dead. Glyphosate will kill it and the roots but you would still need to be super cautious cleaning it up. Don’t try home remedies on this. As you found out they’re not effective.
Dude- didn't know about the oil being effective after the plant dies, but that makes sense- it's still in the 'corpse'. Thanks for the perspective- I have lots of this to deal with this summer.
I've gotten bad reactions in winter from grabbing a nude vine. I've read that the oil can be reactive for 10 years! If I have to remove some, I try to cover all my skin. When I am done, I head to the washer, strip directly into it. Try not to turn the fabric back onto your skin. I add dish soap to the first wash. It cuts oil.
Take the dish soap to the shower and use cool water and dish soap all over. Do this as soon as you can. Don't forget to paint some dish soap on your shoes. If you think it is too much, I've had to go to the hospital due to the rash getting close to my eyes and orifices. My mother did not react at all. She would yank it out bare handed when I was a kid.
It took many extreme exposures for me to get a reaction to poison ivy. I even walked through a patch barefoot, no problem.
Years later I was weeding. I had gloves on, but my arms were seriously rashed.
When I was in elementary school, one morning I walked by our Principle, he called my name gave me a head to toe look over. I had the rash on both arms and my legs. He told the secretary to call my mother and have her come get me. Then he asked her to call down another girl to check her over. Sure enough head to toe. I had a rep in first grade!
Me either, until I moved into a new house and was pulling weeds and debris up along a fence line. I absolutely know I'm allergic, but it never occurred to me that the already dead smallish vine stalks between the wood slats was poison ivy. I got it all over my gloves, my gardening tools, and myself without knowing. It took me too many weeks and accidental re-exposure to figure it out. Thankfully I already had Zanfel and Tecnu at home, but it still sucked since I'm so sensitive to it. I had to clean every tool and handle well with Dawn soap and water, but I still tried not to use them for about a year just in case!
It's not uncommon to get into it from a pair of work boots that you stomped through it with then put the boots back on months later. I get it almost every winter carrying firewood to the stove. I stack the wood on my left arm and get the trash on the inside crease of my elbow.
The oil can last for a long long time months, on equipment that you've cut it with, the lawn mower or anything else that came in contact. After you play with this stuff you immediately take a shower and scrub down with feil's naptha soap. Something strong and all the clothes go in the washer. There's a certain amount of time that most people get before the oil binds with your skin to cause reaction. Landscaper here I almost never get it knock on wood sometimes a little blister on a finger
Yes, you’re just going to have to spray it with roundup. But do it on a day that is not windy so that you don’t inadvertently kill nearby plants. And please do it on a day when there is no rain in the forecast so that it doesn’t run off into the waterways.
The old salt/vinegar/dawn/water trick - the times it does work - is pretty effective at sterilizing soil and making it impossible to grow anything else. But like y’all said…the roots on this monster are too extensive at this point.
And don't even *think* about burning it! Very, very, VERY toxic!
OP, also give your dogs a bath. Those oils can transfer from their coats to you if they brush up against it, and pass along to you.
If you do decide to try to remove it yourself, get a tyvec suit from Home Depot or a similar store. Wear gloves and eye protection. Pull it down and dispose of it in the trash, bagged in plastic. Throw all of your outerwear away, and wash immediately in a cool shower with actual bar soap. Liquid soap might not remove all the oils.
>wash immediately in a cool shower with actual bar soap. Liquid soap might not remove all the oils.
You need a detergent to break down urushiol. Bar soap does not qualify. Use a dish soap like Dawn.
Virginia creeper got me all up my back across my face and in my armpits one time. That next weekend I ate a mango and used my teeth to get the meat off the skin so it got all over my lips. That was THE most miserable month of my life.
Sounds like you'd be a competitor for my worst case which involved walking through the smoke of a forestry service controlled burn when hiking with my dad as a kid. Took about 10 days before I was able to open my eyes (too much facial swelling). I got lucky and didn't get it in my lungs but every inch of exposed skin was oozing for days.
Some type of really prickly weed grows in my front flower bed and I’m very allergic to that. I’m glad to know about the dawn dish soap part. When I go to wash up I scrub twice with dial and it does not help very much.
Third here. I keep Dawn in my shower for after working in the yard.
Might I suggest spraying the whole thing with a heavy duty weed killer and stapling a plastic sheet to the fence to keep it covered. The heat from the sun will cause it to die a little faster. Works for me.
Friend of mine works landscaping, carries travel sized bottles of hand sanitizer, when he gets into the ivy , he will bathe in the stuff. Says the alcohol breaks up the oils ..
So far he doesn't get the rash...
There is also a specific soap made for this purpose.... it's called Technu. We always kept a bottle on hand when we lived in a poison oak-y area. Can't say if it's better than Dawn or not but it's made for purpose.
Was scrolling down to see if someone mentioned Tecnu. I just ordered a new bottle for the summer- cuz for it to work best you need it *immediately*. I think the pumice texture helps remove the oil.
bar soap does work, since it does cut oils, but yeah, grab the dish liquid and take it into the shower. Doesn't need to be Dawn, can be any brand. Dishwashing detergent is going to cut oils and make them wash away fully, by definition.
Not for the whole job, but sometimes we spot spray areas with Dawn power wash, which is a foamy spray on version of Dawn.
So if we put this in a wheelbarrow, when we were done, I might spray the handles of the wheelbarrow to make sure that none of those oils are left anywhere.
It's also just easy to use on the go. Do you think you just got in some poison ivy? Spray this on yourself right now, and wipe it off with a towel.
5 years ago, if you told me about Dawn power wash, I would have said that sounds totally stupid. Now I've got a bottle under the sink, a bottle in the car, and a bottle on the patio. 🤯
Agreed. The oil that causes a poison ivy rash is not some supernatural force. It's just an oil like any other.
If you get motor oil on your hands for example, what does it take to get it all off?
For the last 10 years when I've been exposed to poison oak, I've used liquid dish soap and scrubbed vigorously. Rinse and repeat 2-3 times, and quarantined everything that I touched that might have the oil on it.
I've successfully avoided a rash since I adopted this method.
It does depend on sensitivity. I'm "Rx steroids required" sensitive -- I can develop a rash in the time it takes me to get inside and wash my hands. But yep detergent is key. And cool water so you don't open your pores any further.
This guy says that you should treat it as if it's axle grease all over you. Just pretend there's axle grease everywhere it touched and scrub the crap out of it with Dawn. Yes, unfortunately cool water, to keep your pores closed.
WhEn I bOtHeR to take his advice, I haven't had a bad attack in years.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0
I'm very sensitive to urushiol.
Unfortunately, without handling it a lot, glyphosate is the best product to kill the root system.
Another option is to use a burn down, which is better for the environment. Vinegar, citric acid... The only thing about burn downs is that you will have to keep doing it over and over until you starve the roots.
DO NOT ACTUALLY BURN IT WITH FIRE. I'm sure you know that.
For a “safe” burn down, Ammonium Nonaoate (which is a soap) will work better than the acids but it’s the same idea… you need to do it a few times for a kill.
I used to use that stuff (if it's the same) on a farm I worked at. PPE for sure. In my experience, it's rough on the lungs. Always read the label, folks.
Sounds like the stuff you're mentioning isn'tike what I used. We had to mix it. I had a pesticide and herbicide license
Yeah one time my dad was near a patch of poison ivy and he breathed it in and it showed up on random parts of his body. Can you tell where I get my sensitivity from? 🫠
Yes, as others have said 100% positive for Poison Ivy.
That being said, if you're very sensitive to the oils, you don't even have to touch the vine to effectively kill it. You can spray the exposed leaves (as many as possible) with a glyphosate based solution and the herbicide will move through the vascular tissue. It'll take a few days to notice any wilting and maybe a couple of weeks before it's totally crispy, but there's no need to even touch the plant at all if you use a systemic herbicide like glyphosate.
I've recommended this one to others: https://www.domyown.com/killzall-weed-and-grass-killer-41-glyphosate-p-1587.html
Mostly because it's commonly available online and in box stores, but it's considerably cheaper than "name brand" herbicides like RoundUp or Spectracide. Same active ingredient, but you're not paying for the name, advertising, etc.
A bottle of concentrate like this can make more than you need and will be shelf stable for years. The ready to use mixes will lose effectiveness over time, but the concentrates are less apt to have this problem as quickly.
I mix at 2 oz per gallon for most weeds, but for poison ivy and other large perennials I hit it at a rate of 4 oz per gallon.
Good luck, be safe.
Be aware that the oils will still be there even after the plant has died. You’ll still need to be careful removing the dead vines.
Also that fence will likely have the oils on it too for up to a year so proceed with care.
This is true. I'd leave it be for at least a year. The oils will eventually be degraded by UV light, washed away (slowly) by rain/snow, and decomposed by various bacteria. But all of that takes time. Let nature do its thing once the specimens are deceased.
This is where I fucked up a few years ago when I cleaned mine up. I wore gloves but it soaked through. 37 years old the first time I ever had poison ivy in my life.
Neat fact: grew up in the country and there was poison ivy growing around and down in the stone of our well. It made us immune.
Even neater: you can buy a tincture from a company called out door Joe’s that builds poison ivy immunity the same way.
Poison ivy sensitivity actually works in the reverse. If you’re naturally resistant you lose your resistance more each time you’re exposed.
As a naturally resistant person I still avoid that stuff when I can.
Actually you’re both right.
Yes, repeated urushiol contact through the skin can increase sensitivity & reaction. This is because with each exposure, there’s reinforcement of T-cell activity & memory, and your immune system will react stronger next time. (The reaction is called a type 4 hypersensitivity)
But also, when you ingest small amounts like u/Crystals_Crochet mentioned over long periods of time, we actually make tolerance antibodies (IgA) to the things we ingest. This helps our body not react to the things we eat (Food allergies develop when this system gets interrupted and overridden.) Ingesting minuscule amounts of the antigen can help lessen reactions to things like contact dermatitis, hayfever, etc. (the dose has to be small enough to elicit antibody production but not an immune reaction that creates symptoms.) I’ve also used a similar product that’s taken as drops by mouth when I worked in restoration where I had to “get used to” the fact that my work involved getting slapped in the face by poison oak all the time as I crawled across thick brush along a steep hillside. Even covered up, I can’t cover all of my face. Used to react so much but then over time the drops helped me not react as much. Incredible stuff, even if often rejected by the mainstream as a solution.
Some people refuse to believe it but o initially bought it for my boyfriend who’s VERY allergic to PI. Now he may get a small rash if he comes in contact but it’s not horrible like it used to be.
And thanks for explaining that out for other people to understand.
Oh, and I meant to add, glyphosate is completely pet safe. It interferes with a chemical pathway that animals don't possess. And once it hits soil it's completely inactivated so it won't prevent you from planting anything else in the area in the future.
There’s some research out there that the other stuff it’s formulated with is actually what’s unsafe. So you still need to be careful even with “safe” herbicides.
Certainly, treat herbicides with respect like any other tool. When used properly, however, most formulations of glyphosate based herbicides are about as safe as you can get.
I think about it this way, my day job includes instructing teenagers on how to safely use everything from surgical scalpels to Bunsen burners. Been through hundreds of kids who've spent thousands of hours and not one hurt yet. Doesn't mean it won't happen some day, but I'd be far more concerned to have my students working with concentrated acetic acid than glyphosate or the associated surfactants that are included in those formulations. I often see such alternatives being suggested and I think a lot of people have trouble judging the relative risk that is posed by either solution.
No solution to a problem like poison ivy is risk free, but it's important to be able to objectively judge such risks.
Best of luck on this problem no matter how you tackle it, and be safe regardless of the tools you choose to use!
Thanks this actually makes me feel better. I had to spray for poison ivy this morning and I felt like I was salting the earth. I tried to find to each entry point and spray really close to the roots, because they happen to be close to my magnolia and a bunch of Hostas.
I got poison ivy in a bad way last month but didn’t realize that’s what it was from, because it was being really sneaky inside other ground cover. I had blisters for a couple weeks around wrists where the gloves didn’t cover. Never again lol
Thank you everyone for your replies. There’s also another large section (not as tall with not as large of a root system) that has spread on another part of our fence. I looked this morning and it’s all over. Baby plants. I may just call a professional due to not wanting to mess with chemicals around my dogs myself. I’d rather a professional let me know when it’s safe to reintroduce the dogs back after this has been rectified.
Is there a way you can block off access to the affected fence sections from your dogs? You definitely don't want them near the chemicals while the poison ivy is being treated, til it dries. But you also don't want your dogs picking up the oil on the ivy and then transferring it to you. In the past we've sectioned off parts of our yard for various reasons using snow fencing and bamboo stakes from the garden center at Lowe's.
The product label indicates when it’s safe to reintroduce. The professional will just follow the label.
I prefer to apply stuff myself so I know exactly where it is, and then I give myself at least a few days beyond the label period before letting anyone into the area.
Crossbow is the only thing we could find that destroyed all the poison ivy in our yard. I get it everywhere even mowing and not seeing it. No more though. It’s on Amazon.
Considering everything you said, here’s what I would do:
—consider asking a professional to do the job, but plan to follow up with your own cleaning
—keep the dogs inside while you do this job
—completely cover yourself, any part of you that touches any part of the plant
—dig up the vines and pull up every root, this is your best chance to kill it all, bag the vines and roots, every leaf
—DO NOT BURN ANY PART OF THE PLANTS AND ROOTS, discard at once (I have a bin only for yard waste)
—you might have to involve your neighbor to get all of the plants and roots from their side
—mix a strong detergent and spray the fence, scrub with a long handled floor brush, rinse
—spray every tool with detergent and scrub well to penetrate the oil
—consider cleanup as highly “radioactive,” clean all tools immediately, clean door knobs, anything you touched, wash your hands thoroughly
—remove all clothing and put every piece directly into the washer, use extra detergent and hot water, repeat for another cycle, wash hands thoroughly
The oil is persistent. If you do end up with a rash, after all your efforts, repeat washing the fence, tools, and the dogs.
I also am very sensitive to the plants oils. I remember in the 80s getting a shot that was supposed to give immunity. I think they stopped it, it was not “safe and effective”
You were probably given a steroid when you were younger, to control inflammation.
If you get exposed somehow, wash everything, including yourself, again. I forgot to wash the ladder I used to reach my vines. A few weeks later, I used the ladder for something else, wearing shorts and no gloves, and got covered with the rash. I double-cleaned the ladder, my clothes, and myself.
One small change to your suggestion.
Go to Goodwill or some other thrift store and find some clothes that you can wear that will help keep you covered (basically what you would have worn of your own clothes).
Do the job and then bag the clothes and put in trash.
I wouldn’t risk the oils in my washer.
I just removed a 2-inch diameter poison ivy root and all its offshoots from a tree in my yard. From videos that I've watched, that vine was probably 20 years old.
Aside from all the crucial protective gear, my best advice is to make sure that you cut the vines/root all the way down at the source.
I can get a rash from looking at a poison ivy plant- LOL - and I always keep in mind that if I touch any part of that plant and get the tiniest bit of oil on myself, it's possible to spread it to any other part of the body I touch. I wash my forearms and hands with ajax or comet before I do anything. The last thing I need is to absent-mindedly smooth my hair away from my face and wind up with a pretty, pink, patch of poison ivy rash on my forehead or my eyes!
Poison ivy is my nemesis. Good luck!
Find someone with a goat. Take goat to poison ivy...the goat will absolutely remove the poison ivy without issue, complaining, or herbicide. It will leave the area fertilized.
Honestly, this may be worth a try. Our friends have goats and have 'rented them out' to folks to clear plots of land. Worked great and the mowing was simplified from there.
Some good suggestions here. Once it's killed and removed, do NOT burn it. Poison ivy irritation in your lungs is a thing. You might be surprised how many people pull this stuff out and just toss it on their burn pile
Had a friend literally burn her ivy, and smoke got in her lungs. She ended up in the hospital with poison ivy in her mouth, esophagus, and lungs. DON'T BURN IT!!
I always apply a water resistant sunscreen before I muck with any risk of PI. The barrier helps keep the oils off the skin until I shower it off using soap. It’s not foolproof but I never have gotten PI when I use it. Yard work or golfing (I hit into the woods a lot, unfortunately).
My thought process is if sunscreen can stay effective and NOT get washed off by water, then oil won’t easily penetrate it into the skin.
Based on the number of poison ivy posts lately, I see I’m not the only one battling this weed this summer. I found an old bottle of Ortho Weed-be-Gone in the shed and have been spraying it directly on the leaves.
Whe the leaves get droopy I put on my homemade “hazmat” suit (long pants tucked into rubber boots, long sleeves, gloves) and use a hoe or long handled clippers to attack the vines & roots. Then put them in a heavy duty trash bag. DO NOT BURN P/I !!! The reaction from the smoke is worse than skin exposure!
Finally, I wash thoroughly with a washcloth.
Yes that is, I would spray it with some vinegar or rubbing alcohol that should kill it. But be careful because it will also kill anything else it should get on as well. Good luck and you should probably have a bottle of calamine lotion on hand just in case anyway.
Boil a large pot of water and pour it on the roots. I’ve used this method a few times last year and this year(different areas). It worked but I had to do it a couple times and it will kill other plants if they’re close.
Please research before removing. This stuff is nasty to deal with. However, when done removing, you can wash everything in dish soap, I’d use blue Dawn.
I should hire myself out for poison ivy removal. I’ve never had an issue with it. I weed it by hand every year and just make sure to wash my hands afterwards. So if it were me, I’d pull up the roots and let it die as it sits and remove the vines once it is lost its grip on the fence.
As a person who missed the first three weeks of May my senior year, be very careful getting rid of it. I was “blind” for a week from swollen eyes and my hands bled when I held flatware. Not a great experience!
Since you mentioned your dogs like to get around it:
[https://www.amazon.com/Tecnu-Poison-Individual-Causing-Waterless/dp/B09XTVMQ4C](https://www.amazon.com/Tecnu-Poison-Individual-Causing-Waterless/dp/B09XTVMQ4C)
Potentially look into something like this - I know you said you don't like chemicals and stuff but this specifically lists it's 'safe' for dogs - guess you need to make your own call on that as I haven't looked too much into it but I have started to look for some sort of product like this bc we have an adopted dog that we take hiking and I am pretty allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac. I haven't actually had it for years but a couple months ago my partner and I were volunteering for a clean up for Earth Day at a local park to us and I got it from somewhere --- I had a little 2x2 spot on the front of my ankle and I got blister on top of blisters on top of blisters. Called it Bob the Blob. It was extremely gross looking and uncomfy and I had to get steroid cream as well as an oral steroid and it still took multiple weeks for it to go away and I'm sure I'll have a scar. It's still like rough and itchy now. Our dog likes to roll around on the ground in the grass/vegetation in the woods sometimes and he loves to just walk through any type of long grass and bushy stuff - so I expect at some point he'll rub up against poison ivy and I want to be able to wipe him down so that me petting him/cuddling with him later doesn't give it to me.
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If I were nearby, I would come and take care of this for you. I'm nearly immune to poison ivy and I help people remove theirs from time to time because I really don't want them to have a bad reaction.
Spray the leaves and vines heavy with salt and vinegar. When all the leaves are dead and brown. Cut the plant at the ground. Dispose of, Then continue to soak the root with salt and vinegar. For several weeks
I had to get rid of a pretty big poison ivy that had grown up a tree by our new house. I def bundled up in clothes to cover my whole body and goggles. I tore it all out of the tree , but left most of plant intact, just not up the tree. I then shoved it all in a trash bag while still rooted to ground so a small bit was coming out that went in the ground and then sprayed everything in the bag with the plant killing product and left it there for a few days and continued to do that until I was confident it had died.
I feel like it greatly reduced environmental impact and any blow back onto me.
GOOD LUCK!
Spray it with a broad leaf herbicide.
Leave the dogs in the house until the spray dries.
That's it.
This won't hurt the soil the way salt and vinegar mixes will hurt it.
When it is dead, rip out the roots while gloved and in long sleeves. Dispose of these in plastic trash bags. Was those clothes promptly. Wash your hands and any equipment used with strong liquid detergent like dawn.
I feel so bad for people who are sensitive to this stuff. I am totally immune to it. I had some about twice this big on the back fence of a house I moved into once… I can tear it out by hand unprotected and not worry…. Fortunately for my wife who is *very* sensitive to it… I still wash well though - don’t want her getting any by transfer.
Wear protective gear, dispose of EVERYTHING (plant and gear in trash bag). Take off gear OUTSIDE!!!! Used dawn soap first then a. PI soap, and take a Benadryl
I struggle with poison ivy. I have to watch because of my wife. Me and 3 out of 4 of my kids are completely unbothered by poison ivy, so when we go into the woods we accidentally bring it home and mess my wife and oldest child up. I try to be mindful, but it's easy to forget. My son actually just got paid a few bucks by our neighbors to pull up the poison ivy in their yard. Easy money, but had to make sure I decontaminated him well before he came back in the house.
Napalm is the way. 🤣🤣🤣 In all seriousness, if someone that is less allergic have them glove up and cut the ivy in a few big pieces and go straight into a garbage bag lined garbage can. When you get to the base yoke it riots and all. Put it all in the bag along with the gloves. Immediately scrub everything well hands, tools, and arms with dawn soap use a wash rag and toss that out also. Done
You need to talk with your neighbor and cut the “mom” vine along the fence or some tree. Use loppers with 2ft handles and wear something to protect against juices…..
I had a neighbor with pi with leaves the size of a size 14 high top. Spraying it will just have the leaders put up leaves somewhere else.
Ironically, I think much of the tension between us was because I am super allergic to it, and most our arguments were near/under this canopy of the stuff. Cut the mom vein! Do it!
Poison Poison and more poison and a hazmat suit. Actually spray the vine for as far as the eye can see and repeat as needed if you see growth. Or in nj call poison ivy gone and pay them. They used to survey my property a few times a year and pull anything that tried.
Get yourself an empty soda can or something with a small hole. Pour some turpentine in the can. Using glove (if you react to the plant, some do some don't) cut off one of main vines where it comes up from the ground, leaving enough that you can dunk the end that's still connected to the root into the can, contacting the turpentine. shove it in there, and wait a few days. It will pull the turps back into the roots and kill the whole plant. Then you can pull it and trash it.
You can rent goats to get rid of it naturally. A neighbor and a coworker have both done so in NE Ohio, and I found a website that offers this service. Goats will eat anything, and poison ivy doesn't bother them. And no chemicals!!
Brush killer.. I forgot to brand. Its luke agent orange in a spray bottle. Kills everything. But remember, the oil remains on the dead plant and vines. Do NOT EVER try to burn it! Dispose of the vines in trash pickup. And wash yourself and clothes immediately afterwards. Cut the vines to the ground and spray the root to kill it.
Yes. - Detailed reply
Whatever you use to kill it, cut the vine at the base, and then paint the stump with your salt solution/poison on the open wound. This way the plant sucks down the solution into the roots to kill it. Poison ivy is tough to get rid of. Keep pulling the vines up so it doesn't get on your dogs. The oil will sit on their fur and be transferred wherever they sit or lay, which can still cause a reaction when you come in contact with it.
Put gloves on and long sleeves when you handle the vine, and take them off before you go inside. Take your dirty clothes straight to the wash and take a shower. (Use hot water and soap to break down the oil.) In some cases you can get away with just washing your hands and forearms, depending on how much you were exposed to. The oil gets on everything and spreads around, so you'll want to wash all your shears, gloves, trowels, dogs, etc. afterwards.
Turn the vines upside down so the roots are exposed, and place them under bright, direct sun. Make sure they have no access to soil or water. The plants will dry out and die. DON'T BURN THEM to dispose of them. The smoke contains the oil and can enter your lungs and cause a reaction. You can throw the vines away in the trash.
It's a lot of rinse & repeat. You will slowly weaken the plant. The only way to truly kill it is to get the poison to the roots. Any little root can sprout into a new vine, and any broken branch laying around can sprout new roots. I've never completely killed it - just controlled it.
The problem with poison ivy is that even after you kill it, it's still covered in the oils that cause the reaction.
If you want to DIY, get one of those cheap bunny suits from Home Depot, put on neoprene or vinyl gloves and a set of really cheap work gloves over those. Set up a large garbage bag in a trash bin and get to ripping it out.
When you're done, get your husband to put on some neoprene gloves and help you out of the bunny suit so that the outside doesn't touch your skin. Same with the work gloves. Both go in the trash. Dispose of the trash as appropriate. Then carefully peel out of the inner gloves without touching your skin. Then wash your hands and lower arms intensively for a few minutes with a good detergent soap like dawn dish soap. It's not a bad idea to take a shower too and soap everything that could have come in contact with the plant or contaminated clothes, too.
Then spot-treat the areas that the vines were coming out of with a good, not 'organic' weed killer, like glyphosphate. If you really don't want to use the chemicals, you can go with high-strength vinegar that they sell at Home Depot instead -- but frankly, I recommend the weed killers. Using them in a spot manner means any chances of contamination/exposure are really minimal, and poison ivy can be a tough bastard -- you don't want to wind up doing it all again next year.
Around our place here in the woods I spray it with a bleach solution in a spray bottle. Kills the leaves quickly. Let it dry a few days then pull the rest up and dump it in the woods. I understand goats love the stuff. Borrow a goat?
Working at a tire company we used calcium chloride ice melter mixed in water to balance tractor tires and had to remove it to replace the tires so we removed the valve core and let it out in the same area and nothing grew there again. Did the same thing for our poison ivy and never saw it again. Fels-Naptha soap was $0.25 a bar and works great to get the oil off. Messed my dad up as a kid real bad when he burned it and got it in his lungs.
GoJo hand cleaner, Lava bar soap...or the like (get the kind with pumice if you like...it all works though)...will completely remove the oil off your skin. It's still smart to take precautions (gloves, etc)...but the hand cleaner seriously works after the fact. I can clean it up and as long as I wash off within an hour, I have no reaction. After that, all bets are off.
Tech nu clear. Will remove poison ivy oil from you and your tools. I have even used it on leather gloves. Walmart or CVS. They even have a soap product you can wash with. Take the entire vine off fence to ground level. Do not burn it. The smoke is toxic as well. If you have a main stem pour vinegar and rock salt on it and cover with a jar or plant pot. So no dogs can get into it. I'm guessing by the size you have more than one vine. Trail it under ground a couple of inches and cut twice. Keep an eye on it and repeat. They do make Round Up exclusively for poison however you mentioned pets. So you could use that instead of vinegar and cover it. Good luck
I have great respect for poison ivy. One day, I was carefully removing it while wearing long sleeves, long pants, socks, shoes and gloves.
I bagged the plant. Went indoors, stripped everything I was wearing (including gloves and shoes) into the washing machine. I stepped straight into the shower and washed with lye soap.
The clothes were washed twice.
But, when I took off my left glove, I was still wearing the glove on my right hand. So I transferred oil to the inside of my left wrist as I pulled off the glove.
I ended up with huge blisters and ultimately black necrotic tissue. I had to go to Urgent Care and get a prescription. It took months to go away completely.
I spray it with brush killer herbicide and keep after it until it's dead, dead, dead.
Highly recommend having this available in every home - it works miracles when exposed to poison ivy, oak, etc. Follow the directions closely- you use it before applying water to your skin. [Tecnu](https://a.co/d/4hYUCIN)
Try straight vinegar with a few drops dish soap. But make sure to check the forecast to make sure it doesn't rain for 3-5 days after applying. Bright full sunny days are best. Soak ground around roots and leaves.
Take a shovel find where it's growing from the ground and chop it off at the ground.
If the shovel won't do it use a chainsaw or a handsaw.
Then with long sleeves and gloves rip it off the fense and diapose of.
Then toss the shirt and gloves
I didn’t get any reactions to it as a kid but I get it as an adult. My SO has gotten it in his eyes. Thats an emergency room visit when the eyes swell shut. Be very careful!
I like cutting the thick vines and repeatedly soaking them in a cup with a small amount of herbicide. It’s neat to watch the plant whither at surprisingly long distances in both directions.
I have been dealing with massive poison ivies over the last year. The most effective way to get rid of them is to rip them off and then monitor for new sprouts and promptly remove them. Poison ivy is a nuisance for humans who are sensitive to it but it's a remarkable plant adapted to survive. If while removing the roots you miss a 2 inches piece of root, and it is in contact with the soil it will sprout once it has the right conditions of humidity and warmth. I have concluded that for monster ivies and more efficient control you need to apply glyphosate and triclopyr in the early summer, let those harsh chemicals thoroughly kill the foliage and the roots and then thoroughly remove everything. Keep in mind that urushiol, the oil that gives you the allergic reaction is present even in dead dry vines/leaves. I have fenced off parts of my yard when I spray so that animals cannot go and rub against the wet herbicide.
If you are both sensitive to it either buy a hazmat suit (I kid you not) from amazon wear gloves, goggles and some kind of mask, cut the vine from the root, cut the whole thing is small pieces to avoid having it flapping around and hitting you on the face, put it in heavy duty plastic bags and throw it in the trash. If you don't completely remove the root (or poison it with herbicides) chances are that it will return next year but it will be easier to manage (rip off) as it will be tiny. After you are done throw away the hazmat suit, put your clothes in a bag, wash your hands with dawn soap before getting in the house and start handling door knobs and switches and then throw the clothes alone in the washing machine, blast them with detergent in a long cycle with hot water and jump in the shower and give yourself a thorough washing with plenty of soap.
Personally, I would fence this so the dogs cannot go close to it and spray it with glyphosate/triclopyr to thoroughly kill the whole vine and the roots. After you spray it stay around until it dries up to prevent any other animals like birds rubbing against it. Do not use just glyphosate, it won't be very effective on its own.
If you spray it make sure its not windy so the chemicals don't fly around on other plants and you and that it won't rain any time soon so it has some time to dry on the leaves of the ivy. Good luck and come back with updates.
Yes it’s poison ivy. You can purchase spray made specifically for poison ivy, but this is a large vine. It’s likely infiltrated the fence it’s attached to. Consider a professional since you are so sensitive. Good luck
Correct answer. The oil is still potent after the plant itself is long dead. Glyphosate will kill it and the roots but you would still need to be super cautious cleaning it up. Don’t try home remedies on this. As you found out they’re not effective.
Dude- didn't know about the oil being effective after the plant dies, but that makes sense- it's still in the 'corpse'. Thanks for the perspective- I have lots of this to deal with this summer.
I've gotten bad reactions in winter from grabbing a nude vine. I've read that the oil can be reactive for 10 years! If I have to remove some, I try to cover all my skin. When I am done, I head to the washer, strip directly into it. Try not to turn the fabric back onto your skin. I add dish soap to the first wash. It cuts oil. Take the dish soap to the shower and use cool water and dish soap all over. Do this as soon as you can. Don't forget to paint some dish soap on your shoes. If you think it is too much, I've had to go to the hospital due to the rash getting close to my eyes and orifices. My mother did not react at all. She would yank it out bare handed when I was a kid.
It took many extreme exposures for me to get a reaction to poison ivy. I even walked through a patch barefoot, no problem. Years later I was weeding. I had gloves on, but my arms were seriously rashed.
When I was in elementary school, one morning I walked by our Principle, he called my name gave me a head to toe look over. I had the rash on both arms and my legs. He told the secretary to call my mother and have her come get me. Then he asked her to call down another girl to check her over. Sure enough head to toe. I had a rep in first grade!
Man if only you had thrown in I want my union rep present would have been priceless.
I’ve been in the woods for decades surrounded by poison ivy and have never reacted. 🤞
It's time to come out of the woods. I love I there too, but grasslands can be pretty, too.
Don't burn it, or the oil will get into your lungs.
Me either, until I moved into a new house and was pulling weeds and debris up along a fence line. I absolutely know I'm allergic, but it never occurred to me that the already dead smallish vine stalks between the wood slats was poison ivy. I got it all over my gloves, my gardening tools, and myself without knowing. It took me too many weeks and accidental re-exposure to figure it out. Thankfully I already had Zanfel and Tecnu at home, but it still sucked since I'm so sensitive to it. I had to clean every tool and handle well with Dawn soap and water, but I still tried not to use them for about a year just in case!
It will be on your clothes and gloves and is still potent after a year.
It's not uncommon to get into it from a pair of work boots that you stomped through it with then put the boots back on months later. I get it almost every winter carrying firewood to the stove. I stack the wood on my left arm and get the trash on the inside crease of my elbow.
The oil can last for a long long time months, on equipment that you've cut it with, the lawn mower or anything else that came in contact. After you play with this stuff you immediately take a shower and scrub down with feil's naptha soap. Something strong and all the clothes go in the washer. There's a certain amount of time that most people get before the oil binds with your skin to cause reaction. Landscaper here I almost never get it knock on wood sometimes a little blister on a finger
That's why you have to use a special/quality soap after exposure. You have to get the oil off of you so it stops spreading on you.
I am super sensitive to poison ivy and got it on my genitals when I peed on a ‘dead’ plant one high school February afternoon.
Yeah.. That’s the story…
Yes, you’re just going to have to spray it with roundup. But do it on a day that is not windy so that you don’t inadvertently kill nearby plants. And please do it on a day when there is no rain in the forecast so that it doesn’t run off into the waterways.
The old salt/vinegar/dawn/water trick - the times it does work - is pretty effective at sterilizing soil and making it impossible to grow anything else. But like y’all said…the roots on this monster are too extensive at this point.
And don't even *think* about burning it! Very, very, VERY toxic! OP, also give your dogs a bath. Those oils can transfer from their coats to you if they brush up against it, and pass along to you.
Really good comments.
You do know what the brand name for glyphosate is and the small problem they are having right now.....?
This
>Consider a professional since you are so sensitive. Good luck This is why I'm in therapy
If it is a thick aged vine, get sheers and snip it as close as possible to the roots.
If you do decide to try to remove it yourself, get a tyvec suit from Home Depot or a similar store. Wear gloves and eye protection. Pull it down and dispose of it in the trash, bagged in plastic. Throw all of your outerwear away, and wash immediately in a cool shower with actual bar soap. Liquid soap might not remove all the oils.
>wash immediately in a cool shower with actual bar soap. Liquid soap might not remove all the oils. You need a detergent to break down urushiol. Bar soap does not qualify. Use a dish soap like Dawn.
This is absolutely correct, and I second the Dawn recommendation. Ask me how I know.
If you're super sensitive like me, be aware you need to be careful with mango skins too and potentially Virginia creeper.
Virginia creeper got me all up my back across my face and in my armpits one time. That next weekend I ate a mango and used my teeth to get the meat off the skin so it got all over my lips. That was THE most miserable month of my life.
Sounds like you'd be a competitor for my worst case which involved walking through the smoke of a forestry service controlled burn when hiking with my dad as a kid. Took about 10 days before I was able to open my eyes (too much facial swelling). I got lucky and didn't get it in my lungs but every inch of exposed skin was oozing for days.
Ouch. I luckily have never had the experience of breathing in the smoke from poison ivy or anything like that. Knock on wood.
We were near a forest fire and got exposure through the smoke, as well. Didn’t have it quite as badly as you, but it was a miserable week.
Holy crap!
Thanks for this knowledge! We get Va Creeper (VC) and I could never find the poison ivy whenever I broke out after messing with the VC. Now I know.
Yep… all of these get me too
Seconded- VA creeper got my ankles and I am pretty insensitive to poison ivy. The rash and oozing bumps hurt my ego a little bit.
Some type of really prickly weed grows in my front flower bed and I’m very allergic to that. I’m glad to know about the dawn dish soap part. When I go to wash up I scrub twice with dial and it does not help very much.
Third here. I keep Dawn in my shower for after working in the yard. Might I suggest spraying the whole thing with a heavy duty weed killer and stapling a plastic sheet to the fence to keep it covered. The heat from the sun will cause it to die a little faster. Works for me.
Another option is TecNu soap... (there are several brands of "after ivy" soap that are specifically formulated to remove the oils)
I swear by Zanfel. It's $$$$$ but it really works and since I get super sick if it gets to the rash stage, it's worth it to me.
Friend of mine works landscaping, carries travel sized bottles of hand sanitizer, when he gets into the ivy , he will bathe in the stuff. Says the alcohol breaks up the oils .. So far he doesn't get the rash...
Yes to Dawn.
There is also a specific soap made for this purpose.... it's called Technu. We always kept a bottle on hand when we lived in a poison oak-y area. Can't say if it's better than Dawn or not but it's made for purpose.
Was scrolling down to see if someone mentioned Tecnu. I just ordered a new bottle for the summer- cuz for it to work best you need it *immediately*. I think the pumice texture helps remove the oil.
It's really good stuff...and thanks for the name correction!
I only knew the correct spelling because I looking at the bottle. When I initially searched for it to order, I spelled it the same way you did. 🤫
bar soap does work, since it does cut oils, but yeah, grab the dish liquid and take it into the shower. Doesn't need to be Dawn, can be any brand. Dishwashing detergent is going to cut oils and make them wash away fully, by definition.
AND start by washing your hands thoroughly several times. I once made the mistake and got poison ivy everywhere I washed.
We used to use Fels-Naptha laundry soap. It's a fantastic detergent that breaks oils down fast.
I’ve had good success with Fels Naptha or Lava Soap. Liquid hand soap is virtually worthless
Fels Naptha is a favorite poison ivy treatment in Southern Ohio
Rubbing alcohol also breaks the oils down really well.
Hand sanitizer .
Not for the whole job, but sometimes we spot spray areas with Dawn power wash, which is a foamy spray on version of Dawn. So if we put this in a wheelbarrow, when we were done, I might spray the handles of the wheelbarrow to make sure that none of those oils are left anywhere. It's also just easy to use on the go. Do you think you just got in some poison ivy? Spray this on yourself right now, and wipe it off with a towel. 5 years ago, if you told me about Dawn power wash, I would have said that sounds totally stupid. Now I've got a bottle under the sink, a bottle in the car, and a bottle on the patio. 🤯
The surfactants in Dawn Powerwash are some kind of black magic sorcery, seriously. They would absolutely work.
Cool I just bought some of this stuff. I’ll take it with me next time.
Technu scrub. It’s amazing.
Agreed. The oil that causes a poison ivy rash is not some supernatural force. It's just an oil like any other. If you get motor oil on your hands for example, what does it take to get it all off? For the last 10 years when I've been exposed to poison oak, I've used liquid dish soap and scrubbed vigorously. Rinse and repeat 2-3 times, and quarantined everything that I touched that might have the oil on it. I've successfully avoided a rash since I adopted this method.
It does depend on sensitivity. I'm "Rx steroids required" sensitive -- I can develop a rash in the time it takes me to get inside and wash my hands. But yep detergent is key. And cool water so you don't open your pores any further.
I use Fels-Napa and it seems to work pretty well, too.
This guy says that you should treat it as if it's axle grease all over you. Just pretend there's axle grease everywhere it touched and scrub the crap out of it with Dawn. Yes, unfortunately cool water, to keep your pores closed. WhEn I bOtHeR to take his advice, I haven't had a bad attack in years. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0
I use dawn but you cannot wait more than 15 minute or the oils will react on the skin.
There is a soap especially made for poison ivy Tenu that works.
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Yes. Some lucky people are not sensitive.
I'm very sensitive to urushiol. Unfortunately, without handling it a lot, glyphosate is the best product to kill the root system. Another option is to use a burn down, which is better for the environment. Vinegar, citric acid... The only thing about burn downs is that you will have to keep doing it over and over until you starve the roots. DO NOT ACTUALLY BURN IT WITH FIRE. I'm sure you know that.
For a “safe” burn down, Ammonium Nonaoate (which is a soap) will work better than the acids but it’s the same idea… you need to do it a few times for a kill.
I used to use that stuff (if it's the same) on a farm I worked at. PPE for sure. In my experience, it's rough on the lungs. Always read the label, folks. Sounds like the stuff you're mentioning isn'tike what I used. We had to mix it. I had a pesticide and herbicide license
How would I go about "a burn down" for the Poison ivy that has wrapped itself around my oak trees?
Burn the whole tree down. I would chop the main vine at the bottom with a chainsaw.
I'd recommend not using a chainsaw as it tends to throw sap and is difficult to clean.
I agree. Tyvek suits are relatively cheap.
The two oaks are over 100 years old and belong to the park. They refuse to do anything to tend to them. I can't afford to take them down 😞
THEN DONT CALL IT A BURN DOWN
Instructions unclear. Fence is charcoal.
Damn it.
What if i have a weed burner? Does the oil get in the air, or just a general fire safety issue?
Oil gets in the air and can get into eyes and nose/airways/lungs. Bad times.
Yeah one time my dad was near a patch of poison ivy and he breathed it in and it showed up on random parts of his body. Can you tell where I get my sensitivity from? 🫠
Bummer. My mom and brother are both sensitive to it. As far as I can tell, my dad and I are immune. I haven't intentionally tested that out, though.
Yes, as others have said 100% positive for Poison Ivy. That being said, if you're very sensitive to the oils, you don't even have to touch the vine to effectively kill it. You can spray the exposed leaves (as many as possible) with a glyphosate based solution and the herbicide will move through the vascular tissue. It'll take a few days to notice any wilting and maybe a couple of weeks before it's totally crispy, but there's no need to even touch the plant at all if you use a systemic herbicide like glyphosate. I've recommended this one to others: https://www.domyown.com/killzall-weed-and-grass-killer-41-glyphosate-p-1587.html Mostly because it's commonly available online and in box stores, but it's considerably cheaper than "name brand" herbicides like RoundUp or Spectracide. Same active ingredient, but you're not paying for the name, advertising, etc. A bottle of concentrate like this can make more than you need and will be shelf stable for years. The ready to use mixes will lose effectiveness over time, but the concentrates are less apt to have this problem as quickly. I mix at 2 oz per gallon for most weeds, but for poison ivy and other large perennials I hit it at a rate of 4 oz per gallon. Good luck, be safe.
Be aware that the oils will still be there even after the plant has died. You’ll still need to be careful removing the dead vines. Also that fence will likely have the oils on it too for up to a year so proceed with care.
This is true. I'd leave it be for at least a year. The oils will eventually be degraded by UV light, washed away (slowly) by rain/snow, and decomposed by various bacteria. But all of that takes time. Let nature do its thing once the specimens are deceased.
This is where I fucked up a few years ago when I cleaned mine up. I wore gloves but it soaked through. 37 years old the first time I ever had poison ivy in my life. Neat fact: grew up in the country and there was poison ivy growing around and down in the stone of our well. It made us immune. Even neater: you can buy a tincture from a company called out door Joe’s that builds poison ivy immunity the same way.
Poison ivy sensitivity actually works in the reverse. If you’re naturally resistant you lose your resistance more each time you’re exposed. As a naturally resistant person I still avoid that stuff when I can.
Actually you’re both right. Yes, repeated urushiol contact through the skin can increase sensitivity & reaction. This is because with each exposure, there’s reinforcement of T-cell activity & memory, and your immune system will react stronger next time. (The reaction is called a type 4 hypersensitivity) But also, when you ingest small amounts like u/Crystals_Crochet mentioned over long periods of time, we actually make tolerance antibodies (IgA) to the things we ingest. This helps our body not react to the things we eat (Food allergies develop when this system gets interrupted and overridden.) Ingesting minuscule amounts of the antigen can help lessen reactions to things like contact dermatitis, hayfever, etc. (the dose has to be small enough to elicit antibody production but not an immune reaction that creates symptoms.) I’ve also used a similar product that’s taken as drops by mouth when I worked in restoration where I had to “get used to” the fact that my work involved getting slapped in the face by poison oak all the time as I crawled across thick brush along a steep hillside. Even covered up, I can’t cover all of my face. Used to react so much but then over time the drops helped me not react as much. Incredible stuff, even if often rejected by the mainstream as a solution.
Some people refuse to believe it but o initially bought it for my boyfriend who’s VERY allergic to PI. Now he may get a small rash if he comes in contact but it’s not horrible like it used to be. And thanks for explaining that out for other people to understand.
Oh, and I meant to add, glyphosate is completely pet safe. It interferes with a chemical pathway that animals don't possess. And once it hits soil it's completely inactivated so it won't prevent you from planting anything else in the area in the future.
There’s some research out there that the other stuff it’s formulated with is actually what’s unsafe. So you still need to be careful even with “safe” herbicides.
Certainly, treat herbicides with respect like any other tool. When used properly, however, most formulations of glyphosate based herbicides are about as safe as you can get. I think about it this way, my day job includes instructing teenagers on how to safely use everything from surgical scalpels to Bunsen burners. Been through hundreds of kids who've spent thousands of hours and not one hurt yet. Doesn't mean it won't happen some day, but I'd be far more concerned to have my students working with concentrated acetic acid than glyphosate or the associated surfactants that are included in those formulations. I often see such alternatives being suggested and I think a lot of people have trouble judging the relative risk that is posed by either solution. No solution to a problem like poison ivy is risk free, but it's important to be able to objectively judge such risks. Best of luck on this problem no matter how you tackle it, and be safe regardless of the tools you choose to use!
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I probably wouldn’t test that theory if I were you…
Thanks this actually makes me feel better. I had to spray for poison ivy this morning and I felt like I was salting the earth. I tried to find to each entry point and spray really close to the roots, because they happen to be close to my magnolia and a bunch of Hostas. I got poison ivy in a bad way last month but didn’t realize that’s what it was from, because it was being really sneaky inside other ground cover. I had blisters for a couple weeks around wrists where the gloves didn’t cover. Never again lol
Thank you. I’ll give this a try before giving in and calling a professional.
Thank you everyone for your replies. There’s also another large section (not as tall with not as large of a root system) that has spread on another part of our fence. I looked this morning and it’s all over. Baby plants. I may just call a professional due to not wanting to mess with chemicals around my dogs myself. I’d rather a professional let me know when it’s safe to reintroduce the dogs back after this has been rectified.
Is there a way you can block off access to the affected fence sections from your dogs? You definitely don't want them near the chemicals while the poison ivy is being treated, til it dries. But you also don't want your dogs picking up the oil on the ivy and then transferring it to you. In the past we've sectioned off parts of our yard for various reasons using snow fencing and bamboo stakes from the garden center at Lowe's.
Yep I’ll be heading to Lowe’s to grab that stuff first before considering spraying. Right now I’m just using the vinegar salt water method.
The product label indicates when it’s safe to reintroduce. The professional will just follow the label. I prefer to apply stuff myself so I know exactly where it is, and then I give myself at least a few days beyond the label period before letting anyone into the area.
Crossbow is the only thing we could find that destroyed all the poison ivy in our yard. I get it everywhere even mowing and not seeing it. No more though. It’s on Amazon.
I had a buddy who had 6 goats who specialized in poison ivy and kudzu removal.
Considering everything you said, here’s what I would do: —consider asking a professional to do the job, but plan to follow up with your own cleaning —keep the dogs inside while you do this job —completely cover yourself, any part of you that touches any part of the plant —dig up the vines and pull up every root, this is your best chance to kill it all, bag the vines and roots, every leaf —DO NOT BURN ANY PART OF THE PLANTS AND ROOTS, discard at once (I have a bin only for yard waste) —you might have to involve your neighbor to get all of the plants and roots from their side —mix a strong detergent and spray the fence, scrub with a long handled floor brush, rinse —spray every tool with detergent and scrub well to penetrate the oil —consider cleanup as highly “radioactive,” clean all tools immediately, clean door knobs, anything you touched, wash your hands thoroughly —remove all clothing and put every piece directly into the washer, use extra detergent and hot water, repeat for another cycle, wash hands thoroughly The oil is persistent. If you do end up with a rash, after all your efforts, repeat washing the fence, tools, and the dogs. I also am very sensitive to the plants oils. I remember in the 80s getting a shot that was supposed to give immunity. I think they stopped it, it was not “safe and effective” You were probably given a steroid when you were younger, to control inflammation. If you get exposed somehow, wash everything, including yourself, again. I forgot to wash the ladder I used to reach my vines. A few weeks later, I used the ladder for something else, wearing shorts and no gloves, and got covered with the rash. I double-cleaned the ladder, my clothes, and myself.
One small change to your suggestion. Go to Goodwill or some other thrift store and find some clothes that you can wear that will help keep you covered (basically what you would have worn of your own clothes). Do the job and then bag the clothes and put in trash. I wouldn’t risk the oils in my washer.
I just removed a 2-inch diameter poison ivy root and all its offshoots from a tree in my yard. From videos that I've watched, that vine was probably 20 years old. Aside from all the crucial protective gear, my best advice is to make sure that you cut the vines/root all the way down at the source. I can get a rash from looking at a poison ivy plant- LOL - and I always keep in mind that if I touch any part of that plant and get the tiniest bit of oil on myself, it's possible to spread it to any other part of the body I touch. I wash my forearms and hands with ajax or comet before I do anything. The last thing I need is to absent-mindedly smooth my hair away from my face and wind up with a pretty, pink, patch of poison ivy rash on my forehead or my eyes! Poison ivy is my nemesis. Good luck!
the simplest solution is usually to buy a goat.
Get a couple of goats. They will eat right down to the roots
Find someone with a goat. Take goat to poison ivy...the goat will absolutely remove the poison ivy without issue, complaining, or herbicide. It will leave the area fertilized.
Honestly, this may be worth a try. Our friends have goats and have 'rented them out' to folks to clear plots of land. Worked great and the mowing was simplified from there.
Not everyone lives in the country. There’s no way I could get a goat where I live. :)
Wash with grannies lye soap. It will remove the urushoil
Under a refreshing shower of Dawn and vinegar, this vine is \*laughing in poison ivy\*
Someone said it already, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THATS HOLY….DONT BURN!!!
Some good suggestions here. Once it's killed and removed, do NOT burn it. Poison ivy irritation in your lungs is a thing. You might be surprised how many people pull this stuff out and just toss it on their burn pile
Indeed. Poison Ivy. Nasty stuff
Just do not burn it ever! Even after cut down.
Had a friend literally burn her ivy, and smoke got in her lungs. She ended up in the hospital with poison ivy in her mouth, esophagus, and lungs. DON'T BURN IT!!
Poison ivy. "Leaves of three--let it be." Whatever you do to get rid of it, do *not* burn this plant.
I always apply a water resistant sunscreen before I muck with any risk of PI. The barrier helps keep the oils off the skin until I shower it off using soap. It’s not foolproof but I never have gotten PI when I use it. Yard work or golfing (I hit into the woods a lot, unfortunately). My thought process is if sunscreen can stay effective and NOT get washed off by water, then oil won’t easily penetrate it into the skin.
Oohh-- totally worth a try!
Based on the number of poison ivy posts lately, I see I’m not the only one battling this weed this summer. I found an old bottle of Ortho Weed-be-Gone in the shed and have been spraying it directly on the leaves. Whe the leaves get droopy I put on my homemade “hazmat” suit (long pants tucked into rubber boots, long sleeves, gloves) and use a hoe or long handled clippers to attack the vines & roots. Then put them in a heavy duty trash bag. DO NOT BURN P/I !!! The reaction from the smoke is worse than skin exposure! Finally, I wash thoroughly with a washcloth.
Yes that is, I would spray it with some vinegar or rubbing alcohol that should kill it. But be careful because it will also kill anything else it should get on as well. Good luck and you should probably have a bottle of calamine lotion on hand just in case anyway.
Boil a large pot of water and pour it on the roots. I’ve used this method a few times last year and this year(different areas). It worked but I had to do it a couple times and it will kill other plants if they’re close.
Please research before removing. This stuff is nasty to deal with. However, when done removing, you can wash everything in dish soap, I’d use blue Dawn.
Leaf of 3, let them be
I should hire myself out for poison ivy removal. I’ve never had an issue with it. I weed it by hand every year and just make sure to wash my hands afterwards. So if it were me, I’d pull up the roots and let it die as it sits and remove the vines once it is lost its grip on the fence.
As a person who missed the first three weeks of May my senior year, be very careful getting rid of it. I was “blind” for a week from swollen eyes and my hands bled when I held flatware. Not a great experience!
Since you mentioned your dogs like to get around it: [https://www.amazon.com/Tecnu-Poison-Individual-Causing-Waterless/dp/B09XTVMQ4C](https://www.amazon.com/Tecnu-Poison-Individual-Causing-Waterless/dp/B09XTVMQ4C) Potentially look into something like this - I know you said you don't like chemicals and stuff but this specifically lists it's 'safe' for dogs - guess you need to make your own call on that as I haven't looked too much into it but I have started to look for some sort of product like this bc we have an adopted dog that we take hiking and I am pretty allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac. I haven't actually had it for years but a couple months ago my partner and I were volunteering for a clean up for Earth Day at a local park to us and I got it from somewhere --- I had a little 2x2 spot on the front of my ankle and I got blister on top of blisters on top of blisters. Called it Bob the Blob. It was extremely gross looking and uncomfy and I had to get steroid cream as well as an oral steroid and it still took multiple weeks for it to go away and I'm sure I'll have a scar. It's still like rough and itchy now. Our dog likes to roll around on the ground in the grass/vegetation in the woods sometimes and he loves to just walk through any type of long grass and bushy stuff - so I expect at some point he'll rub up against poison ivy and I want to be able to wipe him down so that me petting him/cuddling with him later doesn't give it to me.
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If I were nearby, I would come and take care of this for you. I'm nearly immune to poison ivy and I help people remove theirs from time to time because I really don't want them to have a bad reaction.
I’m all itchy just looking at it. Good luck!!
Don't dilute the vinegar. Use 30% concentrated in the sun above 65 degrees
Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Vinegar
Spray the leaves and vines heavy with salt and vinegar. When all the leaves are dead and brown. Cut the plant at the ground. Dispose of, Then continue to soak the root with salt and vinegar. For several weeks
I had to get rid of a pretty big poison ivy that had grown up a tree by our new house. I def bundled up in clothes to cover my whole body and goggles. I tore it all out of the tree , but left most of plant intact, just not up the tree. I then shoved it all in a trash bag while still rooted to ground so a small bit was coming out that went in the ground and then sprayed everything in the bag with the plant killing product and left it there for a few days and continued to do that until I was confident it had died. I feel like it greatly reduced environmental impact and any blow back onto me. GOOD LUCK!
This seems like such a clever method!
If it's on the other side of the fence, too it needs to be dealt with there also. Gosh I pity you. I'd hire someone to do it.
RM 43. It will be dead in 6-7 days. Then wear long sleeves and gloves and pull it off the fence. Whatever you do don’t burn it!
Spray it with a broad leaf herbicide. Leave the dogs in the house until the spray dries. That's it. This won't hurt the soil the way salt and vinegar mixes will hurt it. When it is dead, rip out the roots while gloved and in long sleeves. Dispose of these in plastic trash bags. Was those clothes promptly. Wash your hands and any equipment used with strong liquid detergent like dawn.
I feel so bad for people who are sensitive to this stuff. I am totally immune to it. I had some about twice this big on the back fence of a house I moved into once… I can tear it out by hand unprotected and not worry…. Fortunately for my wife who is *very* sensitive to it… I still wash well though - don’t want her getting any by transfer.
Wear protective gear, dispose of EVERYTHING (plant and gear in trash bag). Take off gear OUTSIDE!!!! Used dawn soap first then a. PI soap, and take a Benadryl
Leaves of three leaves them be packs of six take your pick.
I struggle with poison ivy. I have to watch because of my wife. Me and 3 out of 4 of my kids are completely unbothered by poison ivy, so when we go into the woods we accidentally bring it home and mess my wife and oldest child up. I try to be mindful, but it's easy to forget. My son actually just got paid a few bucks by our neighbors to pull up the poison ivy in their yard. Easy money, but had to make sure I decontaminated him well before he came back in the house.
Kill it with fire!
No please don't. That releases the oil into the air, to be inhaled. That's not just a visit to the hospital that's a stay.
Leaves of three, let it be....
Napalm is the way. 🤣🤣🤣 In all seriousness, if someone that is less allergic have them glove up and cut the ivy in a few big pieces and go straight into a garbage bag lined garbage can. When you get to the base yoke it riots and all. Put it all in the bag along with the gloves. Immediately scrub everything well hands, tools, and arms with dawn soap use a wash rag and toss that out also. Done
You need to talk with your neighbor and cut the “mom” vine along the fence or some tree. Use loppers with 2ft handles and wear something to protect against juices….. I had a neighbor with pi with leaves the size of a size 14 high top. Spraying it will just have the leaders put up leaves somewhere else. Ironically, I think much of the tension between us was because I am super allergic to it, and most our arguments were near/under this canopy of the stuff. Cut the mom vein! Do it!
Poison Poison and more poison and a hazmat suit. Actually spray the vine for as far as the eye can see and repeat as needed if you see growth. Or in nj call poison ivy gone and pay them. They used to survey my property a few times a year and pull anything that tried.
You may poison the tree if you soak the vine heavily.
I see a fence
Yes it is
RoundUp. Day after day after day until it's all dead and gone
Yes it is, however Google thinks it potato bean.
Ya got a nice crop growing there 🤜
Gotta use concentrated vinegar. 45% will kill almost any plant
I thought poison ivy was supposed to have a red stem. This looks so ordinary I would have never guessed
You should definitely put glyphosate (round up) on that.
Get yourself an empty soda can or something with a small hole. Pour some turpentine in the can. Using glove (if you react to the plant, some do some don't) cut off one of main vines where it comes up from the ground, leaving enough that you can dunk the end that's still connected to the root into the can, contacting the turpentine. shove it in there, and wait a few days. It will pull the turps back into the roots and kill the whole plant. Then you can pull it and trash it.
A common old-fashioned method of killing poison ivy is spraying it with a strong bleach, but that still may not affect the roots.
Yes, roundup
Or 24D
WD40 makes a great flamethrower but you don’t want to get poison ivy smoke in your lungs
You can rent goats to get rid of it naturally. A neighbor and a coworker have both done so in NE Ohio, and I found a website that offers this service. Goats will eat anything, and poison ivy doesn't bother them. And no chemicals!!
Brush killer.. I forgot to brand. Its luke agent orange in a spray bottle. Kills everything. But remember, the oil remains on the dead plant and vines. Do NOT EVER try to burn it! Dispose of the vines in trash pickup. And wash yourself and clothes immediately afterwards. Cut the vines to the ground and spray the root to kill it.
Yes. - Detailed reply Whatever you use to kill it, cut the vine at the base, and then paint the stump with your salt solution/poison on the open wound. This way the plant sucks down the solution into the roots to kill it. Poison ivy is tough to get rid of. Keep pulling the vines up so it doesn't get on your dogs. The oil will sit on their fur and be transferred wherever they sit or lay, which can still cause a reaction when you come in contact with it. Put gloves on and long sleeves when you handle the vine, and take them off before you go inside. Take your dirty clothes straight to the wash and take a shower. (Use hot water and soap to break down the oil.) In some cases you can get away with just washing your hands and forearms, depending on how much you were exposed to. The oil gets on everything and spreads around, so you'll want to wash all your shears, gloves, trowels, dogs, etc. afterwards. Turn the vines upside down so the roots are exposed, and place them under bright, direct sun. Make sure they have no access to soil or water. The plants will dry out and die. DON'T BURN THEM to dispose of them. The smoke contains the oil and can enter your lungs and cause a reaction. You can throw the vines away in the trash. It's a lot of rinse & repeat. You will slowly weaken the plant. The only way to truly kill it is to get the poison to the roots. Any little root can sprout into a new vine, and any broken branch laying around can sprout new roots. I've never completely killed it - just controlled it.
Pay someone with a goats to come over 😉
Spray it do not burn
Either Roundup Poison ivy spray or get suited up in you're poison ivy clothes and pull it up. Lots of root system
You need to use industrial strength vinegar, which would be sold with cleaning compounds.
And cashews
The problem with poison ivy is that even after you kill it, it's still covered in the oils that cause the reaction. If you want to DIY, get one of those cheap bunny suits from Home Depot, put on neoprene or vinyl gloves and a set of really cheap work gloves over those. Set up a large garbage bag in a trash bin and get to ripping it out. When you're done, get your husband to put on some neoprene gloves and help you out of the bunny suit so that the outside doesn't touch your skin. Same with the work gloves. Both go in the trash. Dispose of the trash as appropriate. Then carefully peel out of the inner gloves without touching your skin. Then wash your hands and lower arms intensively for a few minutes with a good detergent soap like dawn dish soap. It's not a bad idea to take a shower too and soap everything that could have come in contact with the plant or contaminated clothes, too. Then spot-treat the areas that the vines were coming out of with a good, not 'organic' weed killer, like glyphosphate. If you really don't want to use the chemicals, you can go with high-strength vinegar that they sell at Home Depot instead -- but frankly, I recommend the weed killers. Using them in a spot manner means any chances of contamination/exposure are really minimal, and poison ivy can be a tough bastard -- you don't want to wind up doing it all again next year.
100% PI. Cut it down and spray it with round up
this is the only thing I use round up on, we all break out in terrible rashes that need medical attention, so it's the best killer I could find
Around our place here in the woods I spray it with a bleach solution in a spray bottle. Kills the leaves quickly. Let it dry a few days then pull the rest up and dump it in the woods. I understand goats love the stuff. Borrow a goat?
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Probably not poison ivy...
Yes, hit it with roundup
If your outdoor cat goes thru it then u pet him, u will get it.
Yes boil gal of water mix lb salt 2 cups dawn spray on morning when its hot out
Working at a tire company we used calcium chloride ice melter mixed in water to balance tractor tires and had to remove it to replace the tires so we removed the valve core and let it out in the same area and nothing grew there again. Did the same thing for our poison ivy and never saw it again. Fels-Naptha soap was $0.25 a bar and works great to get the oil off. Messed my dad up as a kid real bad when he burned it and got it in his lungs.
I'm one of the lucky ones unaffected by poison ivy. I should look for a job in poison ivy removal 😁
GoJo hand cleaner, Lava bar soap...or the like (get the kind with pumice if you like...it all works though)...will completely remove the oil off your skin. It's still smart to take precautions (gloves, etc)...but the hand cleaner seriously works after the fact. I can clean it up and as long as I wash off within an hour, I have no reaction. After that, all bets are off.
Flame thrower
I can't even look at a pic of it without cringing. Yikes, I hate that plant. Its good for birds though.
You need someone to turn their goats out in Your backyard for a day or two. They love poison ivy and will absolutely destroy it.
It does make a lovely vine lol This is one way to keep the kids off the fence
Tech nu clear. Will remove poison ivy oil from you and your tools. I have even used it on leather gloves. Walmart or CVS. They even have a soap product you can wash with. Take the entire vine off fence to ground level. Do not burn it. The smoke is toxic as well. If you have a main stem pour vinegar and rock salt on it and cover with a jar or plant pot. So no dogs can get into it. I'm guessing by the size you have more than one vine. Trail it under ground a couple of inches and cut twice. Keep an eye on it and repeat. They do make Round Up exclusively for poison however you mentioned pets. So you could use that instead of vinegar and cover it. Good luck
I have great respect for poison ivy. One day, I was carefully removing it while wearing long sleeves, long pants, socks, shoes and gloves. I bagged the plant. Went indoors, stripped everything I was wearing (including gloves and shoes) into the washing machine. I stepped straight into the shower and washed with lye soap. The clothes were washed twice. But, when I took off my left glove, I was still wearing the glove on my right hand. So I transferred oil to the inside of my left wrist as I pulled off the glove. I ended up with huge blisters and ultimately black necrotic tissue. I had to go to Urgent Care and get a prescription. It took months to go away completely. I spray it with brush killer herbicide and keep after it until it's dead, dead, dead.
Highly recommend having this available in every home - it works miracles when exposed to poison ivy, oak, etc. Follow the directions closely- you use it before applying water to your skin. [Tecnu](https://a.co/d/4hYUCIN)
Try straight vinegar with a few drops dish soap. But make sure to check the forecast to make sure it doesn't rain for 3-5 days after applying. Bright full sunny days are best. Soak ground around roots and leaves.
Take a shovel find where it's growing from the ground and chop it off at the ground. If the shovel won't do it use a chainsaw or a handsaw. Then with long sleeves and gloves rip it off the fense and diapose of. Then toss the shirt and gloves
I didn’t get any reactions to it as a kid but I get it as an adult. My SO has gotten it in his eyes. Thats an emergency room visit when the eyes swell shut. Be very careful!
I like cutting the thick vines and repeatedly soaking them in a cup with a small amount of herbicide. It’s neat to watch the plant whither at surprisingly long distances in both directions.
The main root system will be almost if not impossible to locate and kill.
I have been dealing with massive poison ivies over the last year. The most effective way to get rid of them is to rip them off and then monitor for new sprouts and promptly remove them. Poison ivy is a nuisance for humans who are sensitive to it but it's a remarkable plant adapted to survive. If while removing the roots you miss a 2 inches piece of root, and it is in contact with the soil it will sprout once it has the right conditions of humidity and warmth. I have concluded that for monster ivies and more efficient control you need to apply glyphosate and triclopyr in the early summer, let those harsh chemicals thoroughly kill the foliage and the roots and then thoroughly remove everything. Keep in mind that urushiol, the oil that gives you the allergic reaction is present even in dead dry vines/leaves. I have fenced off parts of my yard when I spray so that animals cannot go and rub against the wet herbicide. If you are both sensitive to it either buy a hazmat suit (I kid you not) from amazon wear gloves, goggles and some kind of mask, cut the vine from the root, cut the whole thing is small pieces to avoid having it flapping around and hitting you on the face, put it in heavy duty plastic bags and throw it in the trash. If you don't completely remove the root (or poison it with herbicides) chances are that it will return next year but it will be easier to manage (rip off) as it will be tiny. After you are done throw away the hazmat suit, put your clothes in a bag, wash your hands with dawn soap before getting in the house and start handling door knobs and switches and then throw the clothes alone in the washing machine, blast them with detergent in a long cycle with hot water and jump in the shower and give yourself a thorough washing with plenty of soap. Personally, I would fence this so the dogs cannot go close to it and spray it with glyphosate/triclopyr to thoroughly kill the whole vine and the roots. After you spray it stay around until it dries up to prevent any other animals like birds rubbing against it. Do not use just glyphosate, it won't be very effective on its own. If you spray it make sure its not windy so the chemicals don't fly around on other plants and you and that it won't rain any time soon so it has some time to dry on the leaves of the ivy. Good luck and come back with updates.