I often get asked how to get rid of poison ivy. And because I’ve got a situation on my property that has a really good stand of poison ivy that I have to deal with, I made you a video.
A while back I showed you How to Identify Poison Ivy. This video is all about getting rid of it once you know that you have some in your yard or garden.
Most full-service garden stores sell sprays that will kill poison ivy and I recommend that you spray poison ivy and kill it rather than try and dig it out and physically remove it.
Poison ivy contains an oil that is released any time the plant is damaged in even the slightest way. The leaves, vines, and roots all contain this super potent oil.
When the plant is damaged the oil is released in an invisible mist form and if you are close to the plant the oil gets on your skin and that starts the irritation that can quickly turn into an extremely and possibly dangerous situation.
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When you dig, cut and chop poison ivy to remove it you are certain to release a considerable amount of this dangerous oil. Therefore I am suggesting that you do not try and physically remove the vines.
In the situation that I show you in the video, I have been spraying this poison ivy throughout the growing season and I have successfully killed a great deal of it.
But some of these vines are growing way up into the trees where I cannot get the spray on the leaves of the poison ivy. So I have resorted to cutting a very small section out of the vines, severing the largest part of the vines from the root system that support them.
This effort will kill the top part of the vine, but the bottom part that is still attached to the roots is likely to still be alive. But next spring when the plant leafs out I can easily spray and kill the part that is still alive.
In the video, I show you how much protective clothing I am putting on to make these four simple cuts. As you’ll see in the video, I take poison ivy very seriously! I’ve been infected many times and the older I get the less I enjoy dealing with a poison ivy rash.
Anytime that you think you might have come in contact with poison ivy you should wash all exposed areas of skin with a really strong detergent. Most of us “older than you youngins” recommend Fels Naptha soap for removing poison ivy oil from your skin.
Fels Naptha is a heavy duty laundry soap bar used for pre-treating laundry stains but it is also the recommended choice for preventing poison ivy should you come in contact with it. You should wash your skin as soon as possible after coming into contact with poison ivy. Do not wait until the end of the day.
When I was in the landscaping business we always carried a bar of Fels Naptha soap in the truck.
Check this out!
Look to the left of my fist in this photo. That huge vine is poison ivy. I just discovered this as Duston and I were shooting this video. That’s the craziest and scariest thing I’ve ever seen.
How long has that thing been growing? I have to get rid of it but I am so allergic to poison ivy that I actually get nervous just looking at this vine. Let alone cut into it. Oh well, I’ll have to find a way and find the courage, I can’t leave it there.
Okay, I hope this post on how to get rid of poison ivy helps!
-Mike McGroarty
Comments? Questions? Post them below and I’ll do my best to get back here and answer them for you.
Hi. I don’t know if anyone in the comments has mentioned Tecnu, but I can tell you it is outstanding for keeping me from getting the rash. Its also the only thing that helped at all after I got it.
Tecnu was invented as a means of removing radioactive fallout from soldiers’ skin, clothing, tools and gear. Fallout tends to be very oily and sticky so regular soap and water might not get it all.
If I think I’ve been exposed, I wash my tools with Tecnu, my clothes go directly into the wash, and I use Tecnu on my entire body (including my face) in the shower.
Follow the directions! Use LUKEWARM OR COOL WATER to rinse away the Tecnu. DO NOT USE A WASHCLOTH FOR THIS STEP (I follow up with a normal soap and washcloth shower but you don’t have to do that.)
If I do these steps after any exposure I will not develop a rash.
Tecnu is a staple in my house now. I won’t be without it.
NOTE: Get the job done quick and do this procedure immediately when you’re done. Do not dawdle or “just finish up that other job real quick.” Get that stuff off of you fast. If you’ve used several tools while dealing with the plant, you might want to wait to clean them until you’ve gotten yourself totally clean. Wear disposable gloves and coat all the tools (the entire tool including handle) with Tecnu. Rinse the tools with water until all the Tecnu is gone, then dry and oil the tools as you normally would for maintenance and rust prevention.
Also, clean your shoes with Tecnu and water – you’ve almost certainly walked thru small plants as you approached the visible poison ivy.
There was a video of a man who showed a way of washing off PI that I”ll never forget.
He said consider PI oil to be clear axle grease, that’s how intense it will stick to your skin. He used Dawn dish soap AND a wash cloth under running cold faucet water. Be VERY thorough! It’s worked for me. Rinse the wash cloth several times then throw it in with the clothes you were wearing to remove the PI.
To remove PI from my yard I stood upwind and poured boiling water on the plant. The next day I used long rubber gloves and pulled it up by the roots.
I have wondered about spraying the plant with clear polyurethane then pulling it up but haven’t tried it yet.
Had some Poison ivy in my 8ft or so hedges, and today was the day to get rid of it. I bought a Tyvek suit and vinyl gloves and a pair of cheap leather palm gloves. Put the tyvek suit on, then the vinyl gloves, and then the leather palm gloves. Duct taped the gloves to the sleeves of the suit, and proceeded to get rid of the PI. I left as many leaves as I could on the PI, as I unravelled the vine off of the hedges. I laid the leaves and vine on some cardboard on top of my grass. Going to spray the leaves with glyphosate, and let them hopefully meet their demise there. ( Yes, I am aware of how toxic glyphosate is, but I make an exception for PI). Was out there for about 2 hours, got rid of 2 garbage bags of PI, and walked away with no PI outbreaks. Washed all exposed skin areas ,just in case. The tyvek suit was a little warm, but it was only 75 to 80 degrees outside and overcast. First time ever dealing with PI , without getting a rash! Well worth the $15 for the tyvek suit and gloves.
Where do we buy Tyvek suits from? There’s an abandoned lot next to my house that has trees and vines that are very out of control. It grows over my fence, and between the pickets. I hate to cause financial distress on the property owner, but I’m covered in a rash from foot to eyelid at 60 years old. I’m going to the City next week to complain.
After 3 years of rashes, each one becoming worse, I decided to educate myself!
Very informative site! You can’t be dumb, blind and stupid about poison ivy! Also lists services by state, some will cross state lines too. The services can have a price tag, but when you loose 3 weeks of work because of a reaction it is something to think about. Remember, increase CO2 means faster growing vines that have a higher % of urushiol than 10+ years ago.
https://www.poison-ivy.org/
And I wasn’t kidding when I said they have a conference once a year!
https://umarmycka.com/2021-conference/
And a very good article about the increase in growth and urushiol!
https://www.everydayhealth.com/poison-ivy/bigger-stronger-itchier-how-climate-change-making-poison-ivy-more-toxic/
Winter Identification
https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2011/01/05/winter-weeds-poison-ivy/
And last but not least, a deeper look of the saying “Stop and smell the roses”. This is a very good view, and also good explanation of Poison Ivy. Every plant that grows is a Sentient Being. Because at the moment I don’t have the funds to remove Lilly (the name given to the Sentient Being we call Poison Ivy). She has taught me much. Also in this article it does discuss the CO2 thing. A nice read for those who live through the pain of discovery 🙂
Yes, Lilly has been growing for over 30 years in the yard of where I live. Been here for 3 years now living with my fiancé and looking forward for the guy to come back that gave an estimate who also sees what he is doing as a true service and that Poison Ivy is a Sentient Being,
https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/2017/09/24/poison-ivy-teachings/
Where I live we have been taught that there are three types of ‘poison’ plants. Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac. What I saw in your video we would classify as Poison Oak which has same characteristics as Poison Ivy with the exception of it growing up trees. Poison Ivy is a ground based plant and doesn’t climb trees. On the other hand, Poison Sumac will invade your system and cause outbreaks on your body wherever it feels like it. I can attest to that from personal interaction. It’s by far the worse in my book.
I was highly allergic to Poison Ivy until I found a serum designed to be taken internally over a period of time. As the directions predicted, I had a spot smaller than a dime break out on my arm. Since then I have ‘never’ had another outbreak from contact. It worked. Just wish it also worked against Poison Sumac.
Art,
I’m not sure that’s true. Poison Ivy will climb anything that it’s near. See this; https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/poison_ivy_when_is_a_tree_not_a_tree
Agreed! Poison Ivy will spread wherever and whenever it can, including up trees and fences and other shrubs. I found that out the hard way! It seems I just need to look at poison ivy and I get the rash. Years of family camping trips all over the country, Girl Scout outings, day camp, and other outdoor excursions, and I never ran into PI until my recent move to Ohio. Prednisone did the trick for me when I had a bad interaction with it.
PLEASE share your serum. I am surrounded by state owned land that is thick with poison ivy/oak. I am SO allergic. I do my very best to keep a vigilant watch to be sure my two acre yard is free of it. My husband on the other hand can roll in it naked and not have an outbreak. Then he can come in the house and look at me and I break out. I would love to find something that allowed me to go back into the woods like I used to.
J
People who have intestinal candida are allergic to poison ivy, may have cold sores/herpes, psoriasis looking rashes (which is skin candida), and attract mosquitos. Other people who eat olive oil and almost no carbs have a healthy gut, they don’t have all those problems. To get rid of candida: fasting, no carbs, no yeast, no alcohol, no breads, no sugar, no mushrooms. Olive oil and some other things help get rid of candida. Often candida becames resistant to treatment – then stevia plant herbal tea helps to break that shell. Please do NOT take the chemical “stevia” – only the real plant. Many people joke that they get poison ivy rash or cold sore just from thinking about it or someone looking at them – there is information that all those “viruses” are actually cause by electromagnetic radiation or radiofrequencies from all the technology, power poles, etc. There imay be a neurological connection between body’s electric impulses of thinking or looking, and the vibrations of the viruses or candida living in the body. The more heavy metals a human has, the more active are the candida viruses. So metal cleansing will help too. Speaking of nuts – foods with Arginine must be avoided, and foods with Lysine (milk) help.
My grandfather used to immunize himself annually from the effects of poison ivy by ingesting small quantities wrapped in a big lettuce leaf and swallowed in such a way that it didn’t touch anything on the way down. As a little girl, my mother heard this discussed, and she thought she’d do the same, only she hadn’t grasped the entire method or the danger, and she just grabbed a leaf and ate it like she might have eaten a leaf of raw spinach. She was sick as could be, of course.
My father could clear it off fence lines in the spring by pulling it out with his bare hands. Never had any reaction to it at all. I have read that once you have a bad reaction, all subsequent ones will be progressively worse. I can say that is my experience. Severe poison ivy as a child; decades later, poison oak, and not very much of it, drove me nearly insane, and I had no use of a finger for a couple of months, it was so affected. Now I am much more vigilant.
years back I discovered a large patch of poison oak growing in a rock pile, there was nothing else growing there so I dumped a lot of salt on it. killed it really fast
Hello,
If you are talking about the same ivy as me, Hedera helix species Then it’s very good for bees and good for birds to nest in. In the UK here it pulls down walls – Grows inside the mortar. But it’s well known for being an excellent wildlife friendly plant – the birds eat the berries in the winter too. You can stop it growing simply by cutting it off at the base , near the roots. It also is very good for hibernating bees, Bees bury into the ground in the roots of Ivy. So generally best not to kill it, if you’re worried about it going up into a wall or a roof, just cut it off at the bottom and let it grow up over itself you’ll have a year before you have to cut it off again… Otherwise it can be dug out with a pickaxe, and I’ve never found the oils bother me. I’m a Gardener, The dust is more a problem than the sap. Best we live with plants and acknowledge how important plants are to us, we couldn’t do without them and killing them just because of the way they look, or trying to make everything Ivy free is s bit like being obsessed with dusting!! 🐝
Karen,
We are not talking about Hedra Helix. That’s ornamental English Ivy. Poison Ivy is a completely different animal and very dangerous to those that are allergic.
Perfect timing on this posting. I was outside this morning getting rid of vines in the hedges, and trimming the hedges , but left a section with poison ivy vines alone. I still have more hedges to trim, and more poison ivy. Going to trim the hedges and save limit my poison ivy exposure to one day rather than spread it out over several days. I did like you did in your video a few years ago, and put on a long sleeve shirt buttoned all the way to the top and wore gloves……. needless to say apparently that wasn’t sufficient . My big takeaway from your post: The urushiol oil in poison ivy can become airborne once you cut it! I will keep that in mind in my future endeavors with poison ivy eradication. Thanks for the post, Mike.
From:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_radicans
Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy[1] or poison ivy, is an allergenic Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant in the genus Toxicodendron. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant’s sap.[2] The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds,[3] but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, Toxicodendron rydbergii, which has similar effects.
And when I went to the local medical clinic- I was having a cytokine release syndrome or a cytokine storm. This is when an infection triggers your immune system to flood your bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They can kill tissue and damage your organs. Your body starting to reject instead of heal.
And then I was told to not eat cashews or mangos because they are in the same family and could cause a reaction. The mangos I had no problem with but the cashews!!! Then I had an allergic reaction to pine nut oil. found out that if you have an allergy to cashews (contains urushiol) they the pine nut might be a problem. Yeah, not the English ivy you have!
But to understand this Sentient Being was my goal.
Things I have learned from poison ivy:
-There a people out there who will pull out the PI. They know what they are doing. Get to the roots and it will not grow back.
-They have a conference every year for people who study PI and work to help eradicate it.
-A vine that is cut will contain urushiol from 3-7 years before it breaks down.
-Because of global warming (and it is debatable whether is is from erratic weather due to a coming ice age, our planet within the solar system flying through something that happens every 26,000 years, us accelerating the issue due to pollution, or all of the above- this is not the discussion here), there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Now this is a good one, due to this increase of Co2 the vines are loving it and are very prolific, including PI. This also increases the urushiol level in PI because they have an increase absorption of CO2 by 45%, producing more urushiol. A tree will absorb 7% more due to this increase.
-Because of the last statement, people are getting worse reactions due to this increase.
-PI will grow in areas that have been disturbed, like yards and edges of forest, roadsides, etc. Birds love the berries and poop out the seeds and guess where they land.
-Now the urushiol, how did PI evolve with this compound in it’s make up. Interesting enough it evolved to protect itself from getting killed by a fungi. This happened a long time ago before our time as a species on this Earth.
The C)@ levels were higher when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Cut the vine and apply tordon to the cut. Glyphosate is not a good poison ivy killer. Triclypyr and dicamba are much better. Clyprilid also.
For about $4 on Amazon you can buy a pound of copper sulfate. Using a stout waterproof bag an wearing appropriate clothing, dissolve the copper sulfate into a strong solution. Take a vine of poison ivy and tie it securely into the bag. The vine will die and the solution will suffuse into the entire plant down to the roots and all the side vines. Almost no copper gets into the ground but is actually an important trace element. The process takes a while and if the bag is secured and not punctured it will do the job in a safe and nontoxic manner.
Thank you for this. I’ll try it. Can you tell me about how much of the vine needs to sit in the bag for good uptake? And do you have suggestions for how to kill the ground runners or small new plants from seeds? Also, do you genearlly use something like several nested ziplock bags? Id hate for it to burst and dump that concentrated solution straight down in one spot.
Thanks again.
I look at poison ivy & get the rash. When I see large tree-climbing vines I cut them off clean and paint the new stump with straight round-up. Should I get in contact with poison ivy I take 6,000 Mg of vitamin C four times a day and wash with Fels Naptha soap! Stops the rash right in its track.
Try original Clorox bleach, the water consistency bleach. Blot on with a paper towel and allow to dry then wash spot and hands…
Has anyone tried ‘Workman’s Friend’ barrier cream? States that it repels plant oils.
Mike, I have a lot of poison ivy under a raspberry bush and am afraid to go near it. I definitely don’t want to use chemicals near the berries. What do you think would be the best way to get rid of it without damaging the berry bush?
Thanks for all the info you share
Sandra,
Try covering the vines completely with cardboard then mulch on top of that.
Mike, When I take care of poison ivy the size you show in the photo, I take my smaller chainsaw and turn it upside down so the particles from the cut go toward the tree. I then put concentrate glyphosate on the bottom portion using a dropper. If I know I have touched poison ivy, I wash with Dawn dishwashing detergent which will get rid of the oil from the skin. It really works well. Try to do on a day that is not so hot….when the leaves really look shiny on a 90 degree + day the oil can actually be misted by the wind. Pets such as your dog will get the oil on their fur and when you pet them it gets on you. thanks……..George
The best product I know is what I use to kill Ivy is original Clorox bleach, not the slow-flowing kind, but the original water consistency kind.
I just take a paper towel from the kitchen, fold it up and soak it with bleach, but don’t soak it until it drips out the bottom. You can use rubber gloves if you don’t want bleach on your hands. Put the bleach towel on the Ivy spot and hold it there for a few seconds and then dispose of the bleach pad and allow the bleach on you ivy spot to dry, then wash it off with soap.
DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility for the results and advise you to make up your own mind because I take no personal responsibility for your outcome… I am simply telling you what I do. You have to make up your mind independently. Good Luck!!!
👍👍👍
I have lots of experience with getting poison ivy. I’ll spare you all my war stories and get to how to wash off the oil. I used Fels Naptha soap. But the key is to use COLD water with the soap. Because hot water will open your pores further and allow the oil to get deeper into your skin. So your skin WILL blister, and the blisters will take a while to heal. And the itching when the oil gets deep into your skin will be something that over the counter itch cream cannot help. You’ll need a prescription for steroids to relieve the itch.
If you know you’ve gotten poison ivy oil in you in a specific location jewelweed crushed up and rubbed on the affected area seems to neutralize the oil. And fortunately, jewelweed tends to grow in locations where poison ivy grows. Look for it’s small orange flowers.
Jewelweed is my go to! I’m very allergic to PI, and when I need to deal with it, I have my eye on my jewelweed patches. I’ve heard that applying the jewelweed juice before dealing with the PI will also neutralize the PI oils. I was glad to see someone mentioning this wonderful weed!!
That is how I got it as a child. I knew what it looked like, and where it tended to grow, and avoided it. But every year had a terrible case of it on my face and hands. Petting and nuzzling the barn cats, was the only thing we could figure out.
I am the designated Poison Ivy remover on my street. I can touch it, cut on it, roll around in it and use a weed eater on it and it never effects me. Of course whenever I remove it I do it alone and clean my tools off so no one else will get infected from incidental contact. Large plants I just cut several feet out of the vine with an axe and then remove the between section. I do wear a cheap pair of gloves that I dispose off just to keep from spreading the oil around unnecessarily. I’ve never applied anything to the root before but after reading your article and all of the comments I think I will start doing so. As for the vine going up the tree I just let it die and rot away..
how much would you charge for a fence line poison ivy to be removed approximately 15 ft long 4 ft High fence
Beware PI is like a bee sting. You can get stung 1000 times with no problem but that 1001 time is the one that gets you. Same with PI you never know when
I don’t have poison ivy here, but do have poison oak with some vines climbing to the top of trees some 80′ tall. The biggest vine is 4″ in diameter 6′ off the ground. I’m not touching that! Smaller vines I cut off at the ground and dig up the roots where I can. If I cannot get to the roots, I do not cut larger vines that extend high up a tree because it causes more growth at the base of the tree.
I wear a hazmat suit when I do this work. Not because I’m sensitive to the Urushiol but so I don’t carry the oils back to my family (I have a place where I can remove the suit and store it far from the house). I have used glyphosate with limited success. It causes dieback, but then 2-3 years later the vines return with very small leaves incapable of absorbing any significant amount of spray. In addition to the lack of success with glyphosate spraying,
I no longer use glyphosate for any purpose as while the mammalian toxicity appears to be low, it is most likely toxic to us via our microbiome.
We have some very nice tall Cedars growing along a fence row, and the ground under them is covered in Poison Ivy. There.s maybe a couple hundred yards like that.
So Mike– is there a spray poison which will kill the Poison Ivy but not the Cedar Trees?
I’m also taking out Ailanthus and Autumn O)live along a couple fence rows. These two weed trees are crowding out everything else — Dogwoods, Redbud and several etceteras.. I chainsaw the Ailanthus and Autumn Olive off at ground level –and using a 1 inch foam paint brush, i paint 41% Glyphosate around the cambium of the cut-off stump. No new growth comes up within at least a foot of the painted stump. We’re going to have a huge bonfire come cold weather when the trash from these has dried enough to burn. And No! — no Poison Ivy goes on this future bonfire .. my wife and many friends are not immune
One of my colleagues bought goats because the goats will eat the poison ivy.
I have read extensively that goats, pigs and cattle can eat poison ivy without harm. If they are regularly rotated I to the problem area, then leave cannot regrow for photo synthesis and it should weaken the plant over time
Goats do love it, but be aware that they carry the oil on their hair/ears/leggs. Even your dogs that run around in the woods will get the oil on themselves. So use caution. If you go and wash it off quickly, you can save a lot of pain.
My quickest stop to the reaction on me, was to mix up cortisone with aloe gell and keep it on for the first few days till it dies out.,
Also use Ice to break the itch cycle
What do you do when the PI is growing heavily under a very large Sawara Cypress Tree, it’s 8′ tall and about 6; across and low to the ground. I can’t use a spray, it will probably kill the plant and I won’t do that, the plant is too gorgeous, and I’m highly allergic. I’ll get a rash just taking off the clothes that were near it, just throwing them into the washer, With all the rain we’ve had in Northern Alabama lately, this stuff is everywhere now. HELP!!
Gigi,
You might have to hire somebody to remove it for you.
If you tackle this yourself, you could try sliding layers of large cardboard between the Cyprus branches and the P.I. At least two or three layers, staggered to cover cracks. It should help kill much of the P.I. and make what survives more manageable. Hold the cardboard down with bricks or landscape pins. The more layers the better. If you can’t get the cardboard in because the P.I. is too tall, I would use something long to push them over, like a garden rake. Don’t push them toward the trunk where the top will continue growing up the trunk. Push them to the side so the tops will be covered up by the cardboard.
Some P.I. will grow out between the cracks or edges of the cardboard – that could possibly be cut with long handled loppers then cover it with more cardboard, or selectively sprayed. Read the labels. To protect the Cypress I would only use a spray that says you can plant in a very short time period after spraying.(such as 24 hours after spraying). Also use one that works by entering the plants’ leaves and travels down the stem to the root. Do not use a spray that enters the root from the ground, If it warns to not spray within the drip-line of plants that you want to keep, or says do not plant in the area for a week or more after spraying, don’t use that type of spray.. Don’t use a spray that works for an extended period of time such as “season long”.. I feel that if I can plant seeds or seedlings a day or two after spraying then it should be pretty safe for the good plants’ roots nearby like your Cypress tree., Plus you will have cardboard on the ground which will absorb most of the spray before it reaches the ground. However, remember that if you spray some poison ivy and then the Cypress needles touch the wet P.I. the spray can transfer to the Cypress and may cause some damage to that branch. I would hold an extra piece of cardboard between the Cypress branches and the P.I to protect the Cypress needles from being sprayed. Hold the cardboard up with one hand while spraying the P.I. leaves with the other hand. Once the spray is dry it can’t hurt any plants that touch it. You can also put mulch on top of the cardboard if desired.
Working in this difficult area I would wear an extra layer – a disposable coverall (like for painting, under $10 Harbor Freight, Menards, etc.) and disposable vinyl/nitrite or very cheap garden gloves so it all can be peeled off and tossed into a garbage bag before touching the house door knob. Also, I’m very allergic so I use extra protection on my forearms (I usually catch it on the inside wrist or forearm area between the glove and long sleeved shirt which I guess must get exposed when moving arms around or I touch with a contaminated thumb when removing gloves.). I use two empty cereal bags from inside boxes of breakfast cereal. I cut two holes in the bottom of each bag – a small one for my thumb and a larger on for my 4 fingers, leaving an inch of uncut bag between the holes. After I put on my long sleeved shirt I put my hands into the cereal bags pulling up over my sleeves, then I put the gloves on top of the cereal bags. I have used bread bags and shopping bags also but the cereal bags work best – they are stiff enough to stay up over my shirt sleeve without using rubber bands. Then when I’m finished they go into the garbage bag before I touch the door knob. Additionally, I use all the precautions and washing that Mike and others have shared here.
One last tip – for cutting P.I. I’ve successfully cut down up to 8 ft tall bushy P.I. plants that were intertwined in a shrub without catching P.I. rash using the following technique. First I put a garbage bag in a large trash can placed near the P.I.. Fasten down the top of the bag with tape or a super large rubber band so the top doesn’t blow around when you’re trying to put P.I. in it.. Even though the stems could easily be cut with hand clippers, I use loppers for tall or bushy P.I so my head, arms etc are further away from accidentally getting touched by the P.I.. I start at the top of the P.I. plant, I cut 12 to 16 inch pieces of P.I. and transfer them into the trash bag. The point is to do this without letting it touch any part of me including my gloves shirt, pants, hat, etc. With my old loppers the blades were worn enough that I could cut and continue to hold onto the stem with the loppers to drop it into the bag. With my new loppers i usually need to use a reach tool to put the cut P.I. into the trash bag. The goal is to keep all my clothing including gloves, and the handles of my tools uncontaminated. I still treat my gloves and clothing as if they are contaminated but if they never touched the P.I. then there is much less chance of accidental transfer of the P.I. oil to my skin while removing or washing the clothing. You can cut it down to ground level and use a smothering technique to help with regrowth, or when down to 7 – 10 inches tall you can spray with vinegar or bleach or your spray of choice. Monitor the area and then continue to treat it while short if it grows back. I find a broadleaf spray (the type used in your grass) is more effective than the broadcast spray (kills grass and broadleaf). Or if I’m able to turn the area into a mowed area it will stay under control. Hope you found something helpful here..
Thank you JoGrandma for the good information.
Thank you, Mike! Your the best – so helpful with the videos & articles you do for us! And thank you to your readers, too. Your article and the comments here are a Poison Ivy Treasure Trove. I picked up a few new poison ivy tips, and I thought I had heard and tried everything.
The vitamin C tip shared by Dave worked for me. Last week I got a rash from a secondary source (garden tool that I was too lazy to clean). I took 1000 mg vitamin C with each meal for a few days. It stopped itching the first day and my skin was clear in a few days..Granted it wasn’t a full blown case of P.I. but in the past it would linger on for a month popping up here and there. I will definitely use the vitamin C again. Also going to try Noxema that Ginger shared and also the tip of putting a black bag over a P.I. plant that someone share.
Mike, thanks for all the work you do sharing this info. I hope to buy your Growing System. Am working day and night seven days a week now with a business but working on selling it so I can retire, have time to breathe, and try my hand at growing. Blessings.
JoGrandma,
You are welcome and thank you for your kind words.
Do what I did. I’m allergic so I got a one of those disposable full body rain jackets. Used a cheap saw to saw through the main vine and then used a dropper to drop 50%+ glyphosate into the cut area over a few days. This worked and I was not affected.
I have never got Poison Ivy but to be cautious, when I have contact with it I rub the oil from a broken stem of touch-me-not aka wild impatient on my hands and arms. Many times it grows near poison ivy and it helps in neutralizing the oil from PI. The flowers look like small orange trumpets and the seed pods break open when touched and the seeds pop out getting its common name.
We call that plant jewelweed in NJ and make a salve out of it to heal poison ivy rash.
Yes, jewelweed. (Impatiens capensis)
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/images/jewelweed/impatiens_capensis_photo2_lg.jpg
How do you make your salve?
About 12 years ago I accidentally mowed over poison ivy and got pneumonia. Be sure you wear a mask.
I really enjoy your videos. I’ve learned a few things here and there. I just have to say, living down here in NC, where poison ivy (or poison oak as we call it), is common-place, I’ve never seen anyone go full haz-mat suit on it, lol! I’ve pulled it out by the roots where it was growing up in the boxwoods, barefoot, shirtless with shorts on. Sucks for a while but a little ointment, and we’re good after a little while. I know some people are affected by it worse than others. My late father was a fortunate exception to the rule. He could roil around in the stuff and it never bothered him at all. I’ve done the same thing though; cut out a section of it, and kill it from there up. Keep up the good work.
Clint I life in TN I think you will find out P/oak and P/Ivy are two different plants, but never the less both really bad if you are horribly allergic.
Several years ago, where I lived, we had poison oak on our back hill. My fiancé’s dog went missing & when we found her, she’d been attacked by a coyote. I had to take care of her and tend to all her injuries. I got what started as a small rash on my chin, which the doctor didn’t know what it was & gave me a cream. We went camping on a weekend & the vet took care of the dog. By Sunday, the rash covered my entire face with my eyes almost completely swollen shut. Went to emergency when I got home and was told I had poison oak. I got it from the dog. She must have ran through it getting away from the coyote. I sprayed & drenched it with Roundup (the label states it kills poison oak, ivy, etc). It made it greener & more healthier, tried other stuff, same thing very green), so I started spraying carburetor spray on it which started killing it, until my fiancé caught me & said in was too expensive to waste. He brought in people to get rid of it & they started pulling it out by hand, no gloves, no protection. I flipped out & told them to stop, that it was poison oak and very bad stuff & they said they knew & it was no problem. To this day, it makes me sick just thinking of them pulling & digging it out. I hope they were okay. My uncle tried digging his out one winter thinking since it had no leaves that it was ok to handle (WRONG) he was a mess after & he had a neighbor burn some & his neighbor died from breathing the smoke (Oils in the smoke caused rashes on his lungs & respiratory failure). So I always say, Leaves of three, let it be. Vines with hair, beware! One time was enough for me. Anytime I see any, I warn everyone.
A few years ago, I had one of those head-to-toe outbreaks of Poison Ivy, had to go to the doctor, take pills, all that so I decided to figure out how to prevent it. Turns out, if you eat a teaspoon of local honey (from your neighborhood) every day starting in February you’ll be immune by the time the P.I. comes out So I kill it by mowing and weed whacking. No sprays on our place! I am still super careful–wear long sleeves, shoes and socks, come in as soon as I finish cutting it and wash all my clothes, take a shower, wash hair, etc., but I’m no longer scared of the stuff. I stop the daily honey in November or so and after three or four years of this system, I’m not as OCD over using the honey every day and I’m still P.I. free.
You should care what you are doing to the envirment you are leaving for your grandkids. Stop using Roundup!
My friend here in MD is a grower for Farmer Marketing and has been using RoundUp for decades. If a person is stupid enough to stand downwind of the spray, they are asking to get sick from it. The RoundUp hype is BS.
No, the Roundup stuff isn’t bs…a multimillion dollar verdict doesn’t come from bs. However, for the casual homeowner user, the risk is probably minimal
The truth about Round-Up is that it is NOT hype or BS. People are allergic to it–some worse than others. For example, it makes me break out in hives & I get an itchy rash from it. That happens if I touch plants that have been sprayed with it.
The Roundup “hype” as you call it is not B.S. Scientific testing has concluded that it causes cancer. And there are a variety of ways you can be exposed to it without being downwind from it.
You’re an idiot if you think the RoundUp issue is all hype….if you’re so sure, just spray a bit all about you and then stand there and breath in the vapors….before you know it you will have lymphoma and on your way to your grave!
Amen! Thank you. And follow label directions, wear long sleeves long pants, and you should be fine. Ive also been using it for years on pasture maintenance with no ill effects on me or family.
When I know I have touched poison ivy I use Comet – the stuff u scour your pans with. I scrub that stuff where ever I have been in contact with it. I get huge blisters that turn into scars – I am so allergic to the stuff.
I would think using Comet to wash off the poison ivy oil from your skin would be very hard on your skin. Comet contains abrasives and chlorine. I am allergic to poison ivy too, but I have had good results from washing my skin very quickly with regular soap, right after touching the leaves. Or you might try the Nafta soap that Mike recommends, or a hand cleaner that is made for cleaning grease off your hands, which would probably be much easier on your skin than Comet.
Strangely, the upper parts of the vines may (probably won’t?) not die during the rest of the season in which it is sprayed. The vines that you see have roots that insinuate themselves into the bark of the tree and actually receive nutrients from the bark. They will not come back the following year however because the nutrients the plant receives in that manner are insufficient to allow regrowth of the leaves. A good spray with glysophate will kill the whole plant the next year. I stay away for a long time anyway because I’m so allergic to the poison.. Good luck! Jim
To make your spray effective on PI or Poison Oak just add a few drops up to a teaspoon if it is a 5 gallon sprayer of dish soap to your sprayer…the soap helps the absorption into the plants. The oil in the plants causes the spray to run off…the soap helps absorb the spray. – be sure to add the soap after putting in the water and spay compound to avoid it all foaming up as you fill the tank.
Glysophate is a very toxic chemical for a person using it to be exposed to. Environmental protection organizations are working hard right now to pass a law to have the use of it totally banned.
Like you, i dress up with rubber gloves, long sleeve shirt, long pants — and i wear shoes, not boots — hat, and safety g;asses. I’m semi-immune to Poison Ivy. In spring, after a soaking rain, Poison Ivy is easy to pull up, and i can pull up the roots — as many as i can.
When we moved to our new house 3 years ago, we had a strip of Poison Ivy on the edge of our yard, under the edge of a very nice woods. That Poison Ivy strip was about 10 – 15 feet wide and about a hundred yards long growing mostly on stems about 2 to 4 feet high. I spent two mornings pulling up that Poison Ivy and putting it in several piles. I’m guestimating I harvested 300 to 400 (or more) pounds of it in those 2 mornings. 2nd year, i only pulled up 30 or 40 stems, and this year — half a dozen stems which had short roots
I think I will try your method as it has decided to take over my hosta nursery. Trouble is, the Hosta come up before the poison ivy, then it trails it’s way through my garden and is growing into my lawn now.
Mike, I always enjoy your emails–so full of good information. Although you recommend against it, I can’t always wait for plants to die to avoid them while weeding, so I do my best to catch them while they’re small and pull them out of the soil.. My method is to double plastic store bags and use them like a glove, putting both of my hands inside, reaching over the plant, gripping it close to the ground, and pulling it out. With both hands in the bag, I can gather the stem and root (sort of hand over hand) to where it is fully contained and the bag is inside out. Then I expel the air, knot the bag, and dispose it, all without contaminating my hands, clothes, or a garden tool. Nothing’s perfect, but this works quite well for me.
Great I am going to try it.
I am super allergic to PI. I get it from washing clothes of my non- allergic hunting family members. My home treatment plan of 5 or 6 years: Within 6 hours of contact with PI, whether directly or transferred, I take 3 baths. One I wash with baking soda. Drain the water. Second I wash wash with rubbing alcohol. Drain the water. Third I pour some bleach in the water and bathe as usual. So far, every time I do this, I do not get the rash. Sometimes I have just taken the bleach bath and have had good success in preventing the rash. But there is hell to pay if I do not do this. Once about 3 years ago, I skipped the routine. I got the horrible effects in my face, affected my eyes, just so happens I caught pink eye at the same time. I was not even recognizable my face was so disfigured. It took about 2 weeks to recover with the help of a cortisone injection.
I have just accidentally discovered this website. Very interesting and helpful. Keep up the tremendous service, especially for amateurs like me.
Fabian,
I know your pain, I’ve been working around poison ivy at https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2011/07/mikes-new-nursery-from-the-beginning/ for about two weeks, now I have a bit on my wrist which I can live with compared to how bad it could be. At the end of each I wash up with Felsnapa (sp) soap before I go home. certainly helps.
That sounds like a great idea. The plastic bags would block and contain any oil that got sprayed by the plant and its roots as you pull it up. I have a lot of small ones popping up near the wall of our house. So I will try that. Also keep in mind that these plants seem to spread partly by the roots growing outward, and sprouting new plants up from those roots. So if you find a number of small ones popping up, there are probably long roots connecting them that need to be pulled or dug up too.
I use the grocery bag method also, with great success. Just make sure there are no holes in the bottom of the bag! Also, I use a forked-tip dandelion digger to pry up the spreading vine from the soil. PI stays near the surface so its pretty easy to pull out the spreading stems and roots. Happy digging!
I have a plants that looks like a tree, what do I do. I found it this spring, nobody did anything with it for years. I didn’t no,and got it bad.thanks.
William,
Consider hiring somebody to deal with those vines.
I once had a neighbor with a Horse that ate it, and loved it without consequences. Never got sick, so she loaned it out to neighbors with Poison Ivy. The horse absolutely Loved Poison Ivy. This was about 50 years ago, so now I deal with it with a Poison Ivy Spray.
All, I cut the vine & paint with straight picloram. If you can’t find it use generic roundup. Here is a trick I learned a couple of years ago. Take 1,000 mg’s of vitamin C 4 to 6 times a day. The rash will clear up almost before your eyes
Scientific research has proven that Roundup causes cancer, if you are exposed to it in some way.
You may be right about the Vitamin C. I take 1000 mg. of Vit. C per day, and I am much less allergic to the poison ivy than I was years ago.
And if you have the rash (which I get every year :/ I found that generic noxema will relieve the the itch and help it go away within 3-4 days. I’m 60 and very allergic to both PI & PO. There are diluted oil kits you can take over time to help make you resistant. I still get it but now it’s in small rashes or ‘bites’ looking bubbles. Still-itchy is itchy! Noxema has eucalyptus and camphor in it. I believe those are the ingredients that work. I’m allergic to calamine lotion and therefore as a child had a terrible time with never ending rashes thru the summers.
My husband is horribly allergic to poison ivy. I have never gotten it so I am the designated person to remove it. I always wear long pants and long sleeves and plastic gloves. I will take a black plastic bag and put it over the vine where I can grab the base and then the vine is contained inside the bag and I leave it out in the sun for a week or so to bake it inside the bag. I wash with apple cider vinegar to cut the oil first and then with Dawn dish washing liquid or Castile. I use this on my tools too.
When I am outside I will gather some Jewelweed and Plantain, I blend this with water then strain it and use it in a spray bottle as it is the Indian remedy for first exposure. It does work. This year my husband got poison ivy from the golf course and he tried rubbing the inside of a banana peel on the rash and was gone after three days. Yippee! It takes care of the itch of bug bites too!
I have used homeopathic remedies as well and they work very well. You can read about it at a website from Joette Calabrese. Who discusses how homeopathy works and what remedy to take.
Hope you get that huge vine taken care of. Looks ominous and a little scary to try to remove it. Best of luck to you.
My grandmother always had us eat the leaves of 3 each spring. Never had a problem. Just don’t touch your lips!
That sounds really dangerous.
Hi! So,…if you really want to get rid of it, get someone who isn’t allergic to come remove it. I’m not…at least I don’t get it when touching the leaves. But I bet I’d get a really mean rash if I cut into that big ol’ vine! That’s the only time I’ve gotten such a rash, when the electric company cut the trees down to put in service to our lot. My hubs and I picked up the firewood they had stacked for us and hauled it to a stack in our yard to burn later. The next day we both had a rash, but mine was very light, his was horrendous! Just our hands and our necks and faces, nowhere under our clothing which protected us from the oils on those big ol’ vines. So,…I’d be willing to come help you out, but I’d also need to cover up good and wash up good immediately after. I’d also want to use a quick cut and go method. Battery powered rip saw, maybe? Those vines will have covered everything with oils which will be nasty for sometime after. Not sure how long it would stay virulent. Maybe wait till next year to cut it down and cut it up and burn it in a brushpile not a bonfire, lol.
Do not burn it. Harmful. That smoke
Killed kids in Morro Bay in the 90’s when I lived there.
Do not burn it at all. I have heard numerous times that that inhaling the smoke can kill you.
Mike Hi Quick question
After you clear the ground from Poison ivy, when should you be able to plant new plants?
Nina,
I ideally wait for 10 to 15 days, then spray anything that starts to come up with glyphosate (roundup) to make sure all that you had is gone and dead. The more time you take preparing the planting area the better the chance that you’ve gotten rid of it all. Should any come up after you plant simply use a paint brush and apply the chemical just to those plants.
I had breast cancer and I do believe the major culprit is Roundup.
Roundup is a culprit in lots of cancer.
So sorry to hear this. Roundup is the culprit of different kinds of cancer.
Thanks for all your advice, but as for using Roundup/ glysophate, scientific research has proven now that exposure to glysophate causes cancer.
I had problems with it several years ago. I found out that the clothes I had worn, plus all the other clothes washed with them, still had enough oil to make me break out. I suggest washing the clothes by themselves SEVERAL times. Also, if you can wash your skin off within 30 minutes, then your skin will not react or the rash is milder.
And to emphasize the point about not burning: DO NOT BURN. No. No. No.
Really when someone doesn’t know afterward its up to other users
that they will help, so here it takes place.
I’ve been fighting poison ivy in my garden this summer and I think I have it under control. I’m terribly allergic to it, so I try to be as careful as I can. Now that the plant is dead, what is the best way to remove the dead leaves and vines? Does the weed killer also neutralize the oil? I hate to leave it there since there are children in the neighborhood that play close by.
Cathi,
I say don’t touch it for some time, once the vine is good and dry it should be safe, but give it time. That’s my recommendation.
Once the poison ivy vines are dead, how do you get rid of the dead remains? And if I have used round-up can I still use goats? My yard has been ignored for years while husband fought cancer. Now I am trying to clean it up.
Eva,
For the most part I am afraid of even dead poison ivy vines. I know that eventually they become harmless, but I’m not sure how long that takes. I wouldn’t spray roundup where your goats are likely to eat it.
In my opinion, you should call a HazMat team. Having the trashmen carry it away just means it is somewhere else causing problems. I mean, it really is a hazardous Material. Maybe the city or county provide some sort of disposal services.
Dead poison ivy is harmless was it’s had a chance to dry out. I need to do a follow up on this, but it can be put into a brush pile and be allowed to dry out. I did this with a massive amount of it then later moved that pile of brush out back. Still out there, all broken down, completely harmless.
Don’t use roundup. Don’t fund your own demise (and ours!) by buying chems such as roundup. It’s called voting with your dollars. If you use goats, you can expect to get the rash off them, to whatever extent you are allergic and however much remains on them by the time you touch them. I have gotten tiny blisters between my fingers from milking the does, or from petting the dogs which I now realize had likely rolled in it, and brought it to me. Use apple cider vinegar or boiling water or both in turns till it’s DOA and dig it out, using gloves put in a pile to compost.
The mixture for Roundup is 1/2 oz per gallon of water. Not dangerous when following directions. I don’t get poison ivy but poison sumac and use straight Clorox. when I get it. It clears up in 24 hrs .and REALLY burns but works. Most of you will probably want to dilute the Clorox. Also Monsanto does not make glyphosate . It has been sold to Bayer a European company.
I put the vines into large leaf bags and then haul them off, along with branches that have fallen from our trees, to a local landfill that accepts yard waste. When we unload the branches, I dump the vines from the bags too. There they will eventually get covered up by tons of dirt and not cause any problems.
I don’t know if you can still find it or not but I used to coat my body with . a mixture of a little water and octagon soap before putting on long sleeve shirts and long pants etc.the mixture dried on the skin and prevented the oil from the poison ivy getting onto the skin. I would come inside and shower and a cool shower. it worked for me..
https://youtu.be/4oyoDRHpQK0
Some of you probably need a good bath anyway. The fear mongers remind me of people who kill all snakes, poison or no.
I no longer can find Octagon soap. But I still have part of a bar. I rub up a good lather with a little water & let it dry on my exposed skin. If I do it soon enough, it has always worked for me.
I have killed large patches of poison Ivy in my yard by covering with black plastic.
I am fundamentally against anything made by Monsanto, especially Round Up as my husband was a victim of Agent Orange from Vietnam This poses a problem – the poison ivy removal – which you have hopefully resolved for me. But I have also learned through experience, that VIrginia Creeper is also toxic. I had a horrible rash – very similar to PI earlier this spring. Trip to the ER, steroids, and much lotion later, it was gone – the real cure: Deodorant. Yep. Plain ol’ stick deodorant. A friend of mine swore by it and suggested it and it did the trick quicker than any of the potions recommended and prescribed by the doctor. But I steer clear of Virginia Creeper now as well.
Which brand of stick deodorant? I wonder if the kind that lists aluminum as one of the main ingredients is a key.
I am EXTREMELY allergic to poison ivy, oal or sumac. Every summer, I would have to get several shots to combat it, never knowing when I got exposed.. But I have found a God-given cure for break-outs. The sooner you use it the less you break out. If you will take the inside of a banana peel and rub it where ever you may have touched the poison vine, it will nutralize the oils. The quicker you rub the banana peel on the poison ivy sores the quicker it nutralizes the poison, the quicker you stop the ‘spreading’. I has been about 8 years since I had to have a shot and it’s been about 8 years since I discovered God’s secret cure! Hope this helps someone!!!
After cutting the section out like you did in the video paint the stump ( lower portion ) with Tordon available at TSC or other farm and garden outlets. It will be DEAD no need to come back and spray in the spring. Paint it as soon as you cut it. This stuff works for any brushy ( woody ) plant.
Great tip, thanks Paul.
If you are not opposed to Roundup, as I am not, you can use the same process that Paul outlines and “paint” the freshly cut stump with a 50% H2O and 50% Roundup solution. This method is on the Roundup label as a “Cut Stump Treatment”. Cut stump must be treated immediately so that it sucks in the solution. Also works on any size Privet. You can mix in some agricultural dye to the solution so that you can see what you have painted. Offfice Depot sells a nice micro fiber duster on an extendable stick that paints the stumps well and keeps you well away from the sap.
I have a bumper crop in my back yard which I didn’t realize until I got it all over myself weeding (fun!). So I went to the garden store, got some advice, bought some spray and sprayed the hell out of it. Now it’s brown and crusty and seems to be dead. Unfortunately it’s still standing in my yard. Is it really dead or do I need to put on my full hazmat suit to pull it down and throw it away? Please and thank you for your help!
Kate,
Proceed with caution, those dead looking vines are still going to be toxic for sometime. I’d stay away from them for a long time.
I have chemically killed some PI I found in the yard. Now, I’m afraid to move it. Logically, if Dawn dish soap breaks down oil, should I be able to spray the dead plants with a Dawn solution to make the urishol less potent before pulling (while wearing protection of course).?
Holly,
I consider dead poison ivy vines still dangerous for at least a few months after being killed. Those are just my rules. Dawn doesn’t really break down soil, it releases soil tension.
Fels Napha Soap!!! Wash really good after you have or even think youve been near it. This stuff rocks. I haven’t had to take anything or broken out with it since finding this gem. In the laundry isle of the store
Hey Mike – I’m like you I’m very allergic to poison ivy. How can I treat and kill the poison ivy but not kill the scrubs, trees or plants? Last year I treated my and killed my poison and all my back yard. Nothing survived. Nothing put the poison ivy. It came back. What can I do to protect my plants and scrubs?
Sandie,
You have to spray it in such a way that you don’t get the spray on other plants. Then the very first time you see more poison ivy, spray it the moment it shows up. Hire somebody to cut it off at ground level, that will kill any growing in plants and up trees. I have completely gotten rid of the poison ivy that I had here that was very, very thick. Not sign of it, I just did as I showed in this video.
I have used the following method to kill poison ivy growing up trees – even when the stems are 3 inches in diameter … no returning ivy in 5 + years after .
1) Cut the stem in two locations … about 2 inches apart . This gap prevents vine sap from ” healing ” the cut .
2) Apply a steam of brush killer/poison ivy killer concentrate…….at 3 times the recommend mixture……. to the lower cut .
* * I do this in the winter . ONLY USE THIS MIXTURE ON THE CUT ! !
Tim,
Makes sense to me, but those that are allergic you have to be really, really careful making those cuts and wear as much protection as possible because you can and will get poison ivy when you cut it like that.
Using a pole saw with a long reach such as used to trim trees up high would help. Cut the vine and stay 15 foot away. Thanks !
interesting to read about goats eating posion ivy and the milk of the goats to fight the posion.
one historical point i heard on the tour of the bunkers at sandy hook was usa military now a federal park south of nyc in nj the military planted poison ivy thinking the germans were going to invade. i noticed areas of large growth of poison ivy. the photo of the posion ivy was long time and big. thanks for the data and all else yours truly evans robinson
Hi Mike,,I have a question about something else,,
How can I get Bare Foot plants to grow..
I have ordered multiple types and numbers of tress and plants.. They are shipped dry how do I get these plants to produce roots and grow.
Thank You
Jerry
Jerry,
The truth is there are no secrets. Well, maybe there is. If you are buying from a reputable source that ships out high quality, fresh dug nursery stock the only thing you have to do is plant them and they will grow. I buy thousands of bare root plants each year and they all do just fine. The problem is with the sellers and how they ship, but more importantly, how they’ve cared for those plants before you got them.
I used to work in a wholesale bare root nursery. We’d dig tens of thousands of plants in Nov and Dec them store them in barns, bare root until spring when we’d start shipping them. Many of them were sold to mail order houses, probably much like the ones that you are buying from. So the plants were in our barns bare root all winter. We did our best to keep them hydrated, but with tens of thousands stacked in bins 20′ high, it doesn’t always work as planned. Then they spend days in the back of a truck in the hands of a truck driver, not a nurseryman. Then they arrive at the mail order house and go into their bare root storage. Truth be told, they are handled too many times and since they end up being sold in really small quantities that really compounds things because they just aren’t handled properly.
We have a buy/sell area for our members and all most all of the nursery stock sold their is sold fresh dug. Some of what is sold there, a very small percentage, comes from larger wholesalers and our members buy extra to sell to fellow members. Most things arrive pretty much in really good condition.
Our Backyard Growers Members area is awesome! Learn all about it here:
http://backyardgrowers.com/join
The most important thing you need to due after cutting the vines is to drill a hole into the lower vine. Than fill the hole with straight ., undiluted KILLZALL, ROUNDUP, or what ever you use to kill poison ivy. In a couple of weeks yo will see poison ivy dead all over the place. We have seen dead poison ivy a football field away when dosing the cut off vines this way.
I didn’t read the other comments so someone else may have mentioned this solution. When cutting a vine like that you cam immediately treat the cut surface with the non-selective herbicide ( the root side of the cut ) and get the plant to draw it down to the root system. I remember my professor in one of my horticulture classes recommended that when cutting down trees that tend to sucker as a good way to kill the root system. When using it on a smaller vine with green wood you can use a zipper style plastic bag around the end of the vine soaked in the weed killer to keep it moving into the root system.
Tordon 101 will kill it down to the roots. Roots and all, just don’t use to much don’t want to kill the tree. Don
You should tell people NOT to scrub their skin hard after being exposed to poison ivy. It will abrade the skin and allow the oil to get in deeper. Also, do not use very hot water, as it will open your pores. ideally lukewarm water is best. If you don’t have soap or detergent, washing with plain water, any water, even cold stream water, without rubbing hard, will wash it off. Also, jewelweed is not as easy to identify, but it grows in shade near water, often where poison ivy grows. Any part of the plant can be rubbed on the skin as a preventive. Many of the soaps and lotions sold for poison ivy prevention contain jewelweed. You can make your own concoctions, too; there’s lots of ideas and recipes on the internet.
Thanks Myrtle, great information!
My Grandmother always used lye soap. I am not allergic to poison ivy but my husband is. He always uses it after having been exposed as do I. He has had a few breakouts. I have never had any. But, I want to get rid of it permanently, what herbicide should I use now that Roundup has been determined to be a carcinogen?
Jewelweed doesn’t work for everyone. I know someone who has it growing in their yard and they’ve tried numerous times to use it to treat poison ivy, to no avail. The homeopathic remedy Rhus Tox does work for many people.
I had PI growing in my urban backyard and my housemate would always get a rash after mowing that part of the yard. I won’t use Roundup (especially now that it’s finally been classified as a carcinogen) so I had to come up with something else. I tried to smother it with plywood but it grew out from under the wood! Tenacious stuff, I tell you. So I bought a 20% solution of vinegar online to use. They sell it at Amazon for agriculture purposes. I went out and sprayed the leaves numerous times over the span of a summer; each time spraying while the sun was shining on the plants. The leaves I sprayed died by the end of the day but since PI grows by the roots, I had to keep at the new growth that kept popping up. After a few months I couldn’t see anymore leaves sprouting up anywhere. I’m still not seeing any in that area a year later, though I probably ought to check it again to make sure nothing came back from the root zone. The vinegar in the store is NOT strong enough!! You must use a very strong acidity of vinegar like the 20%. I doubt the 10% would work, or it would take much longer.
You can also add Epsom salt to the vinegar to help it along. Freezing the 10% then skimming the water off the top (it freezes before the vinegar) will up the strength.
You posted this 2 years ago, saying want to put your potting area under this large PI vine. After you killed the big vine, what did you do when the dead, but still toxic, leaves of the dead vine from way up in the tree started to fall and blow all over the place? Later pieces of dead vine would fall as they detach from the tree. How do you tell the toxic litter from the regular tree litter? Are you still potting under this tree?
Great question! After cutting the vines and spraying what was left I eventually got rid of all of the poison ivy. But for the most part I’ve left the area alone until this spring. This spring we removed the trees because they were truly unsafe, dropping large branches unexpectedly. We cut down the trees and handled the logs and brush without getting a speck of poison ivy, the area is now almost fully cleared, just a tad more work to do on the stumps.
I know it will sound weird, but until the last year or so I would break out with a poison ivy “type” rash simply going outside and breathing or touching almost any vegetation including tomato plants and the like. Once walking in the yard in shorts a piece of grass rubbed my leg around the ankle and I broke out.
Sharon
Great video! Thanks Mike!
You went about it the right way, just one more step. Put a drop or two of full strength 24D on the bottom cut. It will be absorbed by the vine and will probably kill it without any further spraying. If the vine does leave out, then apply 24D at 3 TBS per gal. in a pump-up sprayer. Be prepared to follow up in one month.
I get poison ivy soooo bad that I develop blisters and then an infection. This last time I ended up in the emergency room with one half of my face a huge mess.
So, my advice is whenever you THINK you may have had contact with that nasty stuff, go and use a scouring powder like Comet.
Sprinkle it on the affected area and then put a little water on the powder and scrub away. It cuts all the oils that cause the problems
I know that scouring powder seems like a drastic action but it works for me.
Carol,
I wash with Fels Naptha soap if I think I’ve been exposed. I always keep a bar on hand at all times.
How about using LANDSCAPEGOATS? Goats are immune to pioson ivy and they love to eat it!
Check out these websites:
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/poisonousplants/poisonivy/mondaygarden/SS118poisonivy.html
http://www.ohranger.com/blog/12/10/goats-are-new-landscapers-staten-island
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/06/397879410/go-ahead-little-goat-eat-some-poison-ivy-it-wont-hurt-a-bit
Some of the articles also say thay drinking goat milk from goats feeding on poison ivy can give immunity to the effects .
Ron
Poison Ivy is a mysterious plant. As a child I would get it every summer, severely, and it would spread to my nether regions, and caused me great agony. As an adult, I am almost immune to its effects. I have purposely pulled it out by hand when weeding and the worst I will get is a blister or two between my fingers, and sometimes NOTHING.. Sometimes it will just cause my skin to peel off where the oil has touched. It doesn’t scare me anymore. I have read that the body’s response to it is more like the response to a microbe. Hence the possibility of developing an immunity’
Paulie,
I’m sure that can happen, but it hasn’t happened for me yet! Sure would be nice.
I should be in the poison ivy removal business. As far back as I can remember, the stuff has never affected me. I have it all over the west side of my property and regularly cut down the vines and burn them. All bare handed lol. Occasionally when I burn them I get a slight itch on my arms but nothing unbearable.
1st most important thing is never to burn posion ivy. There is also a herbicide that works by painting on tree stunps & posion ivy by cutting the vines as Mike has suggested ( its Blue ) Also if you know you are going to work around posion ivy or find out you have posion ivy rash take 4,000- 5,000 mgs of vitamin C. It will go away almost as fast as it showed up on you.
Mike as always thank you for all of your help
Interesting David, thank you.
Back in horse and buggy days, horses and cattle grazed all over the unfenced hills behind Stanford University. They are able to eat the stuff without harm, as can goats. In the Oakland hills they keep a herd of goats to clean the stuff out of the parks.
We have mostly Poison Oak here in California, but it can climb trees too. The old name is Rhus diversiloba, and it is truly diverse. Can look like blackberry or other plants.
My brother was wildly allergic to the oils and since little boys go potty in the woods, he would break out in mighty sensitive areas!
I ‘m not sure but someone may have already written this solution.
1. Weed killer or poison ivy killer in a form that can be mixed with water. Mix up an amount you believe some of the leaves but most importantly some of the vine will be able to be bent and pushed into a plastic bottle or bag that holds the solution.
2. Wearing protective covering to protect yourself,, bend the plant or if the vine is of a giant size like the one in Mike’s photo, cut it through. Poison ivy has feelers and rootlets that crawl all over a tree and also into the ground sending up new shoots all over so you want to feed the plant the week killer by putting parts of the plant into the mix you made up..
3. Wrap a twisty around the plastic bag or using plastic wrap or plastic of a kind that can be wrapped closed around the plant and the opening of the container so you don’t lose it all by evaporation. You may need to feed the plant more than once and if it’s a giant, feed it in more than one spot..
What you have at this point is a container that is feeding the plant, the weed killer. I’ve used this method on nuisance vines and am pretty sure it will work on poison ivy as well.
Thanks for all the good tips Mike. Physically I’m not able to grow all the plants you suggest but I love reading about it all. Becca
Enjoyed the video. About twenty years ago my next-door neighbor had a 2 inch diameter vine growing up an oak tree just a few feet from my backyard. They completely neglected their yard, so I sneaked over one day and severed the vine with a saw. I didn’t use any protective gear, but at that time I was not sensitive to the stuff, but now have some sensitivity from years of exposure (particularly from out picking wild blackberries). I also enjoyed the pic of your fist and the large vine. Several days ago I noticed an equally big vine growing up a tree a few feet from a back trail near the confluence of Round Lick Branch with Cub Run (which is a tributary of the famous Bull Run here in western Fairfax Co, VA). I found your site after a Google search to see if there was anyone that had any pics of large diameter vines.
Ralph,
There is a graveyard in Farmington NH that was notorious for people getting poison ivy. They finally had a person come out from the University of New Hampshire agricultural division. They identified a poison ivy “tree. Rumor has it that it was 6-8” across & 20-30 feet tall and free standing.
David,
The vines that I had were several inches in diameter, so I am not surprised by that.
My guess is it started as a vine on a tree, killed the tree and then the tree rotted out, leaving the poison ivy “tree” self supporting. PI will take down houses and barns too, if left for decades.
That is TERRIFYING!!! (: O
When I was about 40, I suddenly became allergic to poison ivy, and it would quickly spread over my entire body.. For several yrs. I was having to get steroid shots. Then a friend told me to use lye soap. At the first sign of a bump or streak, I wash the area , rinse, wash again and leave a soap film on my skin. In a few minutes, repeat. After 3 or 4 times it is usually gone completely. Now I seldom get a hint of a reaction. Google to find where to buy the soap bars, which will last for years.
Use cider vinegar as soon as you come in the house and pat it on the skin Not rub your self clean. Use paper towels and pat and throw away. Lay it down flat and pull up off the skin. Don’t be stingy with the vinegar, let it be good and moist, Not dripping. That way if you got the oil on you it goes on the towels and the vinegar removes it into the paper towel.
It will work even after the blister starts to form to get the oil off. Don’t rub or it will spread the oil from the plant to new locations. Don’t touch your face with the used paper towel ever. Use a clean paper towel and cider vinegar to each section the towel covers.
I do this 3 or 4 times on the skin, pat and throw away to be safe. After I am finished I use soap and water to wash the pickle smell off. .
So far not had any more people having poison ivy problems after being in the woods.
I’ve heard that clove oil works. There’s also a product called St. Gabriel Laboratories Poison Ivy Defoliant that contains clove oil. I, however, have yet to use either but will soon give it a try.
did you know that goats LOVE eating poison ivy and poison oak? why not put a little paddock around the tree for a bit and let them enjoy themselves?…i promise you will NEVER see the pesky vines after they have had their way with them.
Thank you so much for the video and the informative information that you give.
They yellow banner that fills the top fifth of the video image is impossibly distracting. We spent the better part of the entire video trying to make it go away. There doesn’t seem to be any
X” mark to close the offending graphic.
It won’t go away, so I went away.
enlarge the picture using the frame size arrows at the bottom right of the video frame and then you will be able to click the little “X”.
Thank you for your interesting posts. I could sleep in a PI patch as a child but am now horribly allergic w/ large scabbing requiring shots. A few years ago, an older woman shared this remedy with all of us after a hike through a massive stand of PI in the deep woods: When you get home, pour 2 cups of CHEAP WHITE VINEGAR in the washer and run your clothes on the soak cycle 1/2 hour before washing e/ regular detergent. It will destroy the nasty oils. Downside: Any stains will become permanent Also treat your skin with cheap white vinegar. Put on exposed skin, even face, full strength after exposure and let it sit a minute or two. Yes, it stings and stinks but it cuts the oils. And it’s so cheap. . You can rub a little but you don’t have to scrub. Wash off thoroughly. I have been spared from PI using this approach. Do not apply to broken skin. Be proactive!
i want to use the following to kill PI:
1 cup salt
8 drops liquid detergent
1 gallon vinegar
will this mix do much damage to the trees?
Jason,
I don’t think the salt will be good for the plants you are putting it around. How harmful it would be I don’t know.
Hey Mike,
Just wanted to commend you on your bravery to eliminating poison Ivy. I have played in poison ivy when I was a kid and I have cut those nasty vines later in life, never really had any reaction to it, (for which I am very thankful). My grandmother just had to stand down wind from it and she’d be suffering the effects. At any rate, I watched your video and thought I just have to tell you I understand your situation and appreciate you showing us how to take care of this menace.
Della
Della,
I appreciate that and I can tell you that this worked. After we cut the vines we just kept the lower portions sprayed as soon as new growth appear and we have won the battle!
many people might laugh about getting a goat to get rid of poison ivy but a farmer told me any animal can eat it without itching.dogs run trough it. chicken scratch by it and any other farm animals can be around it without getting it. only humans are allergic to it..thanks for all the wonderful garden info.
My wife use to get poison ivy bad [ her arms looked like mushrooms] , Till someone told us to make a paste from finish lime and put it on her arms, It worked great ,It may have pulled the oil out, Now she keeps ahead of it at the start of it. It has worked for everyone that we told.about it. I don’t get poison ivy to easy. I just pull it out with my bare hands. But maybe when I was small we all had a lot of goat milk. Maybe that goat thing works.
I am exposed to poisin ivy constantly, owning both a billboard business and amateur tree farm. I’ve learned a few things about dealing with it:
1. The best product on earth is Technu Ivy Scrub, especially the version with pumice. This contains a solvent that dissolves the urushiol, and lets you wash it off. Works much like painter’s hand cleaner that removes oil based paint. (I tried painters hand cleaner one time as a substitute….it didn’t work as well.) This product is expensive, but it works fantastic. You can get this at most drug stores, as well as places that sell camping supplies, etc. Or google “Technu.” I don’t sell it, or have any connection to those you do….but I’d name all of my kids “Technu” if I had to in order to get this product!
Even after you start to break out, this works well….it removes any residual urushiol, soothes the skin, and the pumice is a wonderful substitute for harmful scratching.
There are numerous products that help once you break out, including “Ivy Dry” and calamine lotion. Many people swear by using bleach or gasoline, but I’ve never tried either.
Some people use oatmeal soap. I’ve never tried it, but a lot of people swear by it.
2. The more allergic you are, the sooner you should get this off your skin. Myself, I don’t break out for about 4 days. Just when others I work with are getting over a breakout, I’m just starting! Urushiol is a sticky, sap like substance. It sticks to your skin, and won’t wash off with soap and water. Sooner or later, depending on how allergic you are, it will cause the skin to blister–a defense mechanism for getting it off your skin.
3. I’m worked with dozens of people who boast that they are immune–“I go hunting all the time….”, etc. They were all wrong! When you are working in an area with poisin ivy, you are much, much more exposed than when just walking through the woods.
4. The worst thing you can do is weed whack….it slings the oil all over the place. I broke out heavily from weed whacking an area that included poisin ivy, then stacking building materials on the ground, then using my forearms to hold 2×6’s in place when starting to nail them. The underside of your forearm is the easist place to miss cleaning, and therefore the easiest place to get poisin ivy.
5. As for removing it: I like using a propane torch. Don’t burn it, just singe it. Heat it until it starts to wilt. Wait a couple of days, and come back. It will look only slightly wilted, not even dead, but the roots will be a pile of brown spaghetti, and you can literally pick up the entire plant, roots and all.
On vines that climb trees, I cut out the area from knee high to over my head, and pull the bottom section off the tree, then singe this with the torch.
This also works really well on all other weeds, including thistle. On taller thistle plants, I’ll cut it about knee high, and singe the remaining stalk. If you disturb the roots, you promote new growth from the roots.
Don’t actually touch the poisin ivy, but, on other weeds, after heating it for a few seconds, let it cool, and touch it with your thumb. If you leave a thumb print on the leaf, it has been heated enough to kill it.
I like to work after a good rain, when it is still sprinkling, to reduce fire danger, and walk back over everything I’ve torched, making sure nothing is smoldering and will catch fire. Or, have someone follow you around, waiting a minute or two, and thoroughly water the area that I’ve torched.
6. Technu also makes any “Ivy block” to coat your skin and keep urushiol from making contact. I don’t care for this….it’s kind of gross, but some people swear by it. I’ve heard of rubbing lotiion or cold cream or vaseline onto your exposed skin before being around poisin ivy–it makes it harder for the urushiol to make contact with the skin, and makes it easier to wash off.
I read about the poison ivy removal. Your first comment was to get a goat. My wife and I have a goat. I read that white tail deer eat poison ivy, and goats are browsers just like deer. Trouble is he can’t get rid of all of it. All kidding aside my question is this. Can you put poison ivy into a compost pile to get rid of the oil? If not then does burying it kill off the oil? I too am very alergic to the stuff.
While this is not practical for everyone, I read in the NY Times about a park in New Jersey that was so heavily grown up with poisin ivy that it couldn’t be used. The people in charge paid someone, who does in fact rent goats, to bring his goats to clear out all the established growth.
I would assume you would have to follow up with RoundUp, etc., to kil the new re-growth, but apparently when it’s really bad, a herd of goats is a great way to get rid of it. I wonder if their is something in goat saliva or goat’s digestive system that could be isolated and put to use in dealing with poisin ivy….
Roundup has been scientifically proven to cause cancer.
Also, it’s not so much that the plant itself is so persistent, although it is as intricate to get rid of as Mike says. It WILL periodically “return”, so to speak, because much like Mike’s goats, there are birds that can and do eat the berries Mike mentioned in this post. The seeds within the berries are unaffected by the birds digestive system, and eventually they will pass out in the droppings, find good soil and germinate. If you look up above a poison ivy plant, there is usually a logical place for birds to have perched above it in the past. This is the secret to the plant’s tenacity. Don’t let it discourage you. Ya just gotta catch it early and stay after it. It cannot be permanently eliminated, but it can be controlled. Good luck all…
It also spreads by the roots, so the roots would also have to be killed or removed.
Thans for the article Mike. I am not familiar with poison ivy, but I am very familiar with poison oak. I actually passed out with fever from poison oak and should have been hospitalized. However, I had a great doc that actually came to the house and gave me a cortisone shot. I am extremely careful where I walk now and only stay on trails…We had a monumental amount of it on my property in the Santa Cruz,CA property….I was also told that goats were great….but you have to be careful not to touch them!
I just watched your videos on poison ivy. What do you clean your tools with after using them when cutting the poison ivy vines? Also, I use my rake to rake them off into the woods, so I need to clean my rake and gloves too. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dianne Blaine
Dianne,
Good question. the best way to clean tools is usually an alcohol dip or rub, but with poison ivy I don’t want to poke the monster any more than I have to so I just let the soil absorb the oil from the tools.
Would this mixture work on Creeping Charlie as well as the Poison Ivy?
thanks
Norma
Norma, It would probably work better on Creeping Charlie.
Mike:
Bought a house on 1/2 acre which was on the edge of a failed farm. The fodder farm had little top soil, two foot of shale and heavy gray clay base. The 300′ rear of my property lined with four feet of wild dogwood, honeysuckle and the town flower poison ivy. The large oak trees some killed by the poison had vines the size of baseball bats. It took 5 years to completely remove this Poison Jungle. The best way I found, since poison ivy is a woody plant is to spray the leaves with a brush killer. Round Up was sort of hit and miss. I removed about 12-18″ of the vine in winter about 36″ above the ground. This caused a heavy leafing the following spring. Spraying the leaves kills the plant generally in six weeks depending on the size. Re-spray after any rain. Any life left in in the dead brush will produce a new plant when buried. I bagged and placed in the trash. Do not compost leaves or vines. My garden now with raised beds provides us with veggies and I recently added dwarf fruit trees which I grafted and at years end will have 40 apple, peach and cherry trees. Happy Gardening!
Thanks Bill, I’ve done the same thing with good results.
I’m with ya on the vinegar mike . I can’t understand why people are willing to pay $10-20 for Round-up when vinegar will do the same thing without toxic chemicals. This seems to work pretty good on Dandy Lions too. One or two good squirts from a spray bottle set to squirt a stream on the just the leaves of a Dandy Lion on a sunny DRY day when there is no rain expected ……they are toast!. But you might have to give it a couple of days to work. I guess when you change the PH of the soil at ground zero of any plant enough it’s done . Rent-a- Goat I like that LOL. Thanks Mike for all you do
Well, ya’ gotta drink milk from goats what has been feeding heavily on de poison ivy plants.
Not conclusive scientific proof, but my wife and two chilern is all de proof I got or need.
for plant fertilizer – how much vinegar to you add to water? do you add dish soap to this?
I have a dead tree in the back yard , it’s really the neighbors, and in spring the whole tree is so covered in poison oak or ivy it looks like the tree is alive! Thanks for the formula! B
Thanks Mike. There is a product called Ivy Block. It is a lotion. One uses it before coming in contact with poison ivy. We have had great success using it. We still protect ourselves as best as possible. The company also makes a laundry additive and a soap. The laundry additive neutrolized any oils that may be left on clothing. Our famly Dr.advised us that the oil can stay active for two weeks on gardening clothes and tools which is the reason that many people get poison ivy.
I will try your home made mixture as I have a dog that likes to eat greens in the back yard and I do not want him eating Roundup.
Thanks again.
Liz
Regarding vines on trees: cut the vine all the way through with a machete or axe, then spray concentrated roundup on the fresh cut. It will kill all below the cut, including roots. Works every time for me here in north Georgia.
Bill,
That’s true, but you have to be very careful, properly dressed before you cut those vines.
If you cut the big vines into that grow up a tree dip the lower end into straight poison ivy poison in a couple of weeks you will see dying vines everywhere. On the larger vines I actually drill holes into them and pore the poison into the hole until it is full, and then keep it full for days. In a couple of weeks you will see dying poison ivy for miles around
Fantastic information! We are killing a vine as thick as an ankle. Never saw such a thing prior to moving to PA.
Ryan, PI does not “spread”. The rash is where the oil touches the skin. If the oil is spread on the skin, the rash can develop wherever the oil touched. My brother told me it could spread. My doc smiled and rubbed his arm over the rash on my arm and had no problem as I had washed the oil away. From WebMD: “The rash is not contagious. You cannot catch or spread the rash after it appears, even if you touch it or the blister fluid, because the urushiol will already be absorbed into or washed off the skin. Sometimes people mistakenly believe that the rash is spreading because it appears later on different parts of the body. But the rash only appears where urushiol has come in contact with the skin. So either the rash is still developing from earlier contact, or you have touched something that still has urushiol on it.”
Please cite the source concerning mineral spirits.
For those of you that are sensitive to poisen ivy, sensitive means lots of itch and usually steriods the soap ideas arent bad ones. Ideally there is only one man made product that will completely neutralize the oil from poisen ivy and that product is called mineral spirits. The instant you think you may have been exposed or the instent you see signs of the rash immediatly apply mineral spirits the areas and rub for 1-2 min. This will either prevent you from getting it at all or reduce the outbreak and keep it from spreading. If you do not feel comfortable with this, purchase a product called Tecnu. Tecnu is marketed for poisen ivy specifically and the main active ingrediant is mineral spirits. I hope this information is of some use, personally in 2012 Feb 26 through Aug I got poisen ivy 5 times.
I was helping my hubby clean out the barn last weekend in a snow storm. I now am covered with poison ivy. I’m looking for anything that will help. Thanks for the tips.
I always just wear gloves and pull the poison ivy out,course most of what I have here is young stuff trying to climb the trees in the yard. Now I use to get the rash everytime the wind blew but lately not so often.
Burt’s Bees Poison Ivy Soap is the best I have found.
That site was to buy it but it’s easy to look up on line here’s another site. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/ipaca.htm
Pull the whole plant (in Southern Illinois it blooms about the end of June till end of August) rinse and put in large pot. Add two cups of water and boil. I put it in ice cube trays and suck on them or apply topically very soothing and free!
Please read: You can make a tea with the jewel weed freeze it and drink or apply topically when you get poison ivy. I too am immune, but my step-daughter got it and was swollen all over her face. The jewel weed frozen works year round. It even works on mosquito bites! I keep on hand always http://www.altnature.com/jewelweed.htm
Thanks Mike, I live in Georgia, and encounter some seriously thick Poison Ivy on a regular basis. I’ve got a superstition that it’s easier to deal with on damp, cool, windless days. Love your site and videos. p.s. don’t go into a bank or convienience store with that outfit on!
Mike thanks for the info… have had more problems with poison ivy as the years go by.
Mike, I’ve been plagued by weeds popping up in unexpected places this year. And my brown eyed susans jumped the flower bed. I have back problems and count on my youngest grandson to help me weed. Well, he hasn’t been around much over the last couple of weeks and we had a thistle coming up in our walkway besides some other weeds that we had been dealing with coming back. I had read that vinegar makes a great weed killer and then I saw that using a brine solution also works. I disolved some salt and added some white vinegar and those nasty weeds are dying and it’s not affecting the surrounding plants.
I am blessed not to have dealt with poison ivy since childhood. I am fortunate not to have this plant on my land. I sent this to my sister who has battled with this for many years and has to get medication every spring. I know she will be out there today cutting these vines like you did, thanks! Love your site!
the antdote to posion ivy allways grow with it.
OH BOY the pictures I could show you of the size of poison ivy vines I have attached to my trees on a 2 acre wooded lot (less wooded since we are taking down some trees). These vines are the size of a 20 year old tree! I have to use a chainsaw to cut them apart to stop the growth but the vines trunk I can’t reach are still dangling from the trees even tho they are dead. At least the ‘real tree’ thrives better after I have severed the ivy trunk. I have been fighting this for over 5 years now, but I will hopefully prevail one day. Love my yard!
I don’t know why, but I pull poison ivy every year barehanded and have no problems. I do get it off the firewood I handle in the winter. I found Caladryl helps. A good woody brush poison works good for eradication.
mike I noticed several of the writers mentioned “yarrow” plants or “Jewel weed” what does these plants look like. I have a tree at corner of my yard that i cant get rid of the poision ivy it grows upon the trunk and i cant reach it. been trying to kill it before it gets too big. But it grows too fast.I live in North Georgia.. thanks
That is awesome information for someone like me who is SEVERELY allergic to poison ivy. I will definitely be putting your suggestions to work in my back yard!
Thank you for the information Mike.
Mike you be careful! I too am highly allergic to poison ivy or oak. Either is scary to me when I see a vine. So I don’t touch it. I don’t even get close to it. I just spray it. I’m too chicken! Not too much of a problem with me. I live in a small town and don’t have much property. But I do have a vine that just doesn’t want to give it up on the back of our shed. So every year I give it a good dose of what ever weed killer we’ve bought. Round up is not working well the last time I bought it. I’ve been having to pull weeds in our drive way this year. To me vinegar works better on them.
Thanks for the video. I think your pretty brave. I wouldn’t touch that thing with a ten foot poll.
Mike, I look forward to getting your emails and finding out new things. I am going to put your poison ivy killing method to work. I sure hope it works, I have a lot of trees in my yard and they all have poison ivy on them. I also have poison oak do you have any remedies for that?
Thanks Mike and all the others for the info on Poison Ivy. I don’t have any in my yard but I know there is poison ivy in my neighbors yard, at my brother’s house and at my aunt’s house.
Thankfully, I have only had one bout of poison ivy as a kid. Ever since, I have been very careful around “leaves of three” as I am never sure whether it is PI or a harmless plant.
Hi Mike,
Sorry, I did not leave a comment the first time, but I’ve read every word you wrote and watched your video with great interest.
But in my case, I don’t think, I ever will come in contact with poison ivy, as I hardly ever leave the house do to illness. I also have a garden, which is totally closed in, away from any ‘invading’ vegetation. I can’t garden anymore and hubby is now just maintaining what we have established. Once these die down, we won’t replace them anymore.It is just too difficult for one person and if we want to stay in our house, we do have to ‘downsize’ the garden. I hope you’ll understand. But please, I do love to read all your wonderful advice and maybe some day, I can pass all your wisdom on to someone that has a love for gardening as much as you and I do. Too bad, that sometimes life gets in the way. I have accepted that and hope, at least I can keep my mind active by enjoying your knwledge.
if you come into contact with poison ivy and are out in the woods un prepared there is a plant that grows about3-4 ft high and has orange or yellow flowers on it that look like little horns and there are seed pods on them that spring openand the seeds fly everywhere when you touch them if take the plant and rubit all over the area that came in contact with the ivy you wont get any poison ivy my uncle is very alergic and he has done this in the past and it works great
Thans Mike
For another good tip. Since I can’t even look at the stuff without breaking out I have another tip that i personally find very helpful for me, i just let my husband get rid of it for me!!!!!! Lol. Hey it works!!!!!
The best thing that a nurse told me one time was wash will rubbing alcohol first because that cuts the oil off. soap or dish washing liquid spreads the oil, and that is why you find it spreading on your body. Then you can wash with soap to get the alcohol off. Once she told me that, I have never itched again.
Mike, thanks for all your info. I really enjoy your site. I do have poison ivy in our 1 acre of woods, but what does poison oak look like. We have alot of oak trees on our property, does it grow on them?
Wow Dawn dish soap… who knew!
I have 4 acres in the woods.The poison ivy is growing rampant every year up the big trees. I go out & chop the root at the base of the tree and the vine dies off. I pull up the ivy plants & get the roots out. Once done, I go scrub with dish soap.I’ll also add a drop of bleach in the water too and it helps kill the rash if I do get it. I use witch hazel to kill the itch. It works pretty good.
don’t forget mike !!!!!!!
I’ve worked for many years in dense thickets of poison oak, poison ivy’s close relative in the Western U.S. Most of us do our best to avoid contact with the plants, fallen leaves, and smoke from burning it.
One co-worker took a different approach. He read in a Louis L’Amoure western novel about a Native American practice to avoid problems from these plants and used it successfully. Each spring when the bare stems were just beginning to leaf out, he took a tiny piece of a leaf, around one square millimeter, and placed it under his tongue. He continued to do this almost every day, gradually increasing the size of the piece of poison oak leaf. After two months or so he was up to a piece about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch. This process developed in him an immunity to poison oak.
All the next summer and fall, while the rest of us carefully avoided contact with the plants, he waded right through them. On a dare, he once picked some fresh oily leaves and rubbed them all over his face. He never got a rash.
The best way I have found to rid your property of poison ivy, oak, etc. is to routinely go over your property and spray the leaves with a good weed killer(preferrably labeled for eraticating poison ivy, oak, etc. family)When you come to the older vined plants do like Mike shows you and cut a section out and then use a full strength weed killer and mix with a carrier like kerosene or diesel fuel and appy it to the cut part of the vine with either a srayer or paint brush. Now if you are allergic to poison like I am as soon as your done working around/with the vine or leaves take a very cool shower and scrub your face, neck and any other part of your exposed body(hair included) with dawn dish washing liquid aleast once if not twice. Remember cool shower you don’t want your pores to open up and let the oil from the leaves or vine into your pores.Also scub your shoes,tools, sprayer etc. with dawn dishwashing liquid too, so that the oils are not still on your shoes/equipment. I have been allergic to poison my whole life so believe me this is what helps me. Do I still get it? Yes but mostly when I’m weed wacking with string not a blade.
Hi Mike
5 years ago I had bad poison Ivy from my feet to my head .I wend to the doctor and he gave me prednozone. 3 days later I was in the hospital like a heart attack.
I have found out now that if you mix 1 gallon of hot water and 1 cup of Kosher salt.
Wet the leafs good. After that sprinkle salt around the base of the plant. Do that a few time in the year if they come up.
And have good luck.
C.Langeveld
138 Main St. S. Waterford, Ont. N0E 1Y0 Canada
Mike:
I am a Purdue University Advanced Master Gardener who teaches gardening classes at the local university. I too suffer from an extreme sensitivity to poison oak although poison ivy seems to not bother me as much. The treatment we recommend to members of the community is the same regardless.
Remember that even poison ivy is still a woody vine and all parts of the plant are able to produce the toxin. All woody plants are susceptible to girdling. If the entire circumference of the vine is exposed somewhere near the base, you can attempt to girdle in a couple of places near the ground.
Alternatively, you can scrape the base of the stem down to the cambial layer (the bright green layer just under the bark) in a 3-6 inch band and paint it with a herbicide labeled to treat for poison ivy. You may have to treat it a second time in the spring. You can sever the vine above the treatment zone (use tree pruners from a distance if you must). Since you are allergic to poison ivy, you can always use a paint brush duct taped to a yard stick for apply the herbicide treatment.
Be sure that after you have worked with the poison ivy to launder your gloves, clothing and any other clothing that had contact with the poison ivy vine, leaves or stems so that you don’t have a secondary spread of the toxic oil the next time you pick up your gloves or move the items. If you have sat on a seat or touched a tool, be sure to clean thoroughly with rubbing alcohol at least 2-3 times prior to washing with soap or water.
The over the counter poisy ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac treatments which bond with the toxic compound (urusiol ?spelling??) work well. You can spend anywhere between $5 and $50 for these treatments, but they are extremely effective. I once cured a head to toe outbreak in a few minutes in the shower. I have been hooked ever since and now use it as a preventative anytime I know I have had contact with the nasty stuff anywhere in my garden.
My mother always claimed to be immune to poison ivy. I have found that no one is truly immune, but the outbreaks can be more severe in some individuals than in others. After reading some of the posts, it seems that high blood sugar content may have been the factor that kept my mother from getting it since diabetes runs in that side of the family.
Anyhow, best of luck with your problem and I hope some of this helps.
People who are allergic to the poison ivy, should probably take Benadyrl before getting around the poison ivy.
Thanks everybody for all the great information. Had a mild case of poison ivy in early September, now I know what to look for and what to if I come in contact again.
Cindy G.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL INFORMATION… I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
Thanks for the tip! I will have to try that out by my back building. The oil in poison ivy is called Urushiol oil and is found in the plant family of Anacardiaceae. This family includes poison ivy, poison oak, pistatio, cashew, mango, red plums and sweet peppers and I believe poison sumac. Rhus Tox is a homeopathic that is derived from the poison oak root which holds properties that help fight the effects of posion ivy. It has been found to be helpful in preventing it if one starts to take it early in the year to start building their immune system before going in areas of the poison ivy, oak and sumac are. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the info. It was good to see your technique as I also dealt with a big poison ivy vine on an oak tree a year ago. After I cut the vine, I sprayed the open end with poison which helped to kill it. I heard that goats will eat poison ivy also. I don’t have a goat though but I might get one now!
When in the field a plant commonly known as touch-me-not grows often alongside the ivy. Squish it and rub on. A complete antidote. Works for bee stings to.
Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what to use to get rid of PI on lakeshore property We cannot use chemicals next to our lake
Denise,
You have two options, pull out the plant roots and all and keep that area cultivated so it can’t come back. Or cover the poison ivy with a heavy layer of mulch or wood chips and smother it out. Cover with black plastic for several months during the growing season.
A lot of good information.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
My wife enjoyed your suggestions. Like you she is highly allergic to poison ivy. Me, I rip it out with my bare hands with no shirt on and it does not bother me at all. But…. I am not allowed to be withinin 20 feet of my wife until I have stripped and showered. Thanks for all of the good info that I have recieved over the last year since Ive discovered you. Keep it up.
Hi Mike,
When it comes to glyphosate you do not need to wait until the next spring’s new growth to treat poison ivy or other woody stumps. When the vine is freshly cut apply the herbicide directly and evenly over the top of the stump. It does the same function as when you spray it directly on the leaves. The cambium layer will soak in the herbicide and start attacking the roots, if the vine still leafs out the next spring reapply herbicide to the leaves.
This is a good read for different types of chemical control methods. :o)
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/cepublications/eb1551/eb1551.html
Enjoyed reading all the short stories from all your readers. I got PI twice this year even though I wore gloves. Each time it was on my eyelid and wrist, probably from wiping my face or taking my gloves off periodically. My daughter who is a RN also can’t even be around PI, as just slight exposure causes her eyes to swell shut and her face becomes like a Chinese person. I use Roundup the moment I even think it is PI, and use leather gloves. I thoroughly enjoy reading all your advice. God Bless You.
mike,
thats what I do to my Poison Ivy and I know for sure I have been effected by the poison. so all I do is go down to the creek and pick some Jewel Weed and rub on the infected places by the next day it will dry up. I use to have to go to the Dr. for a shot. I get a lot of jewel weed and juice it and freeze it encase I get the poison ivy before the jewel weed grows.
That was great information. Never knew what that vine was. Now to follow your inormation and get rid of my big problem. Thanks!
I work in the animal control world and dawn dish liquid is a miracle product for us as well. It works great for poison ivy too.
Thanks Mike, this is great stuff! I just sent a copy to my brother who can really use that info. I’m sure he’ll share it as well.
Jim, thank you! I appreciate you sharing this with others.
did as stated and we will see in spring if all poison ivy is gone. Usually didn’t do the tree trick and would find new ivy yearly.
Makes sense that Dawn would work. You have to get the oil off your skin and “Dawn takes grease out of the way”, ha.
Mike,
I love your emails. They are always helpful and some are absolute treasures.
I have several comments about poison ivy that are basically a recap of several others comments. My Aunt Vivian used to pull poison ivy off the bank across the stream from her house. She wore long sleeves, never stayed out there more than an hour and washed her hands and arms immediately with bleach when she got into the house. (I think it was a 50% solution, but being young and “immune” I did not pay any attention to the mixture, just to not getting it on my clothes when I used it).
My Aunt was 1/8 American Indian: I am 1/16. That is likely where the natural resistance came from.
When I was a child, I had never had poison ivy reactions although I’m certain with my wild running through the fields I contacted it many times. I too, used to pull it out with cotton gloves on my hands and never get it due to minimizing exposure time (as Aunt Vivian had advised) and bleaching my hands and arms (or using dishwashing liquid and a good scrub), as soon as I finished and immediately before following up with a shower.
My friend, Brenda, and I were the ultimate “tom-boys”. One Fall day we chopped a large vine off of a tree and swung on it, for two or three days after school. Of course it was a poision ivy vine about the size of a 12 year old’s forearm. We thought it was a grape vine at the time, and both of us got our first, worst case of poison ivy from our wrists to our elbows. We were miserable for two weeks, and semi-miserable for two weeks aftewr that. The moral of this story: you may have some natural immunity or resistance to this plant from your unique genetic background, however, if you do not protect yourself, eventually you will get a dose that will forever make you a victim. And although I have heard of some people re-developing “immunity” I have serious doubts about that. Reactions to P.I. is almost a certainty for the rest of your life. If you have no reactions now, don’t take this blessing for granted, and use the above protections and care anyway.
Had someone tell me to use a banana peeling applied to the blisters as a way of drying up if you have already got it. Ever heard this?
Have read all of these comments to see if anyone mentioned white shoe polish. Know it sounds crazy! If you get a rash from PI, coat it with white shoe polish (liquid). The blisters dry up and the itch stops. May have to re-apply a couple of times and people tend to think something is really wrong with you.
Mike, I am one of those “LUCKY” people who is not allergic to P Ivy, but my ex-husband was. One day while helping my sister-in-law clean her yard, she had a bunch of P Ivy and was allergic to it. I told her I wasn’t allergic and proceeded to clean it up for her. My ex came home from an out of town job earlier that night and not expecting him I neglected to take a shower because I was tired that night. My ex crawled in bed and went to sleep. Needless to say we spent the next day at the emergency room, because when we got up next morning my husband’s eyes were swelled shut. He was so allergic that just laying next to me he got the results. So I never have missed a shower before I go to bed since. Maybe that’s the reason we ended up friends, but divorced? But then I walk and talk in my sleep and during a severe thunderstorm at 3 am I yelled tornado and he ran to shelter outside in the rain in his underwear. Needless to say there wasn’t any tornado just me talking in my sleep. That’s maybe is why we divorced?
Hey everyone, don’t know if someone else suggested it or not – too many to read but Fels-Naptha soap is the best for getting rid of Poison Ivy oils then of course Tecnu. Also, here in Pgh, PA, I HAVE seen Poison Ivy roots as big as the one in Mike’s photo! I have seen and entire tree of it and I’m talking a 75 foot tree! Lets face it, the stuff is nasty!!!
I have one that size at the back of my 10 acres near the flood plain of the Belle River Capac, MI. I am waiting for a wind less day to go back and cut it in two. I am not super allergy but it is still a scary thing to see.
Mike for those of you so allergic to this nasty root, you can get a shot at the Dr to very much prevent it.
I always rub my arms and legs down with a barrier cream before I garden. These creams are used in manufacturing businesses. Looks wierd, but keeps everything away from my skin. Once I’m done for the day, it’s straight to the shower to wash everything off. I also wear welder’s leather gloves. Can you tell I’m a little paranoid? 16 years living in the country and no poison ivy 🙂
I need help on how to kill poison oak here in VA that is growing under several 5′ tall azaleas. It has grown up through the pachysandra ground cover which is also growing around the azaleas. Although it got established several years ago, I’ve controlled it somewhat by getting a tree service guy to pull it when they are here do some other work. It seems to be getting thicker and I suspect having it pulled has simply stimulated additional growth. It’s now about 18″ tall and very leafy. I’m concerned the over spray or leaf drip will damage or kill the landscape plants. Suggestions would be most appreciated.
Barry,
If you can find where the poison ivy is rooted into the ground, put on lots of protective clothing and cut it at that point. Then using a foam paint brush dipped in a non selective herbicide brush new growth as it appears. You have to be dilegent about treating it as it appears and don’t let it get a foot hold.
A Pharmacist taught me to rinse the skin that has been touched by the poison ivy with white vinegar or clorox, it neutralizes the oil. I’ve had to use it many times – IT WORKS!
Correction: re: ” Hemolysis”
I meant to say breaking down of red blood CELLS under the skin, ……not blood vessels. Sorry.
Hank Hajduk
Wyandotte, MI
My family doctor, a D.O., and very dedicated family doctor,that my wife worked for many, many years, treated me for a very severe case of poison ivy exposure.
He had given me a “measles shot” ( say what ? )for the severe poison ivy condition. Apparently, the “gamma globulins” in the shot,( a term I hadn’t heard since the ’50s and ’60s ), were extremely therapeutic in stopping the itching by the next day, and the hemolysis ( the breaking down ) of the blood vessels under the skin, disappearing within 3-4 days
Check with your own family doctor, ….they may not be aware of this, but should be.
He also treated me for “canker” sores, those white pimple type sores on the gums that hurt like hell,….with a simple addition of a normal amino acid that my body was apparently deficient in…”L-Lysine”, which is available at any drug store or health food store, along with all other vitamins on the rack.
These sores are predominant in the Winter, so I take a tablet every other day during that time, an usually only about 2X a week in the warmer seasons, and it works tremendously.
Being an apparent anti-viral substance, it also appears that my incidence of colds and flu have been drastically reduced as well, and I’m now in my late 60s.
L-Lysine is something I’ve been taking since the 1970s. It’s included in lip balms for sores at the corner of your mouth, but the tablet will do the same thing, and will prevent the sores BEFORE they occur, and at a far lesser cost.
Hank Hajduk
Wyandotte, MI
A couple thoughts: My boss’s 90 year old father swears by rubbing straight (undiluted) bleach on where you think you’ve touched poison ivy. I’ve done it, didn’t hurt my skin, seemed to work! OTHER THOUGHT: There’s a GREAT gardening book one can get from the library called “Never Kiss a Goat on the Lips” (he’s a terrific organic gardener which the book is all about – also his wife has goats and has gotten poison ivy from them! 😉
Mike – You have sent so many good hints, I would really like to know how to keep skunks out of my yard. My dog got sprayed last week, and I had found a formula online that really worked. 1 pint of peroxide, 1 box of baking soda, a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid to a gallon of water. Dog is taken care of, but how can I keep the skunks from coming back? I brought the dog in the house to bathe her, and my house has reeked for the last four days. A neighbor told me to spray Listerine mounthwash on furniture and carpets, and that really did seem to help. But I want to keep those guys out of my yard from now on.
Carol, often times, especially this time of year skunks come into your yard digging for Japanese Beetle grubs in the lawn. If you treat the lawn during the summer for grubs that usually sends the hungry skunks elsewhere to feed. Skunks go on a feeding frenzy this time of year to fatten up for the winter and they love grubs. If you have a skunk digging up your lawn or moles, chances are you have grubs in your lawn. The grubs are also chewing the roots off of your grass below the soil level. More about skunks in a few days.
I have always have a box of Arm & Hammer Baking soda powder in my trucks/ It has always worked for me before & after I go into a area of the Ivy/ I have been in the landscape industry for over 40 yeara
I have gotten PI too many times to count. Zanfel works the best. I have also had success rubbing a fresh banana peel (inside) on to the affected area for itching relief. One thing to always avoid if you have an outbreak: eating cashews. Cashews have the same oil as PI. I learned this the hard way. I had a really bad case of PI and ate cashews and the rash went systemic. I was in agony. Hope this info keeps readers from experiencing what I did!
We have poison ivy vines at LEAST as big as that one you show above. It’s crazy, but we are winning.
The wife and I cleared five acres of briars sumac, ivy, and oak with no reactions at all. Five year later a neighbor,helping us harvest potatoes,pointed out a 6 inch plant in front of the wife. She avoided it even though she had never had a reaction. Her nightmare had now begun blisters and all! She has very little sence of humor so she don’t know I’m writing this. A few years later I came in from work and she was covered in wood chips. When asked where they came from she tells me she finally pulled those old grape vines I had left in a tree on the back of our property for years. Dressed in tee shirt “much too large” and shorts only. The rest of the story I will leave to your imagination. She did say the Dr. couldn’t help but laugh, I didn’t ” in front of her” MORAL of story. READ AND HEED!
all was good to see you on the job Mike
Here in Ky I thought I had seen it all when it comes to poisen ivy. I was wrong. Were you able to take it out? Did you need a bulldozer?
Barbara, it’s still there, I’m not in the big of a hurry to deal with it, but sooner or later it has to go.
Luckily when I get it it doesn’t bother me too much. A spot here a spot there, because I’ll wash with COLD water and soap ASAP. If there’s no soap, I’ll at least rinse off with a garden hose. I emphasize cold water because it cause your pores to close, and the oil will rinse away better. But I wanted to mention that I’ve got it from clothes months later in the middle of winter, so be sure to wash them also.
Hi Mike,
I have found that technu is wonderful. You can apply to yourself and tools before and after attacking the poison ivy. The oil can live for a year! Another thing to do with it, is to cut a root and secure a can/bag filled with Roundup. The root sucks it up and dies!
Pour white vingar in that top of that root after you cut it it will kill it dead not joke
Soap up with the Fels Naptha and allow it to dry on your skin before dressing to work on getting rid of poison ivy or oak. My brothers were all Boy Scouts and this was their method for prevention when out camping. Must work pretty good, cause they’re still using Fels Naptha forty years later on their hunting and fishing trips.
Wow…wish I had seen this video a year earlier. I’m 42, but had no idea until now that poison ivy would grow vines like that!
Last year when a tree fell on my property, I cut it into pieces with the chain saw…along with the vines growing on it. That was the most miserable two weeks of my life! I’m not that allergic to poison ivy leaves, but that vine sure did a number on me!
Thanks, Mike, for all the great info you provide.
I saw where one of your “bloggers” asked about stinging nettles. Best cure for them is to eat em’. I know some Germans who survived WWII eating them. Kinda’ like spinich they said. And, there is a fella in southern OH that makes a medical “patch” from them. He might pay to harvest them, or not.
Your article on Poison Ivy,I pull it up with bare hands and no problem. Both myself and my older sister (no longer living) are able to do this with no ill effects. Go figure. I have seen her take a handful of leaves and rub them around and crush them in her hands and no ill effects. Don’t know why but sure makes it easier to get poison ivy out of my trees here in Virginia.
My neighbor had one this big, he cut it at the bottom near the root of the tree, poored gas on the cut. The poison ivy was so big, after it died, it looked like he killed half of his tree. The tree was only 1/3 of the 30 foot high foilage. It was crazy and it has not come back.
Mike,
I believe that is poison sumac.
This stuff works for me. http://www.oralivy.com/
I have been using it for years with no side efects.
mike, you PI info very helpful. i found similar in a very old boy scouting manual…it works. manual discussed needing to find and remove 1′ section at the base of the ‘mother plant’-in our case was back 100’or so into wooded area behind our house. as for the rash, just wanted to recommend ‘Cortaid Poison Ivy Scrub’. I have been using it as a preventative for the last few years–knock on wood–no rash.
I would shoot it with a 12 gauge 00buck
Rick,
That’s actually a pretty good idea, I hadn’t really thought of that. But that sure would give me the distance I would need to be comfortable around that thing!
hey thank for the info we drill a little hole in it just make sure you don’t drill into the tree it best to do it at a 45 put a little salt and oil in the hold it will dry the vine up in about a week good luck and good gardening
I had a poison ivy vine as big as that, maybe bigger when I moved into a house it went up a fence and actually looked pretty, but it had to go, of course. I bought lots of brush killer. Nothing else would kill it. I also chopped the thing down with an ax. I have scars on my arms because I got the lovely rash twice. (I’d never had it before) but by golly, I got rid of it. I kept a bottle of brush killer around all the time so I could spray any little sprouts.
Now I live in another house. Behind it is an old abandoned church. There is lots of poison ivy and honeysuckle growing wild there. I’ve started keeping brush killer around again!
Hi Mike,
I learned a lot from your video on Poison Ivy…now can you tell me how to get rid of Stinging Nettles? I have them on a hillside at the back of my house and they are slowly making their way to the top of the hill and my back yard!:( What can I do…help please?
Linna
I’ve scanned the comments and there is a lot of great suggestions for killing PI and the great warning NEVER to burn it.
only one person mentioned that the “dead looking” vine can still cause a rash. Urushiol oil will cause a rash whether or not the plant is alive. Alive or dead, Poison Ivy is poisonous, and only humans, and maybe gerbils, are allergic to it, so your animals can eat and play in it and bring it to you without being affected. Jewelweed was mentioned and interferes with the urushiol oils ability to interact with the skin and reduces irritation. Dead Poison Ivy is still dangerous. A splash proof hazmat suit with boot guards,and a pullover hood should be a good protective suit when removing Poison Ivy that is reachable like wrapped around tree trunks or growing through fences. They are easily found on amazon and other sites. But killing and leaving it is only a good option if no one will accidentally come it contact with the dead plants remains.
Valeria, good suggestions. I know the Urushiol is dangerous after the plant is dead, but at some point that dead wood and the oil should dry out. I just don’t know how long that can take.
Mike, I got a BAD case of PI and scabies trying to get rid of honeysuckle over my back fence (Fairfax,VA) I was a sick puppy, but Fairfax does not fool around. The day after notifying them that the woods behind my house (and neighbors’ also) a team came and sprayed the whole block, on the county side and fences and 24 hrs later vines were pale then dead. Before spraying they notified homeowners to inform us not to have animals,children,etc for 48hrs in area sprayed. Every year they came and we never saw or were harmed again.
Take some Pepsid to relive the itching…don’t know how or why it works, but it does!
I just read all the comments and ideas on how to get rid of poison ivy. A thought came to me to combine a couple of the ideas with one of my own. (I have no idea if this will work but will try it on some poison ivy in my own yard.)
Take Ellie’s idea of making a solution of Roundup weed killer and Miracle Grow. Ellie did not say what percentage so let’s just assume 50/50.
Then use a hypodermic needle to inject the solution into a plant.
No chopping or cutting of the plant, no spraying of poison or diesel fuel all over your property. Just a tiny little hole.
Of course, wear protective gear and label the containers and the syringe.
So folks, give my idea a try and report back here. I will, too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My history with poison ivy: in the 1950s when I was a kid growing up in Lorain, Ohio (near where Mike’s nursery is now) I used to break out with huge awful blisters. Back then all the pharmacy had was a thick goop one rolled on with an applicator that looked like an underarm deordorant. The goop dried into a thick crust that would dry, crack and peel off. Gross. Now that fifty-odd years have gone my sensitivity has reduced to the point where I only break out in one or two bumps. Thank goodness.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If you have a homeopathic pharmacy in your area ask if they have some pills to take every spring that will help you resist poison ivy’s attack.
I’m not sure if it is true but someone once told me those homeopathic pills contain a bit of the poison ivy plant. Taking the pills in the spring evidently helps your body build up a resistance to poison ivy.
Terry Thomas
Dunwoody Organic Gardens
Atlanta, Georgia USA
I’m sending a solution to getting rid of poison ivy. A newscaster on FOX 2 TV in St.Louis uses this method. You need a plastic bottle like from dish detergent, electricians tape and extra strong poison ivy killer. Put the killer in the plastic bottle about 3/4 full, cut the stem of poison ivy and put the stem that goes into the root into the plastic bottle. Next put electricians tape around the stem securing it into the bottle. It will go to the root and kill the poison ivy from the root to the end.
USE AN AXE ,,, LOT FASTER THEN STAY ON THE LOWER SPROTS WITH THE KILLER SPRAY
Mike your huge poison ivy vine might be a Guiness Book world record.
Not even close. When we bought our previously-uninhabited property here in PA, there were several poison ivy vines thicker than my arm. I couldn’t even get the loppers open wide enough to cut some of them – we had to use a chainsaw for those.
When I was a kid we lived on a small farm. We built-up a good sized brush pile all summer long… Poison Ivy got into it, when we burned the brush pile I caught Poison Ivy from head to toe. I am still Very Allergic and Cortaid Poison Ivy Care Removal Scrub usually works in just one application.
Makes me sad to read all these hints- I USED to have a problem with PI but moved to Alaska and find there is none in Alaska! No poison oak, either. And NO SNAKES as well!
All good reasons to love it here.
But I used to get it every year and HATED IT.
knew of a family whose daughter (their great aunt) died after drinking the milk of a goat who was used for clearing a big patch of land out in NW WA. Supposedly she drank some milk from one of the nannies and she got internal poison ivy. I figured she must have handled it at one point though they swore she was a little girl and had no contact with the goats. If this possible?
My 3 now grown kids were raised on the north side of Chicago and were never exposed to PI. Neither was I until moving to 30 acres in southwestern MI where the woods are poison haven. One day, my son took his little sister (who’a Uber Urban) out rabbit hunting when she was attracted to a “pretty” plant and wanted to bring a bunch back to me to put in a vase.
Her big brother told her it was poison ivy. Thankfully none of us are effected by the stuff. They didn’t get a rabbit either with all the chatter.
As far as vinegar is concerned, distilled white vinegar might work for new, spring sprouting P I but the amount of poison needed if you’re careful is probably less invasive than the amount of vinegar needed.IMHO.
Painting the stub with poison ivy killer is much more effective this time of the year (fall) because the sap is moving toward the roots. You might even try scraping the skin or cutting a chunk out of only one half of the vine, treating every few days until a hard frost or freeze makes it go dormant. Either way I’d treat the wound several times since ivy is so persistent.
Where I live there’s no poison ivy, only drought. I have planted hundreds of hibiscus and sold them well, but conditions here in Grulla Tx are rough, no rain. I enjoy yourcomments you have been helpful,keep them coming.
I saw poison ivy that big at Lake St. James, in NE Indiana. That was a long time ago…probably the late 60’s. But that park is a “no kill” area–they don’t even allow you to swat a fly…lol…and they don’t disturb anything in the forest area. So I suppose the poison ivy we saw has vines the size of tree, by now! ;D
Hello. My daughter got poison ivy and i put raw coconut oil on her skin – it went away fast!
Thanks for the information will have to try it. I have lots of poison ivy on my property.
Mike,
You make something so simple seem so complicated. Just cut the poison ivy vine at ground level and spray the stump with glyphosate (at least 20% active) and it’s gone. Just like that. No muss, no fuss.
My newspaper comes in red plastic bags. I catch P I when it’s small, put my arm in the bag, and go to the root. I slide the bag from my arm over the plant and pull it out, twist the top of the bag and discard. For this size I don’t believe it is disturbed enough to scatter its oil. It works for me.
Here’s some important info concerning the non-selective herbicide you’re using…….
Monsanto Roundup weedkiller and GM maize implicated in ‘shocking’ new cancer study
19 Sep 2012 | By Elinor Zuke
The world’s best-selling weedkiller, and a genetically modified maize resistant to it, can cause tumours, multiple organ damage and lead to premature death, new research published today reveals.
In the first ever study to examine the long-term effects of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, or the NK603 Roundup-resistant GM maize also developed by Monsanto, scientists found that rats exposed to even the smallest amounts, developed mammary tumours and severe liver and kidney damage as early as four months in males, and seven months for females, compared with 23 and 14 months respectively for a control group.
“This research shows an extraordinary number of tumours developing earlier and more aggressively – particularly in female animals. I am shocked by the extreme negative health impacts,” said Dr Michael Antoniou, molecular biologist at King’s College London, and a member of CRIIGEN, the independent scientific council which supported the research.
GM crops have been approved for human consumption on the basis of 90-day animal feeding trials. But three months is the equivalent of late adolescence in rats, who can live for almost two years (700 days), and there have long been calls to study the effects over the course of a lifetime.
The peer-reviewed study, conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Caen, found that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 Roundup resistant GM maize, or given water containing Roundup at levels permitted in drinking water, over a two-year period, died significantly earlier than rats fed on a standard diet.
Up to half the male rats and 70% of females died prematurely, compared with only 30% and 20% in the control group. Across both sexes the researchers found that rats fed Roundup in their water or NK603 developed two to three times more large tumours than the control group. By the beginning of the 24th month, 50-80% of females in all treated groups had developed large tumours, with up to three per animal.
By contrast, only 30% of the control group were affected. Scientists reported the tumours “were deleterious to health due to [their] very large size,” making it difficult for the rats to breathe, [and] causing problems with their digestion which resulted in haemorrhaging.
The paper, published in the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology today, concluded that NK603 and Roundup caused similar damage to the rats’ health, whether they were consumed together or on their own. The team also found that even the lowest doses of Roundup, which fall well within authorised limits in drinking tap water, were associated with severe health problems.
“The rat has long been used as a surrogate for human toxicity. All new pharmaceutical, agricultural and household substances are, prior to their approval, tested on rats. This is as good an indicator as we can expect that the consumption of GM maize and the herbicide Roundup, impacts seriously on human health,” Antoniou added.
Roundup is widely available in the UK, and is recommended on Gardeners Question Time. But this also represents a potential blow for the growth of GM Foods.
With the global population expected to increase to nine billion by 2050, the UN has said that global food production must increase by 50%. And a consultation led by DEFRA entitled Green Food Project recommended as recently as 10 July 2012 that GM must be reassessed as a possible solution.
Some 85% of maize grown in the US is GM, while 70% of processed foods contain GM ingredients without GM labelling. In the UK and Europe GM maize is not consumed directly by humans but is widely used in animal feed without the requirement for GM labelling.
Antoniou said there could be no doubting the credibility of this peer-reviewed study. “This is the most thorough research ever published into the health effects of GM food crops and the herbicide Roundup on rats.”
Led by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, the researchers studied 10 groups, each containing 10 male and 10 female rats, over their normal lifetime. Three groups were given Roundup – developed by Monstanto – in their drinking water at three different levels consistent with exposure through the food chain from crops sprayed with the herbicide.
Three groups were fed diets containing different proportions of Roundup resistant maize at 11%, 22% and 33%. Three groups were given both Roundup and the GM maize at the same three dosages. The control group was fed an equivalent diet with no Roundup or NK603 containing 33% of non-GM maize.
A spokesman for Monsanto said: “We will review it thoroughly, as we do all studies that relate to our products and technologies.”
Great information.
I guess we’ll all have to be sure our rats don’t drinking Roundup.
Seriously, I don’t think anyone (our their rats) drinks Roundup.
The benefits of this miraculous chemical far outweigh the potential harm that could come from drinking it.
These “studies” come out constantly, usually with a huge publicity campaign. They are also constantly debunked, but with much less publicity.
Until you start drinking Roundup, the benefits of wiping out poison ivy very likely are greater than the danger of any albino Sprague-Dawley rats in the area developing mammary tumors.
Study is talking about Genetically Modified Monsanto Corn being fed to the rats. They were not made to drink Monsanto Roundup straight which I believe will kill them instantaneously.
People are making tons of money growing these GM crops and they like to belittle such studies. Hurts profits..
CA already has GM labelling law in works.
Your post is more directly regarding genetically modified food crops and their effects on rats in food crops instead of it’s use for poison ivy. Although the information is shocking more because of the gentic modification it is causing in the wild, when Round-Up is used in accordance to the label (a legal contract), it safely breaks down in the environment within a very short period of time (normally 7-10 days).
If one applies Round-Up by brushing it onto the poison ivy, the spread (mostly by wind) to other plants is very minimal to none and once the plant dies it takes a short period of time for the herbicide to completely break down all traces. Compared to organophosphate herbicides, Round-Up is far more environmentally friendly when used in accordance to its labeling.
I agree that you wouldn’t want to use Round-Up in your vegetable garden on food crops. Frankly we aren’t talking about treating a vegetable plant, we are treating poison ivy. Should you be treating poison ivy in a vegetable bed, the paint-brush method to a damaged main stem of poison ivy is the most effective and least toxic control recommended by Purdue University.
On a personal note, I agree that the gentic modification in crops in order to withstand direct spray resistance to an herbicide is scary. It is part of the reason that I grow my food organically and attempt to limit the amount of convenience food I use whenever possible. This is the reason to keep an eye on the main debate going on in California over labeling genetically modified foods. It is a first step in having a voice for your point of view.
My Mom is extremely allergic to Poison Ivy and makes a healing potion from Hoary Vervain weeds which grow in the ditches around her home in central Kansas. She steeps the leaves in water then applies the liquid to the poison ivy rash. She also drys the leaves and stores them in a plastic bag for later steeping and giving to others who contract poison ivy. It has worked better than the creams prescribed by doctors on everyone she has shared leaves with.
Last winter I ripped out all these thin vines on the ground trying to clear out a part of the woods. Not realizing it was poison ivy because the leaves were off. I got it all over my body. Couldn’t even go to work for almost 2 weeks!! Worst time of my life. My point being, don’t try to clear any area in the woods in the winter.
Wash with cold water so you don’t open the pores of your skin. Every year I dedicate a day to poison ivy, get out the liquid poison ,mix it up, and spray, spray , spray! I walk thru my 8 acres and look for it so it doesn’t get on my cats or dog , as I have petted them and broke out also.
Smaller patches of poison ivy can be eradicated by covering the patch with 6-mil black plastic.
Cover the ivy, apply weights to the plastic, and go do something else until next year.
There are several forestry and/or hunting related catalogs that offer both treatments to prevent urushiol rashes and cleansers to wash off occasional contact with the oil. Since they do not advertise in this column, I won’t give their well-known brand name, which begins with “T”.
I’d put on latex gloves underneath those gloves and it probably would work better to have raincoat type material underneath or on top of the jacket as well. Toss the latex, wash the raincoat type material with the rest. Or take it to a hand held carwash, wash it down.
HI Mike
I am VERY allergic to poison ivy. When I find that I might have touched it (in my pacysandra) I immediately scrub my arms with Comet – that is a product used to scour pans that have a grease buildup after cooking.
It works.
There is a product called “Tecnu” that provides fast relief from poison oak/ivy. When used immediately after contact.
On killing poisonOak/Ivy: The most effective method to kill the plant is to spray it with diesel fuel.
I was born in Europe and lived my youth there in the woods where apparently this vine is not growing. When I came to live here I got a really bad case of it -didn’t even know what did hit me ! – but my husband explained what it was and the doctors I had to see confirmed.
Hub also told me that he got infected himself when he was young spending some vacations with his parents in the mountains of NC. His Father showed the problem to an Indian “who disappeared in the woods and came back scrubbing my arms with some kind of foliage” .
Although we have the PI on our 5 acres, I got infected again but he did not although we were working in the same area.
Now reading this I guess RJ (thank you !) gave us the answer to something we have always wondered…”what was it ?”. Must have been that black walnut !
A good tip for washing after exposure is to use cold water. This helps close your pores to minimize the amount of oil that penetrates into the skin. Warm and hot water open pores and allows the oil to get deeper into the skin before the detergent or soap has a chance to remove it.
Poison ivy is insidious. If you have pets be aware that petting them after they have contacted poison ivy can cause you to have a reaction just as easily as if you came into contact with it yourself.
Toweling down pets, one preventive way to avoid the enemy!
It should also be mentioned that poison ivy, once contaminated, becomes internal. I always take an antihistamine when I feel that I am in danger of or treating contamination. The antihistamine reduces any internal transmission to other areas and helps to reduce the area’s inflammation.
I’ve always reacted badly to PI. My Wife was immune for several years. She could pull vines and crush the leaves using her bare hands with no affect, but her immunity left her and now she has reactions to the oil. She can no longer “show off” to me by playing with the stuff.
Thanks for the video.
I don’t know how I did it but I got poison ivy on my brain and the only way I could scratch it was to think of sandpaper or dish scrubbers. If you know anyone else with this problem you might suggest my solution.
Okay Mike. Good advice. I think!
We have poison oak out here in CA. When we bought our property there were old fig trees wrapped in it with vines as thick as a mans arm. An old vineyardist ( yes we live in the beautiful Alexander Valley, Sonoma County) told my husband to mix Roundup with Miracle Grow. It really works! Apparently the plants think it is food and it drinks up the poison better.
p.s. Don’t forget to clean the drills.
I found a quick method for killing the P.I. vine base and root system. Drill a hole centered on the innermost core of the decapitated vine. I had a 1.5 inch diameter vine in which I drilled a 0.5 inch hole about 0.75 inches deep. Fill the hole with concentrated liquid herbicide. A medicine eyedropper will do the job neatly. (In order to avoid potential serious health problems to humans, don’t ever use that eyedropper for anything else). With smaller drill sizes, vines as small as 0.25 inches can probably be drilled.
Very Good Praise the Lord I have never been bothered with the rash. So very thankful have a lot of it on the place, I try to get rid of some of it every year.
Having been hit with poison ivy a time or two, I found that running the infected area under hot water, near as hot as I can stand it- CAREFUL NOT TO SCALD- brings instant ahhh relief, sometime lasts for hours.
I’ve always hesitated to use an herbicide because after the PI drops its leaves, the dead-looking vine can still cause a rash. At least when it has its leaves, I can avoid it. Got a terrible rash one Feb. when I pulled up roots of PI unknowingly because there were no leaves to tip me off. My son, a forester, uses a product called Oral Ivy to avoid the rash. It’s just drops that you put in water and drink. I tried it, and I no longer get PI just by being in the vicinity. Of course, if I touch it, I break out but not nearly as bad as I used to.
Yup, Mike, that’s how I do it. When I’m done I go in the shower and all clothes including my gloves go in the washer. (Nothing worse than getting that itchy rash off your gloves). Been fighting this for six years now and hardly have any problems now. (except what creeps over from the neighbors. Not much you can do about that accept attack when it comes.) From one who is winning the war, Lorie
All good advice above….I have found that Dawn dishwashing detergent is great to take a bath with after exposure. The larger vines can be cut with a small chainsaw….turn the saw upside down when cutting and it will not throw the particles back at you….then put concentrated roundup or similar on the fresh cut end. Poison Ivy and poison oak are basically the same thing with a different leaf structure.
Way over complicating the entire process. No need for herbicide in an area like that. It is this simple folks. De-crown the root and pull off all the climbers and any woody stems. where long sleeves and gloves while working. Bag it tag it put it on the curb. The parent plant will not return if you De-crown the root system. The vines make great wreaths for the people on your lump of coal list.
Haha, I love the wreath joke.
How do you de-crown the root?
mike- dont know if you have ever been told this, this works every time. now that you made that cut, take your hoe or whatever and pull about 5 inches of the vine on the root side out away from the tree.wrap a paper towel or some news paper around the end of the vine. keep in place with a twist tie. soak the paper with your favorite brush killer, now put a large baggie over it and secure with twisty. the vine will wick up the liquid just as it did thru the leaves. (systemic) it just does it faster.. bye bye poison ivy. good luck
Poison ivy has never given me a rash or even made me itch. However, my husband would get huge water filled blisters from the stuff. A side note — the roots of poison ivy is where the American Indians got their black paint/ink for their pottery.
For those who worry about the health and environmental effects of synthetic herbicides like roundup which has recently been shown to cause cancer in rats in a European study and morphological changes… Here’s the safe & organic way to handle it: a 20% solution of vinegar sprayed on the foliage will kill poison ivy and most other nuisance plants. It is available from sellers on Amazon and other retailers. Not the 10% vinegar for pickling… that won’t do it… get the 20% variety made for use as an herbicide!
And… if you are going to cut the high vines it is very helpful to apply -before cutting- a generous amount of protective skin cream with Aloe Vera… it goes a long way to stop the poison oils from affecting you… and then they wash off more easily too. Some old timers (like me) used to put on any vegetable oil they had around (almond or walnut oil is best, but any kind of edible oil helps – and blend in some aloe if you have it) and then wash it all off with brown soap as soon as you’re done working.
Thanks for taking the time to have a look at this post.
~ Green Man
Thanks for the tip. I will order the 20% vinegar. If it doesn’t work, I can always dilute it.
Note however that If you overfeed lab rats with 20% vinegar, they may develop cancer and all sorts of other ailments too. But in the name of animal rights, try it on yourself first.
Please note that 20% vinegar is still an acid and the concentrated strength can burn your skin and other plants. So please be careful to use proper safety gear when applying.
Although this is considered an organic solution, it is still classified as a chemical application and can still cause harm if care is not taken.
Don’t forget your household pets, especially if that cat or dog is going to be on the furniture. The pets may play or hunt amid the poison ivy plants, get the oil on their fur, then transfer the oil to anywhere the pet comes in contact, whether it be your skin or your furniture. If I suspect contamination, I try to wipe everything down with a mild detergent, ie, Dawn.
Thanks for the advice! I seem to be moderately sensitive to it, since I mostly just break out in it if I touch it, or make the mistake of getting my weedeater into it.
If I brush my hand or arm against it, and wash with regular soap immediately and thoroughly that seems to work for me to prevent the rash.
DO NOT USE A WEEDEATER ON OR NEAR POISON IVY!! It slings and spreads the oil all over your clothes, and it goes right through your clothes. I’ve had this happen even with thick pants on and heavy cotton socks – the oil gets slung by the weedeater cord and goes right through all of it to my legs. After learning this the hard way, and getting careless a few times after that, I now just totally stay away from areas that have poison ivy, when I use the weedtrimmer, but it’s sometimes hard to avoid 100% if you don’t always see it in the grass and weeds. I have also used large plastic trash or leaf bags to tie around my legs, to give me extra protection, in case I hit some by accident.
Also be very careful about disposing of tree wood if a tree gets cut down or falls and has poison ivy vines growing on it. If you buy wood from a tree cutting company, look for signs that there may have been a poison ivy vine growing on it, and ask about this. If the cut wood is burned, and has poison ivy oil on it, it could be dangerous to inhale the smoke, as Mike has warned.
We had a problem with this when one of our trees fell, that had these vines on it. I warned the tree company about it, before they removed the wood for us. I don’t know if they sold or used the contaminated wood.
My name is Sharon too 🙂
Being a landscaper and having some very large and/or wooded properties to care for, as well as some farms with endless fence lines to weedwhack (PI LOVES fence lines), I run into poison ivy almost on a daily basis. It’s strange – if I pull a poison ivy plant, say with gloves on, but one of the leaves touches my forearm, I will get a rash. But I can weedwhack the stuff all day long, in shorts and t-shirt, getting it splattered all over my legs and even some on my arms, and not get a single blister. This is without treating my skin with anything or even washing it off until later that night. Go figure. I could understand that with someone who isn’t allergic at all to poison ivy, but I am.
I have gotten poison ivy wihtout ever going near it. I suspect that my cat wandered through it an I got it from her fur. The worst case I ever had was when I was a youngster and not knowing the ivy I used it for toilet paper out in the woods.
Thanks for your presentation.
Thank you !
good solution for the rash: betamethasone valerate USP, 0.1% put it on as soon as you itch, even before the rash shows up. it will stop the itch and dry up the rash. i get poison ivey rash at least 4 times every summer. no matter how careful i am, there it is! but i have it everywhere on my 10 acres…ill try the spraying thing, and just try to stay away from it! now, when i go to the drs, his first question is do you need more poison ivey cream? he knows me well! good luck everyone
By the way, I’m not trying to promote any one brand or company, but just sharing some information that has made my life much, much less miserable! We work outdoors a lot, and I’ve seen unbeleivalbe amounts of poison ivy. Having an effective strategy in place to deal with it has helped tremendously.
One more thing: the botttoms of my forearms are one of the worst places to break out–you don’t realize you’ve gotten into the ivy, and it is hard to see to clean thoroughly–so I concentrate on washing that area. Also, touching your face, like wiping away sweat, spreads the urushiol from hands and forearms to your face. I very carefully wash my face with Tech Nu as well.
In a pinch one time, I tried to use painters hand cleaner. It has basically the same make up as Tech Nu–mineral spirits and lotion. However, that dind’t work as well, and with stakes as high as the suffering of poison ivy, I spend whatever it takes on using the best ivy wash I can get!
I religiously use Tech Nu poison wash after working around poison ivy…even if it is “just in case” I was exposed. It actually dissolves the urushiol so it can be washed away. It is expensive, but it works great!
I found out that I don’t break out until 4 days after exposure. The urushiol is a sticky, sap like substance that bothers the skin it touches. I’m not very allegric to poison ivy, but, I found out the hard way…I’m not immune either! Eventually the affected skin blisters to get rid of urushiol.
Also, sometimes leaving the vines is not an option. We have had to clear large areas so we could get through them, or to build where the vines are. I found out the hard way weed whacking is the worst thing you can do—you spread the urushiol all over the place. I’ve had several employees who swore they were immune find out the hard way that they are not.
Lastly, I’ve always read to wash in cool water, to keep the pores of the skin from opening up. One version of Tech Nu has pumice in it–not only does it help scrub the urushiol off, but if you are already itching at all, it feels wonderful and is actually good for you–you are removing the offending substance, along with safely scratching the area a little and bringing much releif! Ivarest Ivy Dry works wonders from there to heal any blisters.
Thanks Mike. How I detest that vile weed. I wear gloves, long pants, long sleeved shirts, socks and shoes and last summer I still got it, but never actually SAW it in the beds in any of the beds in which I worked. It is sneaky and somehow was down mixed in with ground cover, I suppose. I seem to have a real allergy to the stuff and it usually ends up getting infected, no matter how diligently I fight it with a million different preparations. I also come in the house, remove all the clothes the washing machine and then shower and wash my hair! Still, I get the rash. This year seemed a little better than last, though, and I sprayed diligently with weed killer–from afar, wherever I actually could see it.
Sometimes it soaks through your clothing and that is how you get it.
Poison Ivy only has a negative affect on human beings. It is a source of food for an enormous number of animals including birds, mammals and even amphibians. So we are the only ones who don’t care for it.
Eliminate it from your yard but leave it in the wild places. Maybe Mother Nature is trying to tell us to behave.
I have a terrier that gets it every year. Her belly is covered. So hard to find!
I have been on many camping trips and very allergic to the stuff. I have found the only thing that really works for me is to immediately wash the entire with pure rubbing alcohol all around the area and extended. If I miss a spot and get infected, I use a small tongue depressor dipped in alcohol and rub over the blisters as soon as it breaks out. Yes. it burns a little at first (never as bad as it itches and spreads) and wipe down the nearby skin for several inches and it’s all over!
I shower with technu. Works great!
I always keep a large bottle of hand sanitizer with my garden equipment. When I am through working in the yard, I rub it all over exposed skin. Stings like a mother on scratches, but cuts the oils and since I’ve started this practice I haven’t had anything more than a tiny patch of rash.
Sounds good to me. I am highly allergic to poison ivy! We have som in our yard! I’ve had to have shots for this terrible crap! My husband has sprayed it and it seems to pop up in a new place the next day!
There is a spray cortisone that may help after scrubbing with a strong soap
I have done this but it’s a never ending fight!
Geraldine, I was just having this conversation with Duston about how much poison ivy we had on this place is certain area and I have been able to complete get rid of it and never once got any of it, even though I was cutting logs with vines with a chainsaw, handling the brush etc. I need to do an update about that.
Mike and all: Believe it, or not, I have NEVER been allergic to poison ivy or poison oak, but I AM highly allergic to poison sumac (this latter may be more predominant & known in the South, I don’t know).
Friends, Neighbors & Family, for 44+ yrs now since I’ve owned homes & yards, have always called on me to pull up (which I am now reading you don’t recommend doing) the ivy & oak in their yards. Not once have I ever broken out or had any effects.
But I only have to get within inches of the sumac & I break out. What I do is shower right away (even if I need to go back outside & do more yardwork), then put baby oil over my body while I’m still wet … and blot off with my towel … no itching & rash is gone the next day.
I’ve just “discovered” you, Mike, & your 3 awesome websites, so have a LOT of reading, videos, etc. to do. I think you are in Perry, Ohio, but your written “language” on what I’ve read so far, you have a LOT of distinctive ‘southern sayings’ like ‘youngins’, ‘doohickeys’, etc. So are you originally from the South?
I will E-Mail you about how we started with a Greenhouse last year, making gates & ‘critter-proof’ easy, inexpensive fencing this year, as well as hubby building raised garden TABLES on legs for me to plant our first & forever Organic Garden … and Organic Orchard, growing Barley for both our Organic, natural environment 5400 gallon, inground Koi pond we’ve had for 12 years (to keep water clear) & to make ‘green manure’ …. know what this latter is??? Also interested in how to sell plant cuttings locally, as well as the many plants we have always had growing naturally in our .78 acre yard like hostas, lariope, 2 types of ferns, etc. that I have to thin out, have given so much away & now just have to put in our compost pile, for lack of a better way to get rid of all the excess! Can’t wait for your tips, secrets & methods of helping me with all the above!!
Pat,
Not from the south, been here in Perry, Ohio my entire life. Don’t Email me, I don’t see incoming Email, I answer questions here and here; http://backyardgrowers.com/join
Mike, Pat in Atlanta here. Please see my comment I made earlier here about how I have NEVER been allergic to Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, yet I am highly allergic to Poison Sumac!! I’ve been pulling up (not knowing any better until tonight when I found you & your websites, I should NOT pull up the vines!!) the Ivy & Oak all my life …. by hand …. for friends, neighbors & family … to their amazement. Sumac I cannot come less than 6″ to & I break out! Crazy, isn’t it? You & I (maybe others we don’t know) must have some type of built in, maybe genetic, tolerance to Poison Ivy, thus why we are not affected by it at all. Are you allergic to the other two vines? Just curious.
If it is in our genetics, I didn’t get mine from my Dad! When hubby & I first moved in our house now, 19 yrs ago, there was a HUGE vine growing up one of our large trees. My Dad had good common sense & knew the only way to kill “it” (not knowing it was a HUGE Poison Ivy vine!!) was to cut a chunk out at the bottom … which he did. Later on, he went in the house to use the bathroom … guess what? He obvious;y did not wash his hands before …. and guess where he broke out with a terrific rash!!! He was miserable for about a week! Felt so sorry for him!!! Guessing I most likely got the immunity from Mom’s side of the family somewhere!! That Poison Ivy is wicked!!
Pat,
I honestly don’t know if I’m allergic to poison sumac. Poison Ivy is the only thing that bothers me that I know of.
Mike, my name is Brian, I’ve been following you for some years now, I’m barely allergic to poison ivy now a days. I had to chainsaw some that was 8 inches in diameter
& after that I was basically inoculated.
The oils of poison ivy will last for decades
& can still affect us after it’s dead. There is a pre conditioner before you touch it & a product afterwards called technu, technu can be put in your washing
machine to decontaminate your clothes & gloves. There is also a product called burn out that kills poison ivy. It’s all natural. Poison ivy is pure evil in my description. My advice? Find someone who is not allergic & have them cut it out & they wont complain.
Great advice, thanks for sharing.
Goats love poison ivy and will clean it up for you. They can even give you immunity to getting poison ivy . How ? You put the goats on the ivy and after they munch down on it you drink the goat’s milk which will give you immunity to breaking out for about 10 years . Kind of like eating local honey to give immunity to hay fever .
Thanks,
Alex
that is very interesting. i can’t have goats due to town ordinances so i will not be able to try it.
rent or borrow one for the day/week-end
Sounds good to me!!!
Poison Ivy is the pitts! And to many, it can actually be deadly. My mother was gathering twigs to start a fire during a family outing and quite by accident, picked up some twigs and live vines containing poison ivy. When she lit the fire, the heat felt good, so she stood near it and the smoke got on and in her. Her allergic reaction to the oils put her in the hospital with the blisters in her lungs causing pneumonia. She survived, but was then hyper-allergic to the stuff.
We consulted a homeopath who recommended an easily found compound at any compounding pharmacy called “BE GONE” POISON IVY treatment. The tiny pills are spheres that relieve and cure the itch and rash caused by poison ivy’s active ingredient called uric acid. After several treatments over several years, I am nearly immune, only breaking out where the uric acid contacts scratches or otherwise open wounds.
I know it sounds like BS, but try it! What do you have to lose? Only the rash and itch!
urushiol is the oil in poison ivy, not uric acid, which is in urine =]
Alrighty then! Not sure who mentioned Uric Acid, hope it wasn’t me.
It doesn’t sound like bs to me. I’ll try anything. I’ve been to the dr. Got shots for the crap. It improved. Went outside and wham got it again! Husband has been spraying the crap but it seems to pop up over night
hi mike.
JUST WANTED TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT MY FRIEND CAME BY AND SAID GET YOU A SPRAYER, FILL IT WITH CLOROX AND SPRAY IT, DON’T EVEN HAVE TO GET CLOSE TO IT. He did it for me and I saw just a few leaves turn brown next day, well a week later the entire plant and vine looks dead, Will never use anything else again, just wet down the leaves ya’ll. , Cheap and maybe a little better than a chemical, well at least other chemicals. Use pure Clorox and spray it. Worked for me to kill the plant.
Usually not far from poison ivy you will find sour dock ,wild sorrel. This plant likes exactly the same spots that the ivy does and is the OPPOSITE acid to neutralize the alkaline burn of the ivy. Just crush a handful and rub it on the ivy exposures. to cancel out the ivy if done within 30 minutes. I have done this many times and it works for me. The best ridding of poison ivy is of course a GOAT. It has no affect on the animal and they clean it right up. It will stay gone for a couple of years. Again this is first hand knowledge. Hahaha. I’m sure most of you won’t go that route though. I had miniature goat inside city limits. Not a problem but dogs running loose in the neighborhood got my goat.. DANG the ivy came back!
Mike,
That is some poison ivy cultivar! Spraying is always an option, but can also affect plants around it … so choose carefully. If you think you may have come into contact with the plant, there is a no fail three step program tha
t I recommend to all of our employees and customers. Step one: Wash area really good with a DISH soap (I like Dawn or Ajax) … both remove the oil well.
Step Two: wash same area with alcohol and rinse. Step Three: Wash area again with White Vinegar and then cover area with Technu Poison Ivy cream.
One the oil is eliminated from the surface of the affected area(s) … there is no dermal reaction via the skin surface. Have used this method for years and no lost time accidents due to this nasty weed. Cheers! Gina
Thanks Gina for the great information.
Hi Mike
I love your video about the poison ivy! I now have it on a few fingers and washed with Fels Naptha soap – then keep dabbing with Ivy Dry liquid.
My problem now is I need to do outside work and spray for the ivy and weeds etc.
I need to wear gloves and wonder if I should bandage my fingers??
Please advise and thank you.
Peace and blessings,
Maria
PS I have huge problem with travelling Wisteria to the point of no return and am in such a quandary about what to do. I have a lot of info on it but it is a huge undertaking! In the past we have dug, pulled and sprayed to no avail. :((
Maria,
I’d bandage my hands just to keep dirt and other things out. Okay, so I probably wouldn’t. But I’m reckless like that. The wisteria, keep pulling and digging, then spray new spouts as they appear. Don’t let up or it will win.
Theres one sure way to not get the rash. Scrub any part of you that came in contact or you think came in contact hard with soapy wash cloth using cold water. Scrub hard. There are videos on YouTube explaining this and it works.
Paul,
I agree but I use Fels Naptha, https://www.amazon.com/Fels-Naptha-Laundry-Stain-Remover/dp/B0063KXEIG, after being near poison ivy. Works great to remove the oils from your skin.
Thank you Mike.
How do I get rid of blackberries? They are spreading all over the lot.
Suzanne
Suzanne,
I’d start by cutting them to the ground and digging out the roots. After that you can keep working the soil until they are gone or spray any new growth with a non selective herbicide. The tilling will work just fine but you have to till before the new plants get a foot hold. If you just keep working the soil it will be completely weed and berry free, but not for long. You’ll get rid of the berries, but you have to plant something or muclh heavily to keep the area free of weeds.
Dig up those roots and sell them. I have 6 or 8 plants/vines and they produce 10 or better quarts each year. Where I grew up the property had 20 or bushes. Summertime was a great time to get up and pick berries for on our ceral in the morning.
Berries make a great gift to those friends without berry bushes. I know people who can berries and other fruit for winter delious.
i live in central Virginia, — and you DON’T want our Blackberries. They have the sharpest curved thorns — which grab and dig into anyone (or anything) which brushes against those thorns.. Therfore, we planted thornless Blackberries
I grew up in Southern Illinois, and yes, the Blackberries have thorns, but —– i could go picking those Blackberries while barefooted..
Also keep in mind that if you have neighbors who have berries, the birds can spread the seeds back to your yard… 🙂
Please know that if you have neighbors with blackberries, or wild berries in the neighborhood, the birds could be spreading the plants by seed…it’s happened to me….it’s a constant battle…
Great information, Mike. It is good to know that cutting the vine below stops the growth above. I noticed you cut the vine high on the tree. When you spray in the spring will it not harm the tree?
Barbara .. use a herbicide for ‘GRASSES’ or” VINES” . … it won’t affect the TREES. Tom
That really depends on how old the trees are. Young trees can and will absorb roundup through the bark. Best to not spray the trees if possible.
I have been using Rubbing Alcohol for years now, after my aunt told me that was her method to prevent a reaction to poison ivy. It has worked like a charm. After I garden, if I think I’ve come in contact, I DON”T WASH the area first! Don’t get it wet!!!! First, rinse it with rubbing alcohol. Pat dry with a paper towel, then rinse with alcohol again. Dry again with a paper towel. Then, if you want to wash it, go ahead. Since I’ve done this, I’ve not had a single bad reaction to poison ivy. Once, when I didn’t catch it early and I saw the early signs of a rash, I poured alcohol on it, and it didn’t spread or get worse.
This is what is recommended on the CA govt pages too. Also, after using rubbing alcohol, use cold water and lots of soap, never ever hot or warm water, that can spread the remaining oil into pores.
Mike,
As usual, an informative and useful video.
By the way, with that outfit you are set for Halloween.
Thanks again
Ed, you’d be right but I had to work fast, the goggles were fogging up quickly!
Jewelweed is the only plant that will kill the oil from poison ivy. I keep a spray bottle with this just for that reason. Fill the bottle half full with leaves of the jewelweed and then fill with water. The older it gets the stronger it is.
Taz, you’re the second person to mentional Jewel Weed. Thanks, I’m sure others will find it helpful.
I have found that using 1 gallon of vinegar, 1 cup of salt warmed until the salt melts and then adding about 8 drops of Dawn detergent and then sprying with a huge sprayer such as a Round UP container killed every bit of poison ivy that I had in my yard and it didn’t come back. Any other that did was a different spot. And if I accidently got it on my self and it started a rash, , I would shower and rub the blisters with a cloth until they opened up and sprayed the same mixture that I sprayed the ivy with and it totally stopped itching and didn’t spread and healed up. Alcohol is good for right afterwards of touching it and also Jewelweed, but for killing the ivy itself, vinegar and salt is not toxic.
Taz, thank you for the info. DO you preapply or do it after you came in contact with poison IVY?
Altho i’m mostly immune to Poison Ivy, i do use it to treat Poison Ivy on others — such as my wife, i harvest several branches when it is in bloom. I then chop branches, leaves, blooms and seeds into 1/4 inch long (or shorter). I then put them in a pot, and almost cover them with water, bring the water to a boil, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Then strain out the liquid and compost the stems, leaves, etc.
I’ve put the liquid in a glass jar which i label and keep in the fridge till needed, or i pour the liquid into an ice cube tray. then take out a Jewel Weed tincture ice cube and rub it across the affected area on whomever has Poison Ivy starting to appear. Urushiol seems to go thru the epidermis (outer skin layer) and it affects the dermis (inner skin layer) with blisters and rashes. Since Jewel Weed tincture doesn’t go thru the epidermis, i use one of those plastic shower scrubbies to abrade the surface skin layer (scrub hard!), and the Jewel Weed takes away the itch, etc.
One can also buy Jewel Weed Soap.
Do NOT wash in HOT water. Hot water opens the pores and gets the oils deeper and makes the situation worse. Wash with body temperature water instead.
Also the homeopathic Rhus tox can be purchased at some drug stores and most health food stores. It works for 80% of people. Just dissolve two tablets under the tongue. It has been a life saver for me and my children. Before I started using Rhus tox I was at the doctor every summer for Prednisone (hard on the liver).
If you know you are going to be into poison ivy, apply “IVY BLOCK” lotion to vulnerable areas(recommended by my doctor) before you go outside.
Emphasis on DO NOT BURN. The smoke is almost deadly. If a neighbor is burning trash that might have poison ivy, leave the area at once.
Will this work for poison oak too?
Diana,
I’m sure it will.
Thank you! Poison Ivy grows among my English Ivy. The English Ivy climbs my brick home. I would like to repace it with climbing rose bushes. How do I get rid of all ivy and prep the soil for roses?
John, somebody else here mentioned using Ivy Block before you do anything with poison ivy. If you want to get rid of it completely to replant you really need to remove the vines completely. Not a job that I’d want to do, but if I had to I’d wear rubber rain gear and cover all of my skin. It is my belief that poison ivy has gone right through my pants. I’ve often had poison ivy on my lower legs, but only to the top of my leather work boots. Which leads me to believe that it passed through my pants but not my leather shoes. Unless it found it’s way up the pant leg. I don’t know for sure, but all I know is that any area that is not covered gets poison ivy.
Do not put leaves or vine in your compost pile – better to cut it when green and can be contained easier
I also use homeopathic remedy Rhus Toxidodendron to reduce the rash time once it starts. If you know you are exposed, Rhus Tox may also prevent rash from starting. Jewel Weed also effective.
I was exposured to dormant vines in the winter and had more than 6weeks of very bad rash. Steroids only slightly reduced the itch. Rhus Tox got rid of it.
Thank you for the info. As a pharmacist, using Dawn dishwashing liquid will remove any oil from the poison ivy, wherever it has settled. I always placed a small bottle in the shower in the summer so we reduced the incidence of the rash. Wash all clothes, including shoes, laces, work gloves, hats and glasses after dealing with the ivy. IF you get it and it starts to spread, make sure you wash sheets EVERY DAY for a bit. Once the oil gets on something, it will continue to infect until it is washed off. Washing in a machine will take care of the oil on fabrics.
Mike, thanks for the info. For the folks that don’t know, if you burn any part of the plant and inhale ANY of the smoke, it can do the same thing to your windpipe. Now that’s a real problem!
For poison ivy plants growing among my favorite flowers, I pull on a newspaper plastic bag over my hand and pulled up to my elbow. I reach down and gently pull out the plant, then I carefully pull off the bag with the plant inside! It has saved me many times from that bad itch.
Good information! We have some poison ivy vine that is almost as large as my forearm, growing in one of our trees. I will use your technique and try to get rid of it. We have small areas due to birds “gifting” it to us. Beware of using mulch from tree trimming companies who will give it to you–it might contain poison ivy seeds, or roots.
Also, you can continue to take a capsule of the black walnut every couple/few hours until relief. I usually take one before I work on the yard and then one after. If I see a problem I’ll take one or two every 3-4 hours.
No more problems!
RJ
Hello!
I didn’t get poison ivy until late in life while working in my yard, but even then it didn’t have a chance with using Black Walnut.
If you are sensitive to poison ivy you can buy a bottle of Black Walnut either at Wal-mart, or a health food store, sometimes even the grocery stores and others will have it that carry vitamins and herbs . It cost anywhere between 5.00 to 7.00 dollars.
You can take 1 or 2 black walnut before going out to work in the yard Or directly after or both; one before and one after.
If you get it on your skin you can make a poultice (a paste) out of the black walnut by opening up a casule and adding just a bit of water to turn it into a paste and put it on the affected area of the skin.It goes away right away; relief within minutes!
Black walnut kills the effects of the oil, parasites in the body, heals skin areas that are dry and so much more. You can find more info on the internet on the uses.
I made the mistake of cleaning with ammonia without using gloves and it tore up my hands. They were drying, burning,peeling and cracking to the point of almost bleeding. I made a poultice of the black walnut, put it on my hands, put some gloves on (plastic or fabric) and within 20 minutes I was feeling the relief and healing. The issue was gone that day!
I’ve been taring those vines down for years with no problem and I didn’t know they were poison ivy, so I burned them too with the rest of the wood I was removing.Never a problem with breathing or anything else. Hmmmm
Take Care!
RJ
I have never been allergic to poison ivy until recently it seems to affect my fingers. After watching this movie, I realize I have been pulling these vines off trees for years and never knew what it was. I have used the method shown to kill the vine when it gets too high. Guess I’ll be more careful from now on.
There are other vines that grow on trees that look very much like poison ivy vines. What you pulled must have been Virginia Creeper, Five Leaf, or other vines if they did not break you out. I’ve pulled them out, too, without incident, but Poison Ivy sends me to the doctor for shots when I am exposed to it. I must try the black walnut capsules. Thanks to Mike & to all who had a remedy.
For those of you that still suffer from contact with Poisin Oak or Ivy, I can tell you there IS A FAST CURE TO GET RID OF THis nasty RASH!
In my Higth school Freshman year, I came in contack with Poison Oak and then that same day got a horrible Sunburn on top of it at the beach. The rash was ALL OVER ME and even got in my blood stream! Most of that school year I suffered and went to doctors and no one could cure it or make it go away! EXCEPT….The Sweedish father of a friend of mine said ,,”I can tell you something that will have you completely cured within days and a week at max! So he told me to go down to the drug store and pick up a TINY BOTTLE OF SUGAR PILLS and chew up 6 pills on the hour for an entire day, and thenthe following day 4 times during the day. I DID and was cured within a few days completely! The majic pill? “Rhustoxicodendron Sugar Tablets!” (Tiny little pellets!” Only sold nowdays at Health food stores! Whats moe, I became immune to even driving by the plants with my car window dow during the pollen season! God Bless this big old sweedish man! Wish our medical doctors were as smart as he was!
Blanche Lauver, Edgewood, Wa.
Sounds like the placebo effect!
Homeopathic medicine has been used in Europe for years and is quite effective for healing poison ivy. I also make sure I first pour vinegar over where I think I could have had contact and then dawn dish washing soap or fels naptha soap. I recently read where if you have poison ivy you will have jewelweed within a 20 yard radius. Interestingly enough I found poison ivy and lo and behold there was the jewel weed so I mixed up a brew and keep it in a spray bottle in the frig and it really has kept me rash free. I by mistake pulled up a clump this last weekend bare handed and went in and vinegar end, soaped and jewel weeded my hands and I didn’t get anything! I know it works as I have been doing this for over 20 years now and never got a rash yet. Keep up the good work keeping the ivy at bay.
… Placebo or not… whatever works!
My husband was an arborist & the owner of the business would supply employees with “poison ivy pills” which were sealed capsulesof ground up poison ivy. Since he did not get a rash, he would save them for me. (I’ve had poison ivy from head to toe, in my eyes & sinuses) The instructions were simple-don’t take it if you have the rash at present & don’t break the capsule. It was so amazing! I wouldn’t intentionally come in contact with the vine, but if I did, at most, a very mild & limited rash might pop up. Presumably, those capsules were made by some local & elderly farmer. Well, my husband passed away 5 years ago & I was hoping that someone out there knew of these & where they may be purchased????
I had some new poison ivy growing up a tree and I was concerned that the weed killer spray might hurt the tree, so I used my garden fork to get under the poison ivy vine and pulled it off the tree so I could then spray the leaves without hurting the tree. it seems to have done the job. I was careful to stand back while pulling the vine off and the long handled tool helped me do that. Love your posts, Thanks
Some people are immune to poison ivy….my late husband was…it never affected him when he was exposed to it…..you must be immune. And any spray that kills weeds when leaves are sprayed will not harm a tree trunk. Just keep it off the tree leaves.
Martha,
Your right about spraying mature trees, but young trees can absorb chemical like roundup through the bark causing damage to the entire tree, so you do have to be careful.
Hi Mike,
Here in Oregon we have more poison oak than ivy, however we also have a local company that makes a product that really works to help you both if you get either one, and also as a preventative. You might want to check out the website: http://www.teclabsinc.com/store/poison-oak-ivy
My husband is very sensitive to poison oak and he relies on this product.
OOPS! Got sent without meaning to. To continue. As you get more and more episodes, shots/pills will become necessary as your tolerance decreases. Also, you can become “allergic” at any time so don’t tempt fate. Finally, Virginia Creeper is another plant/weed which can mimic the same symptoms and is no less of a very itchy problem!
Michele,
You’re the first person I’ve ever heard of getting a rash from Virginia Creeper. Are you sure that’s what it is?
Poison Ivy uses Virginia Creeper vine as a support to go up into the trees where it’s roots grow into the tree bark to get it’s nutrients and water. A large vine as this can live for years after having a section cut out. The Virginia Creeper becomes contaminated by contact.
I use a 3% solution of round up. And like you Mike, if it is “up the tree”, I cut it closer to the ground. I am immume to the oil, but still don’t allow it on me. The plant will die and over a season, the oils will become inert, but I just let them decay on their own.
I have discovered that cutting and painting the root helps to destroy the crawling poison ivy and blasting it in the spring insures a greater kill. I get poison ivy blisters at least 3 times a summer. I use Dawn dish detergent after working in my garden and also Ivy Block ( prevents penetration of the oils) prior to going out into the woods and it helps. I don’t use steroids as it takes as long for it to clear up either way. Steroids have their own side effects I’d rather avoid. I use something called Techno wash and Ivy dry to dry up the blisters and reduce the itch.
According to my dermatologist, the oil of poison ivy/oak/sumak is like velcro–once it’s on you, it’s on you–YOU CANNOT RINSE IT OFF EVEN RIGHT AWAY. If you are allergic, each subsequent contact will be WORSE
Hi Mike, I think anyone who has experienced poison Ivy will take note thanks for the update on this. Had I know to wash all my cloths afterwards maybe this would have saved me some grief. I suffered so much before I actually new what I had. I went to two doctors so unless you live in a wooded area people in the city have no idea I found. I got mine from cleaning a yard. The client didn’t even know she had it. Pam
Pam, I hear you–I get it so easily it is ridiculous. Some people have natural immun. and the young man who did weeding for me had been in the service and thought some of the innoculations they gave him made him immune–he never got it and I always did. You can identify it no only by the manic itch it produces, but the bumps appear to be in straight ‘lines’ almost looking a little like a cat scratch. I swear I’m itchy just thinking about this miserable stuff. Don’t just wash your clothes, also take a shower and wash your hair too. Good luck!
As to poison ivy and smoke/fire. As a child, a person used 2 yr old dried firewood for a campfire. The smoke was terrible and I was only wearing a bathing suit. Needless to say, I was covered in poison ivy. If I’d rolled in poison ivy I don’t think I could have gotten it worse. For the next several years, I only had to look at it to break out. The doctor said it was in my system and as he figured, I only needed an incentive to have a full body rash. This was back in the early 50s. Today they say the poison ivy oil is carried in the smoke and somebody burning a log with a vine on it can be over a block away and the oil will transport via the air. Poison ivy remains active in dead vines for several years I think. Also, don’t forget raking leaves can easily have them in their, too.
Mike: We got RID of all poison ivy on the farm by letting our goats EAT IT! They repeatedly ate the leaves off (they did the same with floribunda rose, did not get poison ivy on themselves or us, and we virtually had no poison ivy as long as we had goats. However, goats and fruit trees, shrubs, and vines cannot grow on the same property! The goats will eat them all. And they will do the same to Kudzu!
I have used your technique as show here with success. If the vine and the leaves in the top of the tree are big and several years old, they are producing berries. The birds like the berries. The birds and the vines strew the berries all over and the poison ivy starts little plants in the grass. Experience talking here.
Thanks so much for your videos. They are so very helpful.
Jewel weed works great on all kinds of poison plant rashes. Crush the stem and apply the juice to the infected area. Also, generally what grows near poison ivy cures it. Additionally, if you spray the P I plant with a strong solution of salt water 3 times (atleast) it will kill it. I cut the vine and pull as much of it off the tree as I can then discard it in a plastic bag into the dump. Then I use something like Ortho weed killer and or salt solution and leave it. The stuff that grows on the ground I spray with the salt solution and or weed killer. Remember when taking off your gloves and cloths that the oil is on it too. Dispose of the old gloves and cloths in a large plastic bag into the dump. I fortunatelly am not suseptable to any of these poison plants. In the fall I eat a few of the poison Ivy berries to build up my imunities. That was told to me by an old woman when I was a child and I never got it. NEVER BURN THE PLANT the smoke has the oil in the vapor and you will get it in your lungs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all your videos and helpful hints Mike. Always enjoy seeing all your ideas. Poison Ivy is a real problem. I agree with Jim. I have had very good luck cutting the vine and brushing or spraying brush killer on it. I keep a jar of straight brush killer in my toolbox and have a small paintbrush in the jar, so it’s easy to pull it out and do a small job. Great when I find something in the fence rows, etc.
I even got poison ivy in the winter when I’d not been out anywhere near the huge patch we had near the house which we had just moved to years ago. I get poison ivy easily, so have become adept at recognizing it even without the leaves, and this patch had the usual clusters of white berries. I finally figured out that I had gotten it off our dog’s fur. I also learned that it grows differently in the cold Minnesota climate than it does in southern Iowa–it doesn’t vine in that part of Minnesota, while down here in Iowa where I’m living now, I’ve had vines larger than my calf growing up trees. But not for long. Heh.
Thanks for sharing this with us Mike. Thanks also to those who’ve shared their remedies.
hey mike, tell all your people that if they get poison ivy to cut open a fresh clove of garlic and rub it on the rash catch it early enough the rash will be gone. this works better than jewell weed
dean
A chemist friend says to do what Jim Biddle suggests. Get concentrated herbicide and paint it on a leaf, or a few leaves if the plant is very big.
Another “natural” remedy to poison ivy is to take a watery clay (plain clay, not potter’s clay) and have a bucket by your back door to, say, actually step your feet in. Let the clay dry for a while. It absorbs the oils.
Do not ever burn poison ivy. The poison plant oil called urushiol can burn, and you can inhale the toxin. This could cause a very severe allergic reaction.
According to the Wildland Firefighter Magazine website, inhalation of burning poison ivy and oak plants is common among firefighters although much less common among the general population. The heavy particles of the smoke contain urushiol, which will fall down in soot form and can be inhaled. The lungs can swell, cause coughing, and extreme irritation and swelling in the throat. It can also cause blisters that break and run. If you think you may have inhaled burning poison ivy or oak, seek medical attention immediately. Only a medical professional can administer proper treatment in such a case.
Yes I also have done this and it all works. Should you get some contact, another great remedy is Jewelweed. If you rub it on immediately, you may not even get a rash. It also calms and soothes after a rash has developed. It worked better than steroids for me. It can usually be found in the same vicinity as the poison ivy.
You can make a decoction of jewel weed and keep it in the refrigerator over the winter. I know folks who have done this and it works in cold weather when the plant is not around. I haven’t done it but I believe you boil the plant parts – stems and leaves – in water and store in a glass jar.
If you burn poison ivy the oil can get into your lungs, too.
I discovered that acid mine water or a chlorox solution is very effective.
Thanks for the info. I am highly alergic and have been battling poison oak in my backyard for years. This should help! By the way, I always go directly to the washing machine and undress there, putting everything right in the washer so there is less chance of getting it from my clothing. Also, if you do get it, WalMart (and probably other places) sell a product called TechNu which will help if you do get poison oak or ivy. It is a wash which helps dry out the blisters and calm the itching.
Mike, in the first place, one should not let poison ivy grow up the trees. You spot and spray poison ivy when it is young. Like you, I walk my yard, and when I spot a small vine, I immediately get my roundup of Brush be Gone and spray it. Nowadays, I rarely have any poison ivy coming back.
Even if it has grown tall, I would first spray the whole lot with a heavy dose of Roundup. Roundup travels to the roots and kills poison ivy like any perennial from the roots.
Many people have wooded and or large properties that cannot be patrolled so easily, as you suggest. Also, many people will find the poison ivy vines already in place on the property when they first move there.
You mentioned “Brush be Gone” and “Roundup” as if they are the same thing. They are not. Roundup works well on grass and small annual weeds, but not as well on perennials, shrubs or woody brush – that’s what Brush B Gone is for. I would definitely recommend BBG over Roundup for poison ivy. Roundup might work on small seedlings, but will not do much damage to larger plants.
Thanks! My hubby got P.I. In his lungs from standing in the smoke at a bonfire years ago… Put him in the hospital for quite awhile! He is horribly susceptible to P.I., even had the shots for years to help.. So, I get to be the P.I. Police on our property ! I was going to try cutting a chunk out of the vines, but hadn’t thought about not disturbing it after…. I was going to yank it down and spray the devil out of it! Now, I will leave it and work on the base in the spring. Thanks again for posting this!!
The way you showed how to get rid of poison ivy will work. But you have to keep at it. We moved to a wooden lot and had lots of poison ivy. I did just what you did, and it seems to be less & less each year to watch out for. Kep the hints coming, I did enjoy them.
Dear Mike……I just went to bed last evening thinking of how in the world can I get rid of the patch of poison ivy in my flower garden…..I am now infected very badly and had to get a shot and take RX etc…just from cleaning it out last week.
So I get up early this morning and check my email and …..the answer to the problem is now solved……Thank you so so much for your emails…..I do so look forward to them.
Caroline from Hillsboro,OH
I bought a tube of Cortaid Poison Ivy Care. It is a removal scrub. Rub it on where it is itchy and wash/shower it off.
This also works on Poison Oak and Sumac.
I bought it for about $10 and it works!
Caroline
Hi,from another Ohio Valley Gardener.
Hi, Mike. Sure hope you didn’t get that nasty rash of poison ivy. I did notice in the video that a small white dog was roaming the area. I would also recommend that the dog be washed down as well. Many claims about animals bringing the p o oil into the house and onto the rugs and furniture lead me to believe that although the animal is often not affected, the oil is transferred to humans via their fur/hair. Hope you avoided the rash, my son gets a nasty case every year from mountain biking in the woods. It is not pretty. Would a solution of vinegar, say 10% work? I have recently noticed that I have been able to kill weeds in my yard with a dose of 5% vinegar, full strength, placed in the heart of the plant. It can kill grass, etc, so I wonder if it would be effective on p.o.?
grace
One of the worse cases(poison oak)I’ve seen was my 16 year old son working on his car in northern CA one summer. He had his shirt off and when his dog came running out of the woods he leaned over and gave her a great big hug. The next morning he was covered with the rash from his beltline to his chin, both arms included. Be careful out there!
Mike – A couple additions from a serious sufferer. Cut the large vines at the ground, then paint or spray the freshly cut surface with concentrated herbicide. You should not get new growth in spring. After exposure, any liquid dish detergent is less irritating to the skin The “sample” size is easy to carry, and cuts the oil if washed soon after exposure.
I appreciated the article. Soap helps lift the oils – but an added note: wash or shower in cold water, not hot. Hot water opens your pours and allows the oils to enter. Cold water is more effective as your pours will stay closed and the oil can be washed off your skin more effectively. Also, there’s a great product on the market called Tech Nu – it provides a protective skin barrier, and is said to also work effectively for drying up rashes.
If you don’t have an allergy to rubbing alcohol, I suggest you rinse with alcohol first – don’t wash in cold water. Don’t get it wet at all – just rinse once or twice with alcohol, wiping dry with a paper towel. After that, wash if you wish.
Yep, Jim’s approach is what I’ve used with good success at my forest property that was 50% covered with 3′ tall poison ivy in many areas with vines going 30′ to 50′ up the some trees. Called them aunt and uncle vines and there were a few grandpaw vines that were as big as my wrist that must have been very old. Just put extra long heavy duty garbage bags over my boots and jeans and walked to the trees and cut the big vines a foot or two off the ground and IMMEDIATELY sprayed with 49 or 51% glyco herb. Kept it in a small spray bottle and refilled as needed. 3% solution works well for the smaller stuff.
Carefully remove bags while turning it outside in and discard. Used an old hatchet and just sprayed with dish soap and just chopped sandy ground until it looked shiney and clean. I’m very allergic so I’m careful and have gradually gotten 10 or 12 acres mostly erradicated over the last 10 years and only got a couple of small patches. I did it by using a sprayer with hose in the back of an ATV and creating paths I could then branch off of the following season.
This approach let me kill the poison ivy, but spare most of the virginia creeper that I also have.
Hi Mike, you also might want ato try my method of applying a drop of full strength weed killer to the cut. I have found this to be very effective in killing the roots and keeping the vine from resprouting in the spring… making sure to get all around the cambium layer. Like you, I am extremely allergic to poison ivy. I, too, ‘suit up’ before tackling the beast!
Thanks for the poison ivy video. I am rather immune and have a LOT on my 3 acre property. I also have dairy goats who head straight for the ivy when allowed and will eat leaves, branches and vines…even the woody growth with the tendrills on the trees. Wondering if vinegar applied to the leaves would also kill ivy? The large amount of migratory songbirds here eat and replant it like crazy.
hi
we really do not like to use poisons, as they are bad for environment, us and the wildlife..we have used black plastic to cover the poison ivy so it just ‘suffocates’ and dies but i also wondered if you had any non-toxic ways for getting rid of it, barring getting a goat..we have heard vinegar works but it has not so far for us…thanks
donna
Dear Donna, I can’t resist pointing out your inconsistency. On one hand, you do not want to use e.g. Roundup in order to save the environment and wildlife. On the other hand, you want to use plastic. Plastic harms the environment and wildlife as much as anything. What will you do with the plastic afterwards? It probably will have poison ivy oil on it that can cause rashes just the same. And then the plastic goes in the garbage, because recycling does not pick it up. And even if it goes in the recycling bin, recycling staff can be severely hurt.
You probably also use detergent to wash dishes and clothes. Did you realize that the most toxic (if one can call it that) ingredient in Roundup is a bit of detergent to open up the weeds’ cuticles? Other than that, Roundup decomposes into harmless elements as soon as it touches the soil.
Roundup will persist for up to 50 years in the soil/water where ever it’s put. New findings in the last couple years.
You can also “paint” the exposed surface of the bottom part of the vine with Roundup or something similar which will help kill the root. Don’t know if it will do a lot of good for a vine this big, but it certainly helps with the smaller vines.
I usualy clip it at the bottom and let it dry out first. I put the whole plant in a garbage bag careful not to touch it. Make sure you mark it so the garbage man knows what it is. There is also a product you can spray it and the plants will die. However never burn the plants no matter how old
Wondering if anyone would mention it, If you born it, the toxin will be in the smoke and you can inhale itand end up with blisters inside your Mouth, Nose, and lungs. I have a natural imunity but still ocassionally catch a light dose that thankfully it doesn’t last long. I have found that most brush killers will knock it out no mater what sixe the vine. On bigger vines I cet the consentrate and pour it on or spray it on without diluting.
Wish my husband had followed your advice this past weekend. I’m on my way to pick up his Rx from the dermatologist as soon as the pharmacy opens this morning!
Question:Does a heavy frost make coming in contact with the poison ivy any less potent?
Pat,
I really don’t think so. I’ve gotten a pretty heavy case of poison ivy in the dead of winter just handling firewood.
I went to a health food store a few years ago
and found a liquid in a bottle with an eye
dropper for putting under the tongue that
helps build an immunity to poison ivy. I use
it every year and have not had a bad case since. I do still get small rashes around
my wrist but it is not too bad and can be
controlled with no serious spreading. Mary
sounds like Rhus Tox a homeopathic remedy
I use the drops Mary mentioned AND THEY REALLY WORK! They are homeopathic. Also, if you think you have touched P.I. Tincture of green soap is invaluable for preventing its spread. Wash up with it with cold water AND use a cap full of green soap in the laundry with the clothes that may have the oil of poison ivy on them. GOOD LUCK! Also, for small vines, I have found digging it up with a shovel and placing it in a plastic bag to go in the trash helps get rid of the plant. Mike’s technique on huge vines seems to be the best!
Susan,
That will teach those dumpster divers, won’t it! Ha.
“Hmmm….wonder what is in this bag………..EGADS!!!”
Frost won’t affect the effects of the posion ivy oil. My older brother got a rolling in the snow, had no way of knowing that there was poison ivy roots there. So, no forst won’t make it any less potent.
I had lived on a farm growing up and we heated our house with wood. Some wood had small bits of the vine left on the wood. I got posion ivy in the middle of winter. I get posion ivy if it is a windy day and I just walk past an ivy patch. If you burn the ivy you run the risk of inhaling it and then getting it internally. Use the posion and be done with it.
About 28 years ago I was driving past a burning brush pile. I had the vents turned on, pointed towards my face. There was poison ivy in the brush pile. The entire right side of my face was affected. It wasn’t pretty. I had always been allergic to it, but since then it takes very little for me to break out. My husband takes care of it at my mom’s house and doesn’t put his clothes in the hamper but washes them separately, then showers before coming anywhere near me. I’ve not had it in a long time thanks to our precautions.
I got it on my face while playing in the snow with my dog. A week before Christmas!
My husband works for DOT and cut a tree out of the road a few years ago in February or March. That was the worse case of poison ivy he has ever gotten. Doctor told him during the winter when it did not have leaves, the poison was more concentrated in the vines. He is very allergic. He carries a small bottle of 95% rubbing alcohol in his truck that he uses if he’s been exposed at work and can’t get a shower quickly. It seems to work fairly well at preventing an outbreak and only cost a couple dollars.
I also rely on rubbing alcohol. Works great!
Pat, poison ivy contains ‘urushiol’ the oil that causes so much discomfort, all year long. It’s in the leaves, stems, seeds, roots, all throughout the plant, at all times of the year, even in winter. One authority says that plants that have been dead over a year are still potent. I got poison ivy rash in February. Be careful, and NEVER BURN poison ivy! Be careful with firewood!
Every year I say leaves of three leave it be,but every year I start pulling weeds and see i have leaves of three,this year was bad bad bad.too close to the right eye I had gloves on ,but must have rubed my face
I wash with Tecnu Oak-N-Ivy . I find it works well.
I talked with a nurse works emergency room
-first thing the emergency room does is scrub down patient with Dawn dish soap. Best thing they have found.
John, more great information, thank you so much.
I hate to sound like a Dawn commercial but that’s what I use as well; and I am almost embarrassed to say how much I get poison ivy. Cold water, Dawn dish soap, and scrub, scrub, scrub.
I discovered a long time ago that Tea Tree Oil kills the poison Ivy oils before it breaks you out. Since I started making my soap. I tried it out once again. I break out within 30 seconds of touching the ivy. Washing my fingers with TeaTree Soap works. Stops the break outs. Another thing that will work and everyone has it is Hand Sanitizer. Rub it on and get rid of the ivy oils on your skin. I do nature hikes despite how allergic I am both of the above works.
I’ve always heard not to scrub! Just wash with oil cutting soap with cool water after exposure.
Patti and all, I’d like to thank everybody that posted a comment on this topic. Lots of great information about poison ivy has been shared on this post. Thanks again, everybody!
Apply Witch Hazel first, then apply hydrocortosine. Tip from my Dr. and it very
works.
I use alcohol anytime I think I am exposed to poison ivy , this works very well. I have ivy everywhere in my yard it’s an on going battle.
What kind do you drink and how much?
Be extremely careful about anything you might consider drinking as a remedy to anything. If it’s not medically approved don’t drink it. As I approve this question and I can’t see what it was in reply to so it could be perfectly safe, but be careful.
The Dawn is useful for so many problems. It is exactly what we use along with alo. Off subject..the American Beauty Bush leaves rubbed on your clothing and skin repels insects. Dr Allen is working on this for the US Army at Ft. Polk Louisiana. They want it bottled for use in the field. I use it when hunting or scouting for wild edible plants.
Mike – One year, I cut the plant close to the ground and “painted” the exposed end that was toward the ground with a weed killer that I bought at a local greenery center. The killer was absorbed to the root and the poison ivy was not there the next year. Have another patch and will be doing it again soon. Might want to try this…the greenery recommended it. I wore gloves, cut the plant at ground level and painted…gone ! and it was getting bad in that area…
Sandra,
Thank you, we have received a lot of really good ideas from a number of people who have commented here. Thanks again.
Mike, don’t know why, but seems I’m not affected by poison Ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, brown recluse, nor black widows! Where I live, I’m surrounded by forest… black oak, maple, hickory, and poison ivy everywhere. Every year I’m kept busy with fallen branches and pulling up unwanted growth, and every time I find these poison vines in the piles I throw on the burn pile. My wife always gets on my case because I don’t wear gloves, makes it harder to feel and grip what I want to pull up. Luckily, all of the terrain is mostly sand, so they come up fairly easy. I only have to watch out for the rattlers, copperheads, and cotton mouths. Had a rattler by the tail when I pulled up some poison oak in thick underbrush. A quick snap took care of it though.
She’s desperately affected by those poison plants so stays away from me while I’m pulling them, but often still gets affected. Due to weather extremes here I haven’t been able to burn yet this year and the pile is getting quite large! Maybe now that it’s turned cold and we had one good rain, they may lift the burn ban, finally!
Larry and others, DO NOT BURN poison ivy. That could be why your wife gets it. Dispose it in the trash.
Jeannie is right. I have read that you are never supposed to burn poison ivy. It can make you seriously ill breathing it in.
Larry,
Your wife is a smart gal. If you are pulling up venomous snakes with the poison ivy vines, I would stay away, too!
DO NOT BURN POISON IVY!
everyone remeber you must also clean your tools the oil residue can transit up to a year or more after contact.
Mike and all readers.. Everybody with poison ivy in their garden should plant Yarrow (Achilles). On exposure to resins of poison ivy chew in the leaves spit out and apply to affected areas. This will prevent the outbreak. Also this plant heals everything including cuts from shears. It even healed my dahlia branches when they split. I used the leaves as an antibiotic and put a bandage of floral tape on the spit and they healed up.
Also ‘jewelweed’ or spotted touch-me-not is helpful. I’ve used it, and it works. Jewelweed is in the impatiens family, has pulpy stems. Crush them up and apply to affected area. Works. I put some jewelweed in blender with a little baby oil and spread it on my arms after contact, helped stop the itch. Kept the extra lotion in the fridge.
Mike, do be careful! That thing is a monster! I’ve seen lots of poison ivy vines on trees here in So. Jersey, but nothing like that.
Try Zanfel for itching relief. There is a generic now. You rub until the itching goes away!
There is a product called Zanfel that works great. You can get it at the local pharmacy. Works like the same products they use on oil slicks. It removes the oil from poisen ivy off of your skin and takes care of it within a couple days if used correctly. It is a little pricy but worth every penny and if you have had poisen ivy you don’t care how much something costs if it gets rid of it quickly. I have tried everything and this is one of the few products that really works. They have knock offs on the market for less now as well. Works just as good.
Getting goats- -putting up a smiple fence they will eat to the ground.Or put halter on one two/of them plus fresh water for them to drink,
Please do not tether goats. They are sitting ducks for whatever canine ( domestic or wild) comes around. I’ve had to repair damage to a goats leg that was attacked by three of the neighbors dogs. ( not my goat). Either keep them in a strong fence or don’t have them, please……
Mike, I teach a construction safety course and I would like to use your Poison Ivy Video and Pictures in my presentations, with your permision of course.
I do have 27 acres so I am also concerned on a personal level.
Henrick, that’s perfectly fine with me. Thanks for asking.
I have found something to help prevent the breaking out of poison ivy or poison oak, it is called “Rhus Stop”. I get it from my pharmacy but I have seen it advertised in rural newspapers. There are 3 vials that you take 1 a week and it cost me about $20. It works really good. I don’t get any on me now. Hope you can find some and use it you won’t be sorry.
I’ve been taking Rhus Stop for several years, and have not had an outbreak since. We have 20 acres, mostly wooded, and several very healthy stands of poison oak. After my last outbreak when I had to again resort to prescription steroids, I heard that our local utility company pays for the Rhus Stop for their linemen annually, because the treatments have been so effective. I was sold! You can find it available online by searching for “Rhus Tox Poison Ivy Prevention.”
How can I get rid of poison ivy that is growing in and around other ornamental plants, perennial and annual plants? I have a wonderful Nandia, aka Heavenly Bamboo bush from Virginia that has survived 30+ years of S.E. Ohio’s winter weather and I do not want to lose it or my perennials
Rebecca, you can pull it. Smother it with newspaper and mulch. Or paint on a non selective herbicide with a foam paint brush.
Hello Mike,
I am dealing with the same situation as Rebecca. We have an organic vineyard and the ivy is making inroads in some areas.
I don’t want to use chemical sprays around the vines but I must admit it is tempting when dealing with poison ivy. I have tried strong vinegar and other organic sprays, unsatisfactory.
I have had success with newspaper mulch as you mentioned.
This year I’m going to cover all the areas where I have spotted
it with black plastic after everything freezes. Hate to loose the other good ground covers in those areas but it will fill back in quickly I’m sure. It will be worth it if I can get rid of the ivy.
Thanks for everything MIke.
Dave in the Adirondacks