I just found a MASSIVE poison ivy patch

[Siwsan]

Even the 'leaves of three' are huge. Some of the little junk trees I was clearing were very close and might have rubbed against it. Seemed a good idea to stop that project and give my arms a precautionary wash down with vinegar.

I never, ever want to go through what happened a few years ago when both my arms AND legs broke out in a nightmare of a blistering rash. I think I'll call it a day, garden wise.

[lark]

1. Once your sensitive to this, each exposure brings worse results.

You are smart to avoid it like the plague~ that's how it works on me.

[brer cat]

2. Anyone have goat you could norrow?

They love poison ivy and make quick work of the patches.

[usonian]

3. Been there, done that.

Firefighters carry Dawn detergent with them to dissolve the oil on the spot.

Later, you can use deodorized mineral spirits (I think they are ALL deodorized these days, because you can get high as a kite on mineral spirits). That dissolves the oil. Wash it off gently after a couple of minutes.

Commercially, Tecnu is just that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecnu
It's undoubtedly safer than the paint thinner mentioned above.

Vinegar (the hardware store kind, not the kitchen kind) can be used to kill the poison ivy/oak plants if you don't want to use any weed killer.

If you can afford it, hire someone. Hard to believe, but some people are immune to the oil.

and DO NOT burn the plants. That just vaporizes the oil.

[MiHale]

7. Immune here...but with a big warning...

For most of my life poison ivy…no problem…with more and more exposure the tolerance levels decrease.
My son lives in a heavily forested area … cleared the crap for years…no itching… last time it was like I got feasted on by a hundred mosquitoes…

[usonian]

8. Sorry to hear that. I think I get more sensitive over time, if that's possible.

But any remainder here is isolated. I've been spraying it for years. Just getting older to carry those spray jugs. I've got slopes (away from the road) so carrying a 4 gallon backpack is out of the question

The dead vines seem to retain the oil.

One tree had very tall vines around it. I cut the stem and let it dry up, but avoid that area.

Pole pruner is a life saver.

Hope you didn't reach the blister stage. That's like a second degree burn.

Stay far away if you can.

[MiHale]

10. That's as bad as it got...

Lasted about as long as a mosquito bite…just warning other immune people, tolerance could start winding down after a few exposures. I stay away from the crap now.

[usonian]

11. Smart. 👨🏼‍🎓

[blue neen]

12. The dead vines do retain the oil.

I tried pulling them out one time. Boy, that was a mistake! I had to actually go on steroids.

[usonian]

13. Same. My first clearing of a slope near the home.

Cal Fire visited me on the first day after I moved here.
Learned the hard way.
But I got a crew to finish the job.

Since then, I have either sprayed the plants (vinegar will do) or if they are monster vines, I just used a pole pruner to lop them at the base, which kills most of the plant, but keep my distance from that area.

It's pretty insane to see a poison oak "plant" 10 to 15 feet or more (hard to estimate) by the side of the road. My home is far from that.

[IbogaProject]

4. Poison Ivy berries is a crucial food for birds in the cooler seasons

But it must be cleared from used areas. https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/poison-ivy-wildlife-food-one-first-plants-change-color

[WheelWalker]

5. Poison oak and, I presume, poison ivy,

are in atmospheric heaven with the increased CO2 levels we've provided them. They be digging it.

[MagickMuffin]

6. We also have some patches along with briars.

We got most of the briars last year and put down cardboard and wood chips. This year they still managed to come up. We will once again add more cardboard and wood chips.

As for the poison ivy, my mate thinned out a lot this spring, however, surveying the area today I could still see areas where they are still thriving. I can’t get near the stuff, Salt Spring Island in British Columbia where we stayed apparently him poison oak or ivy. Brought it back home with me. Terrible rash.

We also have poison hemlock which I pull up by hand, wear long sleeves when dealing with that nasty plant.


Good luck with your removal and control.

[Emile]

9. I'm lucky, it doesn't bother me. My wife

calls on me to pull it out.