How to get rid of Poison Ivy??

[AC2717]

Hi All,
All of a sudden we have had a lot of poison Ivy starting to creep up the edges of the banks really close to the cottage, just out of the blue it sprang up this season, I know there are some products out there that claim to work, but I wanted a tried and true method. What is the best way to get rid of the Poison Ivy? what product works the best? We all love to walk around barefoot and my luck is that all I have to do is look at it and get it, and really do not want my 3 year old to experience it right now.

[Slickcraft]

My wife uses a product by Bonide labeled "Poison Oak & Ivy Killer". Spray on leaves, dead plants in short order.
http://www.bonideproducts.com/products/product.php?category_id=506&sku=85506

[AC2717]

In addition to what people use or do, can you tell me if it kills other plants grass or bushes or trees?
This poison ivy is starting to crawl through it all and I did not want to spry it with something and then kill everything around it as well, I guess I am looking for something that can tough other things and only kill Poison Ivy
Thank you

[chipj29]

I have used Ortho Weed-B-Gone Poison Ivy Killer (found at Home Depot) with very good results. It isn't cheap, but it is very very effective. I bought a gallon of it a few years ago and just used the last of it this spring. I must have missed a spot, because I have a fresh patch on my forearm. :(

[SIKSUKR]

Even if you kill the leaves the oil in the plant remains active for a while.

[Island Life]

If you have the time, you can pull these plants out by hand. I've done it but you need to be very careful to cover up completely. Wear long gloves (such as dishwashing gloves) and a spring weight coat. Tape the wrists of the coat so you don't accidentally expose any skin. Be sure to pull the roots up carefully, they'll be long and lead off in many different directions. Then be sure to wash all of the clothes you were wearing through a hot cycle in the washer.

[Misakame]

If you happen to get any oils on your skin from the poison ivy, try this to get it off quickly. Pour some straight bleach on the skin area - hands or arms - and then you will see the oil turn dark brown - then scrub the brown stain off with fels naptha soap - gardening soap - until the oils are gone. I've done this a number of time when I got into some poison ivy unexpectedly. Knock on wood, I haven't developed a rash when using this treatment. :)

[Just Sold]

Unfortunately if the Poison Ivy (a natural ground cover) is within the first 50' from the high water mark (Reference Line) the Shoreland Protection Act requires:

50 feet from Reference Line—WATERFRONT BUFFER and PRIMARY BUILDING SETBACK:
�� Effective April 1, 2008, all primary structures must be set back at least 50 feet from the reference line. Towns may maintain or enact their own setback only if it is greater than 50 feet.
�� Within 50 feet, a waterfront buffer must be maintained. Within the waterfront buffer, tree coverage is managed with a
50-foot x 50-foot grid and points system. Tree coverage must total 50 points in each grid. Trees and saplings may be cut as long as
the sum of the scores for the remaining trees and saplings in the grid segment is at least 50 points.
�� No natural ground cover shall be removed except for a footpath to the water that does not exceed 6 feet in width and does not concentrate stormwater or contribute to erosion.
�� Natural ground cover, including the duff layer, shall remain intact. No cutting or removal of vegetation below 3 feet in height (excluding lawns) except for the allowable footpath. Stumps, roots, and rocks must remain intact in and on the ground.
�� Pesticide or herbicide applications must be by a licensed applicator only.
�� Low phosphorus, slow release nitrogen fertilizer may be used for the area that is beyond 25 feet from the reference line. No fertilizer, except limestone, shall be used between the reference line and 25 feet.

[Acres per Second]

"...If you have the time, you can pull these plants out by hand. I've done it but you need to be very careful to cover up completely..."
Our acre lot got a "poison ivy invasion" after a major cutting of trees that opened the forest floor to sunlight. I got a bad case of poison ivy, and my Mom "retaliated" by doing what you suggest here.

The forest canopy has since grown back to shade us again, but no poison ivy has been seen on this acre for 50 years!

But "just to make sure", I sprayed some suspicious "leaflets-three" a few years ago.

:o.... They turned out to be dozens of flowering—"Jack-in-the-Pulpits".... :blush:

[Coolbreeze]

Use round-up. It works great for me. Just get the leaves glossy wet and wait 10 days for the results, a second app may be needed and avoid spraying before rain or during droughts.

[chipj29]

If you have the time, you can pull these plants out by hand. I've done it but you need to be very careful to cover up completely. Wear long gloves (such as dishwashing gloves) and a spring weight coat. Tape the wrists of the coat so you don't accidentally expose any skin. Be sure to pull the roots up carefully, they'll be long and lead off in many different directions. Then be sure to wash all of the clothes you were wearing through a hot cycle in the washer.
I have had to throw away a jacket before that the oil wouldn't wash off of. I couldn't figure out why the patch I had on my wrist kept getting worse and worse. Stopped wearing the jacket and solved that mystery. I washed it 2x then wore it, and got PI again in the same spot. Jacket went straight to the garbage. No thanks!
Use round-up. It works great for me. Just get the leaves glossy wet and wait 10 days for the results, a second app may be needed and avoid spraying before rain or during droughts.
Round Up is great, but only if you want to kill the PI and everything else around it. The Ortho Poison Ivy killer that I mentioned earlier is better IMO, in that it only kills the ivys.

[Kamper]

You can kill almost anything by putting a sheet of heavy black plastic over it for a while. This deprives it of light and water, and the heat cooks it. The downside is you will end up with a completely dead area.

Since this does not disrupt the ground cover you could allow the area to recover naturally but I would suggest using good judgement over how large an area you do this to. I have only done this on flat areas.

I found this out by accident one year when I laid out sections of roofing paper for a shed I was building. This technique saved me from renting heavy equipment to pull some hedges when my grandfather decided to switch to a fence. I trimmed the hedge to the ground level and laid the cover about a foot to either side of the stumps. That cover, I left down for a couple months to be certain. There was over 200 feet of hedge and none of it grew back.

[SAMIAM]

My daughter had a big patch creeping toward her house and we used the "Island Life" method.Coveralls,boots and gloves.We carefully pulled up each strand and followed them back to the larger roots that we dug up with pitchforks.Worked perfectly and now,two years later she has grass and no sign of poison ivy.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

I have had good success back home with Ortho Brush Killer. Be careful, it kills everything you spray with it. Ivy does not come back.