Poison Ivy

[Devils Horse]

A couple of questions for anyone who may know. We've got poison ivy springing up in our flower beds (Pontooner and Andrew prolly sneaked in and threw down seeds).

What causes it, and what do I need to do to safely get rid of it? Any help is appreciated.

[MadMike740]

wear gloves tear out by roots. if you're allergic to poison ivy rub this on it. http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm

[stratosjoe]

My wife just looks at it and starts scratching....I have been pouring straight clorox on it and so far so good plus it has not harmed the tree it was growing by. Not sure if this will permanently get rid of but kills it for now.. Joe

[kyfanatic]

If you can safely spray the leaves with roundup or preferably a stronger brush killer without contacting flowers and wanted plants it will kill it down,but remember that any part of the plant contains the oil irritant that has been tested after 100 years of drying and still causes reaction,like somebody said wear long sleeves and gloves and get rid of it before it seeds and spreads.Use throw away gloves if possible and don't wash the clothes with non-contaminated ones,they make several products that break the oil up.

[bassin_bug]

A couple of questions for anyone who may know. We've got poison ivy springing up in our flower beds (Pontooner and Andrew prolly sneaked in and threw down seeds).

What causes it, and what do I need to do to safely get rid of it? Any help is appreciated.

This is what my guys did to get rid of poison ivy at my place in Alabama. They mixed "Roundup Weed and BRUSH Killer" according to directions and added two cups of Dawn dishwashing liquid into the mix (5 gallon sprayer). Be sure and pour the dawn into the sprayer LAST or you will have suds coming out killing your grass. Use 3/4-1 cup Dawn if you are using a 1 gallon sprayer. The dishwashing liquid makes the Roundup stick to the leaves and it even kills the roots. I had some Kudzu that came up this past Spring and told the guys to spray with that same formula and it also killed the Kudzu roots. Spray when the wind is CALM and the leaves will be dry for 2-3 hours. I had mine done at 11:00 a.m. when the temperature was 90 degrees with sunny skies. I advised neighbors to keep their pets away from the area because the spray could harm them. One man told me it wouldn't hurt his dogs and he didn't put them in a pen. They are still alive and barking but I wouldn't have taken that risk.

One note of caution, if you don't want it killed, don't let the Roundup mix get on it.

[apb]

I had nothing to do with it. I even look at the stuff I end up with it. Besides, its obviously some torture device dreamed up by Dr Evil (aka **** Cheny, he is so evil his first name cannot be uttered on the site). Certainly nothing a libural would have dreamed up.

As others have mentioned, clean up well afterwards. Wash clothes and all. Use bleach. You can use tecnue (not sure if that is spelt correctly) to wash the oils off your skin. When you shower, use cold water as warm water will cause your pores to open and let the oils in.

Andrew

[Devils Horse]

Thanks for the input guys.

[RoadToad]

You've gotten some good advice. The only thing I would add, and you may already know this, DON'T BURN IT!!! Inhaling just a small amount of the smoke can put you in the hospital, or even kill you.

[mhall]

You've gotten some good advice. The only thing I would add, and you may already know this, DON'T BURN IT!!! Inhaling just a small amount of the smoke can put you in the hospital, or even kill you.

He's like Bill.......He doesn't inhale.

[Devils Horse]

Learned everything I know from the slick one...

It depends on your definition of the word inhale.

[mhall]

Learned everything I know from the slick one...

It depends on your definition of the word inhale.

Tooshay......nice comeback Jimbo, lol.

[apb]

.......He doesn't inhale.

Actually, with some of his comments on here I'm beginning to worry that he never exhaled

Andrew