Poison Ivy control

[CountryB]

Does anyone know of a spray-on Poison Ivy control/killer product that won't also kill the brush and trees around it if those plants are sprayed too?

 

[prichard]

Pretty potent brush killer is needed to kill poison ivy. Only means I know of besides making sure you dint over spray is to cut the vine and paint the stump.

 

[NorTracNY]

How big of an area? Are you talking about vines up in trees or mostly ground cover? When I use to spray, I walked with a tank and targetted just the PI, so I never noticed the bushes or trees around it taking damage. If you're talking about a broad area you want to blindly spray, then I'm fairly certain you're out of luck.

 

[smstonypoint]

I don't know of such a herbicide, but you could use a wick applicator to apply the herbicide of your choice to the poison ivy and avoid contacting other plants.

Steve

 

[95XL883]

Like NorTrac, I walk with a tank sprayer and spot spray. I generally use glyphosate but have had good luck with 24d products as well. Make sure you use a good surfactant so it soaks on. For big vines, I cut the stalk and spray it right then if I have a sprayer with me. If not, I come back in a couple of weeks and spray the re-growth. The oaks, walnuts, hackberries, pecan trees that the vines attached to seem to be totally unaffected by the spray. I use the same routine for wild grape and virginia creeper. Good luck.

 

[Steave]

I don't know of such a herbicide, but you could use a wick applicator to apply the herbicide of your choice to the poison ivy and avoid contacting other plants.

View attachment 476477

Steve

That's a handy looking gadget thanks for posting it. I've seen the ones that are used in pastures and such but not a hand held. I've a few places this could be used. Thanks for creating more work for me.

I'm kinda with the others about don't know of anything specifically for poison oak.

 

[CountryB]

How big of an area? Are you talking about vines up in trees or mostly ground cover? When I use to spray, I walked with a tank and targetted just the PI, so I never noticed the bushes or trees around it taking damage. If you're talking about a broad area you want to blindly spray, then I'm fairly certain you're out of luck.

I have an area just outside my garage (between garage and shed) that is about 25ft x 25 ft with a couple of pine trees and a bunch of palmetto bushes. The poison ivy is up into the pine trees. I ripped most of it out the trees with my tractor's grapple last year, but didn't kill the roots, and now this year its back in the trees again.

Someone on the Orange Tractor forum suggested I try a product called "Crossbow". I'll research on this later. I just don't want to kill the palmettos - they are native to that spot and would be hard to replace.

 

[prichard]

You can kill Palmettos?

That's news to me. When the forest fires ripped through FL 15 or 20 years ago they were the only thing left.

 

[oosik]

I have poison oak here. Use RoundUp + surfactant. But, it will kill everything it comes in contact with. Fortunately, our PO is a low ground hugging shrub - not a vine. Like Prichard, I'd suggest - cut the vine and paint the stump. I've even seen where the cut stump is wrapped with a small rag soaked in the solution and kept in place with a zip tie.

 

[CountryB]

You can kill Palmettos?

That's news to me. When the forest fires ripped through FL 15 or 20 years ago they were the only thing left.

Yeah, their tough. On the ones I didn't want, I couldn't dig them out with my little Kubota BX tractor and I couldn't yank them out with chain to my 4X4, but for the ones that I want to keep, I expect that I need to be extra careful.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have poison oak here. Use RoundUp + surfactant. But, it will kill everything it comes in contact with. Fortunately, our PO is a low ground hugging shrub - not a vine. Like Prichard, I'd suggest - cut the vine and paint the stump. I've even seen where the cut stump is wrapped with a small rag soaked in the solution and kept in place with a zip tie.

I've yet to find Poison Oak/Ivy in Western Washington and it is one of the reason I like working in the woods... in California I have an ongoing battle... bush, vines the size of coke cans and etc... terrible stuff and I can get it on all exposed skin never leaving the seat of the Dozer...

Is this an Eastern vs Western WA thing as far as territory for Poison Oak?

 

[Steave]

I've yet to find Poison Oak/Ivy in Western Washington and it is one of the reason I like working in the woods... in California I have an ongoing battle... bush, vines the size of coke cans and etc... terrible stuff and I can get it on all exposed skin never leaving the seat of the Dozer...

Is this an Eastern vs Western WA thing as far as territory for Poison Oak?

Are there any places up there for sale. We have the vine type that grows up trees and the ground type also. I'm not sure but the plants on the ground may grow up a tree if its near one? Around here it grows in patches mostly and what we have is not real hardy. Little bit of round-up and its gone for a while then back later just like grass.

I had a patch about 40x40 around a large tree that I dug during the winter with a chisel plow about 2-3" then used a landscape rake and removed all the roots and it's been gone for I think 3 years now. Must have got it.

 

[CreekyB]

It grows from cuttings, root pieces, untreated healthy roots and seeds. Usually if you can kill all the live stuff including roots then kill the seeds that sprout over the next three years you will be good until grackles or some other rat bird bring the seeds in and poop them out again.

Around here anything that I mix strong enough to kill the poison ivy kills anything else it touches. I have been cutting the stalks and painting undiluted glycophosphate onto the stem.

Goats are great for it, a few species love it and are immune. If you can stand goats.

 

[oosik]

Ultrarunner,
Surely you couldn't be so lucky to have neither?? As a kid in high school I was deathly allergic to PO. Worked for the forrest service one summer - fighting forrest/wild fires. Got caught in the smoke as a fire burned thru a patch of PO. Spent four days in the hospital until they could get it under control. Then they came out with shots - took shots every spring and had no more problems.

I have no idea what my reaction would be now - and I sure as h*ll never want to find out again.

 

[ultrarunner]

The selling point for me in Thurston County was not seeing any poison oak or ivy on the property.

In the hills and ravines around the SF Bay Area it can be very thick and lush... I am super susceptible and the dust is enough... lots of pain and suffering to put the roads on my parents property with the dozer...

My brother has a lot of it too where he is... found it growing right up to the backside of the barn.

I've used Brush b'gone from ortho with good luck and Roundup Quick Pro with repeated applications... sometimes it takes a few years for the old stuff to finally die out... very heartly that Oak.

 

[polkwrangler]

i have cut the poison ivey near the base and sprayed round up with good results that way....i also have a large area with them mixed in with the palmettos

 

[tcreeley]

Salt water mix kills poison ivy. What is the best way to get rid of poison ivy? | MNN - Mother Nature Network

 

[Redfred1]

My recipe. One cup of ice cream salt dissolved in a gallon of water; 1/2 gallon of vinegar; 1/2 gallon of ammonia. Put in a pump up sprayer. Don't pull anything! Spray early before the heat. The roots breathe through the leaves.To relieve the itch; use baking soda at or meat tenderizer. I one of the lucky few that am not allergic to the stuff.

 

[CountryB]

Is this an Eastern vs Western WA thing as far as territory for Poison Oak?

There is a US Eastern and Western version of Poison Ivy Identify the Plant | The Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac Site

 

[GLyford]

I just use the basic brush and ivy killer from concentrate and spray any time I see it, with one of those cheap 1-qt pump up hand sprayers. Most of the time if I am reasonably accurate there is no collateral damage. I sometimes have to respray, but usually one application is enough. In general, I am out about once a month.

This is rearguard action to protect from reinvasion, and almost always new growth from seed. We're next door to a swamp that's full of it, so there's no hope of it being completely gone, but at least I can keep it from making inroads. I make sure to hit it when it is still small, I try to never let it get out of hand. We had a few spots that were overrun, under trees and such, and it took some constant attention to get them under control. My wife reacts pretty strongly, and we figured out if the dogs got off the sidewalk by the swamp chasing rabbit trails they were getting it on their fur and bringing it back with them.

Basically, once you decide to do something about it, you can't let it go. You need to fuss with it all the time.

On the flip side, I have heard of people letting it go deliberately to keep strangers off their rural property.