Poison Ivy

Question

My mini-woods has a lot of potential as a garden spot, but it is full of poison ivy and I am afraid to go close to it,, Do I call a professional?

Sharon · Answer

First,COVER yourself from head to toe ,including gloves , kerchief on your nose & face,and tape or rubber band your pant legs..Second,PREPARE to be able to change clothes after you investigate & wash them separately in HOT soapy water. Third.GO LOOK ,meaning walk out to this area and make sure this is poison ivy. It will have three leaves . If it has 5,that's Virginia Creeper and your ok,not poisonous. Poison ivy will irritate you,if allergic, when any part of the plant is broken and the oil/sap gets on you...When you finish looking,&have changed and cleaned up, you can look up poison ivy on web and decide what to do. .Atleast this way if you decide to hire it out,you will be fairly certain what it is. You can chop/cut right at ground level and wait for plant to die back and remove,but always wear protection.Even dead poison ivy is capable of causing a reaction.Good luck!

Douglas Hunt · Answer

I like Sharon's strategy. Lots of folks mistake Virginia creeper for poison ivy.

Terri · Answer

I gallon of vinegar...1 cup of salt.and 2 tablespoons of Dawn dish soap.Mix it up and put in a spray bottle or sprayer.This will kill any weeds too! Be careful that you don't overspray on your garden plants!

Cynthia · Answer

Get some glycophosphate from a farm supply store and spray it on the leaves. They should all die off within a few days. Dead plants can possibly still have the urishol on them so it can still get the rash. Dig out the roots and bag them up. Do not throw into compost or burn pile! I personally get a bad rash from the stuff so I let a professional do the bulk of the work and then just came back in and mounded up soil a foot high into a berm. However, I'm still cautious years later digging in this spot. When I think about it now I wish I had laid down black plastic and just rebuilt the ground above. Would have not been so freaked out to catch a rash years later.

Cyndi Moore Tippett · Answer

I was going to tell you exactly what Sharon said in her post. I have been battling poison ivy and Virginia Creeper in my yard since the Fall. I had it growing up my pine trees and you would not believe how big those vines can get....some where as big around as a large garden hose. We are making progess, BUT it will take several season before you will get rid of it completely. Then you have to be aware that it will still come back in small doses for several years....seeds.

Chloe Crabtree · Answer

3 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup table salt

1 tablespoon liquid detergent or soap (I use Dawn) for stick-to-itiveness.

Directions

Mix vinegar and salt until the salt is completely dissolved. Stir in liquid dish soap, and pour into a spray bottle.
Spray onto the green growing leaves of the plants.
Wait a week, then repeat on any survivors. Best time to apply: during a dry spell.

Repeat as necessary.

Poison Ivy

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Poison Ivy

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