Poison ivy/oak questions....?

I went to tidy up the family burial plot. I found that two bushes were infested with both poison ivy and oak. I had pruning clippers and leather work gloves so I went to work. The bushes were too thick to pull the vines out by the root so I clipped them as close as possible.



1) No doubt the vines will come back. How can I permanently kill them?



2) Will the poison stay in my leather gloves? If so, how can I get rid of it?

Poison ivy/oak questions....?
The vines can be gotten rid of using a product by Ortho that is made specifically to get rid of poison ivy and oak. I have used, and it took 3 sprayings over the last summer, but it did get rid oof all the poison ivy and poison ok that was on our property.



As for the gloves, there is a soap product called TechNu. My doctor recommended it, as I react badly to poison ivy. You can wash with it, as well as add it to your clothes wash to remove and neutralize the poison ivy/oak oils that may be in the gloves. Yes, you can wash the gloves, but they will harden a bit as they dry, and if they are dyed, they may lose their color. There's not much to do about the color loss, but you can soften the gloves buy rubbing the over a rounded surface until they soften up.



I hope this helps.
Reply:Just an addendum, the roots are toxic too--for up to 18 months--so if you dig them up-even though you've killed the plant (hopefully) the volatile oil is still present in the root.
Reply:Throw the gloves out don't burn them as the smoke will carry the poison ivy and oak possibly to infect you or others.



You could get some Roundup from Wal-mart or go to your nearby farm store for some spray that will effectively kill the vines. You may have to treat 2 times if you miss some the 1st time.
Reply:There is not much you can do to keep the vines from growing back with out harm to the bushes. Sorry. The gloves should be thrown away. Some people are very alergic to the poison. IE ME. Just get rid of them.
Reply:Getting Rid of the Plants

Poison ivy, oak and sumac are most dangerous in the spring and summer, when there is plenty of sap, the urushiol content is high, and the plants are easily bruised. However, the danger doesn't disappear over the winter. Dormant plants can still cause reactions, and cases have been reported in people who used the twigs of the plant for firewood or the vines for Christmas wreaths. Even dead plants can cause a reaction, because urushiol remains active for several years after the plant dies.



If poison ivy invades your yard, "there's really no good news for you," says David Yost, a horticulturist (specialist in fruits, vegetables, flowers, and general gardening) with the state of Virginia. The two herbicides most commonly used for poison ivy--Roundup and Ortho Poison Ivy Killer--will kill other plants as well. Spraying Roundup (active ingredient glyphosate) on the foliage of young plants will kill the poison ivy, but if the poison ivy vine is growing up your prize rhododendron or azalea, for example, the Roundup will kill them too, he says.



Ortho Poison Ivy Killer (active ingredient triclopyr), if used sparingly, will kill poison ivy but not trees it grows around, says Joseph Neal, Ph.D., associate professor of weed science, Cornell University. "But don't use it around shrubs, broadleaf ground cover, or herbaceous garden plants," he says. Neal explains it is possible to spray the poison ivy without killing other plants if you pull the poison ivy vines away from the desirable plants and wipe the ivy foliage with the herbicide, or use a shield on the sprayer to direct the chemical.



If you don't want to use chemicals, "manual removal will get rid of the ivy if you're diligent," says Neal. You must get every bit of the plant--leaves, vines, and roots--or it will sprout again.



The plants should be thrown away according to your municipality's regulations, says Neal. Although urushiol will break down with composting, Neal doesn't recommend that because the plants must be chopped into small pieces first, which just adds to the time you're exposed to the plant and risk of a rash. "It's a health issue," he says.



Never burn the plants. The urushiol can spread in the smoke and cause serious lung irritation.



The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that whenever you're going to be around poison ivy--trying to clear it from your yard or hiking in the woods--you wear long pants and long sleeves and, if possible, gloves and boots.



Neal recommends wearing plastic gloves over cotton gloves when pulling the plants. Plastic alone isn't enough because the plastic rips, and cotton alone won't work because after a while the urushiol will soak through.
Reply:You can get a brush killer spray, I got one at Lowes, they all work well and will kill to the roots.



The oil is what gives you the skin rash. You will have to wash the gloves with soapy water to remove the oil. If you get the oil on you. Wash it off within 20 minutes or it has already been absorbed into your skin cells.



I currently have poison ivy rash on my legs and arms. My wife is a doctor, she also has the rash. The info on the oil is from a dermatologist friend. We have been researching ways to combat the massive poison ivy infestation of our yard, and the spray is the best way.



Good Luck!