Bush Hogging Poison Ivy

[davitk]

I was just going through my photo album and came upon pics from last April's brush with the poison ivy. Seems every year or two I somehow get into the stuff and I swell up like a watermelon, not a pleasant experience. On the bright side there is a full dose of Methylprednisolone steroids sitting in my medicine cabinet, ready for the next "incident".

So my situation is this: new tractor, need a rear mower, preferably a flail mower. I know there is poison ivy scattered throughout my property, and every year it is in a different place thanks to the birds eating the berries and pooping at will. If (and when) the mower hits a patch of the ivy, what can I expect to happen? I of course imagine the worst, a cloud of oil in the air, the entire mower contaminated and poor old me popping steroids all summer long.

I am sure I can't be alone in this conundrum - any other poison ivy sufferers out there with some advice??






Misery loves company

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I was just going through my photo album and came upon pics from last April's brush with the poison ivy. Seems every year or two I somehow get into the stuff and I swell up like a watermelon, not a pleasant experience. On the bright side there is a full dose of Methylprednisolone steroids sitting in my medicine cabinet, ready for the next "incident".

So my situation is this: new tractor, need a rear mower, preferably a flail mower. I know there is poison ivy scattered throughout my property, and every year it is in a different place thanks to the birds eating the berries and pooping at will. If (and when) the mower hits a patch of the ivy, what can I expect to happen? I of course imagine the worst, a cloud of oil in the air, the entire mower contaminated and poor old me popping steroids all summer long.

I am sure I can't be alone in this conundrum - any other poison ivy sufferers out there with some advise??



Misery loves company

I just started itching while I was reading your post.

Got a nice dose of poison oak a couple weeks back off of a piece of firewood I carried in the house. Ivy makes me itch. Oak dang near puts me in the hospital.

 

[Skyco]

I'm very sensitive to poison ivy/oak as well...I patrol my property frequently with a backpack sprayer and kill anything that even remotely looks like it, if it has 3 leaves it dies
Problem is the dried dead stuff can still get you but it seems to not be as easy to get into it...

 

[goatman 1]

I used to have the same problem, but now I mow with a bobcat toolcat which has a closed cab for protection from such things as poison ivy, poison oak, stinging things of all types, snakes, well, most anything including dirt. Today I mowed after church in my going to meeting clothes, and neither got dirty or hot, nor wet from the thunderstorm. Also, pasturing a bunch of goats helps too.
You might have better results with a rear discharge three point finish mower, if you dont need bush hog heavy dutiness.
Goatman

 

[ampsucker]

check out a product called Zanfel available at wal-greens, wally world, etc. it actually does seem to stop the reaction in its tracks without steriods.

otherwise, patril the property and spray it well. wash containminated equipment and clothing, gloves, well (the oil is technical viable for up to 5 years, although i've never knowingly encountered it sticking around our place more than a season.)

i would also suggest wearing long pants and shirt sleeves and a dust mask if any chance of aerosolizing the vines. be aware that all parts of the plant contain the active ingredient, so not just the leaves can get you. worst case i ever had was when i was cutting vines and the sap dripped down my leg. i had long streaks of the stuff all over my legs whereever the vine juice hit me. that was before the zanfel product came out.

also, forget about antihistimines. the reaction is not histimine moderated so your benedryl and similar products will do not good.

some folks swear by home remedies like bleach or what have you. i've had mixed results and can only say that for those of us allergic, avoidance is the best course of action with a good zanfel wash being the best non-steroid option once exposed. of course if you get systemic poisoning from breathing in smoke from a burning plant or aerosol coverage of a large portion of your body, get to the doctor quick and get the roids. folks have died from severe reactions.

amp

 

[CadizHunter]

whatever you do, don't burn it. trust me....I've learned from experience

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm very sensitive to poison ivy/oak as well...I patrol my property frequently with a backpack sprayer and kill anything that even remotely looks like it, if it has 3 leaves it dies
Problem is the dried dead stuff can still get you but it seems to not be as easy to get into it...

Amen to that... I take as my personal search and destroy mission!

It's taken years, but, I've finally got it pretty much in check... some of the Oak has become 4" diameter vines that wrap around tree trunks 30' or more into the sky

 

[Skyco]

Oh yeah I have to be really careful about the PI vines growing up trees, a chainsaw makes a really great invisible mist of the urushiol One of the worst cases I ever got was helping my dad clean up some hurricane damage many years ago, merrily chainsawing away through the stuff on tree trunks not realizing what it was.
Thankfully the oral steroids knock it out pretty quick but they are pretty brutal in other ways- I can't sleep but 3-4 hours a night, weight gain from being hungry all the time and emotional swings. Not good side effects.
The really bad news is a study shows PI grows much, much faster and becomes more potent as CO2 increases in the atmosphere-
Poison Ivy Itchier, More Plentiful With Warming, Study Says Great, just what I didn't want to hear

 

[Charles Park]

My advice is to spray and kill the poison ivy before you do anything. Maintain a spray and kill program until it is gone. Then you can mow or do what you want.

I decided that this was going to be my project several years ago. In the areas I work it is gone and I refuse to let it come back.

 

[bandit67]

I found a great solution to my poison ivy problems. I moved to a part of the country where poison ivy doesn't grow.

 

[putt_putt_green]

Luckily I am only slightly effected by poison ivy. Taking a normal shower afterwards works well for me. I read somewhere (who know where or if it was true) that a person has about 6 hours to get it off their body.

My worst incidence involved a chainsaw and T-shirt that was too short.

 

[firemanpat2910]

there is a soap/medicine on the market called TECNU I think thats the spelling they use, I works as long as you shower within a few hours. I have had good luck with it.

 

[grassroots2323]

I'm may be one of the lucky few who so far is not effected by poison ivy or oak. I do wash with dish washing liquid after I've been out working. Theory has it that the dish liquid cuts the poison ivy oil just as it does when washing greasey dishes. Sounds good to me anyway.

 

[Champy]

I have not verified this approach......but was told if you slather yourself with sunscreen it helps to block the PI oils from absorbing into your skin until you can get to the showers to clean up more vigorously.

 

[Beavis]

Whatever you do: DON'T take a hot shower and use a scrub brush on your skin because it feels good.....Oh my God was that a mistake. Just currently healing from my current battle with poison ivy.

 

[irwin]

... I take as my personal search and destroy mission!

It's taken years, but, I've finally got it pretty much in check... some of the Oak has become 4" diameter vines that wrap around tree trunks 30' or more into the sky

Same here "search and destroy"!!! do not give up...Spray and spray, and spray some more..

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/irwin55/P1010049.jpg

I had many area's like this... started spraying within days of moving here. I also cut those thick rope vines at the base of the trees they climbed up, and sprayed the cut wound...Brush-b-gone works for me.

ps: wash the saw blade in a grease cutting soap when done.

 

[davitk]

Lots of good advice here, thanks guys. For those of you who haven't gotten the itch, stay careful. I've been in the woods my whole life and never had the itch until 5 years ago (my brother is in it more than me and has never had a reaction); now every time I go near it I swell up.

So what about cleaning a bush hog that's been chopping it up? A chainsaw you can wipe down and soak the chain, but I envision an ivy vine tangled around the mower spindle and the entire underside of the deck bathed in ivy oil. Maybe my wife is right and I'm just too pessimistic....

 

[john_bud]

Same here "search and destroy"!!! do not give up...Spray and spray, and spray some more..

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/irwin55/P1010049.jpg

I had many area's like this... started spraying within days of moving here. I also cut those thick rope vines at the base of the trees they climbed up, and sprayed the cut wound...Brush-b-gone works for me.

ps: wash the saw blade in a grease cutting soap when done.

Hey, did you sneak into my back yard and pop a couple pics? I had lots and lots of that stuff. Not too bad on me, but the wife get's a bad case of the ichy puffy and quick too. I spray it with round up, then when the grass all around it dies and the PI is growing faster than ever, hit it again with 2,4D mixed with PI and brush killer and hope for the best. Stuff is HARD TO KILL!


Oh, after brush hogging it, I don't touch the mower!


jb

 

[Charlesaf3]

take allegra before mowing. Knocks down the histamine reaction. Learned that by accident, but what a great accident.

Mow it before spring!!

Wear complete covering, including dust mask. Shower with dish soap after. You have a few hours to wash off the oil before it bonds to your skin.

Soap yourself from the top down. Think about it.... the oil usually ends up on my legs...

 

[Rara Avis]

Controlling Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac - (www.poisonivy.us)