What's the best way to kill poison ivy?
Question:My mother uses gloves when gardening, but keeps getting poison ivy. She'd like to kill it, but she's afraid that just breathing near it will give her another rash. What to do?
Answers:
Poison ivy is relatively easy to kill with chemicals. It is a pretty weak plant, which is why it is found most often in yards, along fencerows and meadow edges, and near mowed spaces, rather than in the deep woods, where competing plants crowd it out.
I try to be an environmentally responsible gardener, but I will use chemicals on poison ivy. There are numerous products available in spray form, some even called "poison ivy killer."
You probably will not get a rash unless you actually come in contact with a bruised or broken part of the plant. Just haul off and spray it well. Spray it like you hate it, because you do.
The problem is that it is usually a constant-control issue requiring eternal vigilance. If there is poison ivy in your yard, it is probably in your neighborhood and will come back as birds eat the seeds and drop them in their guano all over the place. Keep a good lookout and kill it while the plant is small. The best defense is to learn to recognize poison ivy at a glance. Also remember that poison ivy and grapevine are often found together - look for grapevine and you may see poison ivy with it.
Never burn it - the rash-causing oil will then travel with the smoke. Never pick up even dead plant parts with your hands. The oil (urushiol) is NOT soluble in water, so you cannot get it off with just water. It is, however, soluble in alcohol (such as rubbing alcohol, so if you think you have contacted the plant, you can clean the affected area with alcohol.
Good luck.
Ask Batman.
Spray it with Round Up weed killer early in the morning when the dew is still on the grass. As the sun heats up the day you will watch the poison ivy wither and die!! It is the greatest thing!!
Brush-b-gone. it's a topical spray you can use and it's quite effective on PI. Sometimes it takes more that one application.
After it dies back, you need to remove the vines and roots. Do this in full cover clothing and was immediately after completion. Throw away or immediately wash the clothing. You can get PI from the oils in the dead plants, too.
I suggest dousing it in a little bit of gas and burning it. Poison ivy is a bit flame resistant though so your mother will have to stand in the smoke and make sure she smells the acrid smell of burning ivy to ensure that the poison caught.
I used Round-up and it worked great and becareful cleaning
up the mess after its dead - just like everybody else told
you.
For some reason, I do not get poison ivy, I can pull it out with out getting a rash, but I do use bleach water, be careful of other plants and their roots.
Gasoline will kill it just by pouring it on the poison ivy. DO NOT EVER burn poison ivy, the entire neighborhood will get it in their throats from breathing in smoke.
Honestly? I think poison ivy will be around after the world ends. It's all over my property. You can spray a "kill everything" type killer and if a half-inch of root survives, it's baaack! How am I killing it? I keep spraying with a "Roundup" type killer, every year. Eventually I'll get it all.
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