Posion Ivy..?

I have poison ivy on the side of my house. Does anyone know any home remedies that can get rid of it? If not, anything i can buy? We had it last year, we got rid of it, and i t came back

Posion Ivy..?
On Page 2 we discussed how to get rid of the rash caused by poison ivy. Now it's time to consider various methods to get rid of poison ivy itself, where it grows in your yard. The first question to ask is how to how to get rid of poison ivy safely.



Indeed, a word caution is in order, before discussing any actions to be taken to get rid of poison ivy on the landscape. When approaching poison ivy to engage it in battle, try to have as little of your skin exposed as possible, since it is through physical contact with poison ivy (all parts of it, including the roots) that the rash is contracted. At the very least, this means wearing gloves, long-sleeved shirt and full-length pants. Secondly, understand that any of the methods discussed below to get rid of poison ivy may have to be implemented more than once to achieve complete success.



One organic method used to get rid of poison ivy is to pull it out by the roots. The roots must be disposed of; do not burn! Inhaling fumes from burning poison ivy causes far greater health problems than just the rash caused by skin contact. Another natural method is to get rid of poison ivy by smothering it. Smothering entails cutting it back close to the ground, then placing newspapers, cardboard, old carpeting, tarps, mulch or some other covering on top of it. However, be aware that, even after you kill poison ivy plants, they remain toxic. So be careful in disposing of the roots of the dead vines after pulling back the smothering agent (even if you've waited for years).



Herbicides can also be used to get rid of poison ivy. Roundup spray is a popular glyphosate-based herbicide used to get rid of poison ivy. Another widely-available herbicide is Ortho Brush-B-Gon, which is triclopyr-based. These products will kill a great variety of woody plants, making them effective not only in getting rid of poison ivy, but also another nuisance vine: oriental bittersweet. But they will kill many other plants, too, so don't use them near specimens you wish to keep. If you choose to apply these herbicides by spraying, here's what to do:





You'll need a tank sprayer; mix the product with water, according to directions.

Apply when the poison ivy is fully leafed out.

Pick a day with little or no wind for spraying. Also, check your forecast: don't spray if rain is predicted at any time within the next 24 hours.

For poison ivy plant growing on the ground or on a wall, heavily spray the leaves and vines. Older poison ivy has large hairy vines -- another dead giveaway for identifying them.

For poison ivy climbing up a tree, you may wish to "paint" the herbicide on, so as to preclude damaging the tree with a stray mist from your sprayer.



Please consult eradication of poison ivy and oak for more information on how to get rid of poison ivy.





Recently, someone suggested getting a goat - a terrific idea for getting rid of poison ivy. Goats eat PI with no ill effects.



There are some downsides: they will also eat everything else they can reach, and depending on where you live, goats may make you unpopular with the neighbors.





This is the most commonly asked question, and not easy to answer.



If you rip it out by the roots you can catch a terrible case of poison ivy rash. It will likely grow back until you get every last bit of root. And you can't burn it because the smoke can get in your lungs and make you so sick you won't believe it. (We have a story on this.)



If you have it in a field and keep mowing it, it might give up and die, but be VERY careful about mowing it. When you grind up the leaves you create a nasty soup out of the leaves.



You could it off at the ground, let the vine die, and keep cutting it off till it gives up and dies. This could take a few years.



You might be able to cover a ground vine with black plastic until it dies. But you'll need to plant something else right away or it will come roaring back.



You can spray with broadleaf herbicide, but you risk killing lots of harmless plants and who knows what else. But I once knew a dedicated organic gardener that came to borrow our sprayer and poison because her land was so massively infested with it she just couldn't live with it. In the end, many situations call for wise use of a product like Roundup.



Most counties in America have some sort of County Extension Agent that can give you advice about how to handle it in your particular situation.



What's good about Poison Ivy?

Poison ivy does have its good points:



? It feeds wild birds and animals who eat it without ill effects.

? It holds the earth very well against erosion near the ocean.

? Native Americans had medical uses for it.



And we probably don't know enough about it to know what is it's true value for nature or for man.



What are some good Poison Ivy books?

All of these books give a nice overview of the subject - and all are hard to find. I got them from Amazon.



1. Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac and their relatives...

by Edward Frankel, Ph.D.

This one has more science and botany.



2. The Poison Ivy, Oak %26amp; Sumac Book

by Thomas E. Anderson

Solid all around. Everything you need to know.



3. Outwitting Poison Ivy AND Nature's Revenge

by Susan Carol Hauser

These are the SAME book, so don't buy both. They have good history and personal stories.



4. Poison Ivy Pets and People

A new book by Heidi Rattner Connolly and Randy Connolly available through Amazan.
Reply:It does that....



If you don't have a huge patch of it, I find the best way to get rid of it is to wear long sleeves, long pants and gloves and pull it out by the roots.



If you cut it off at the ground level, it will come back, but if you keep doing it, the plant will eventually die.



You can use powerful herbicides, but poison ivy is tough and needs extra strength versions -- I don't like having these around the house.



Always dispose of poison ivy in the trash. Don't try to compost it or burn it.
Reply:They do now have something in Walmart--a liquid spray I'm not sure what it was called but it said poison ivy killer right on the front of the bottle--it was alittle expensive tho if I remember--like $12 for a bottle that wasn't too big--but if you're like me--and get poison ivy just by walking by it lol--it's worth it if you don't have a real big area to do. Good luck!
Reply: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.



Ortho Poison Ivy Killer (active ingredient triclopyr), if used sparingly, will kill poison ivy but not trees it grows around. But don't use it around shrubs, broadleaf ground cover, or herbaceous garden plants. 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. You must get every bit of the plant--leaves, vines, and roots--or it will sprout again. Wear 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 (active irritant in the plant) will soak through.

art