Help, poison ivy. What can I use to get rid of it?

17 years ago

Hi,

We are battling some poison ivy coming into our yard under our fence and one section that evidently seeded it self near our chimney and has wound its way up into Boston Ivy! We hand removed a lot last year. This year there is very little in our yard, except in the Boston Ivy, but one of our neighbor's has been ill and they aren't able to take care of their yard much. They must have an infestation of it along our lot line. It keeps coming through our fence between pickets, under the fence in a number of locations and looks pretty large and vigorous.

We could just keep cutting it off, but it is just going to keep coming back and I'm afraid we are going to miss some and someone is going to get the rash. Some people have recommended Extra strength round up on the leaves, which would travel to the plant on the other side of the fence and kill the whole plant. I have been organic for 25 yrs and hate to do that. Are there any other ideas of what I can do?

Thanks

:-)

Comments (3)

it_better_be_organic
17 years ago
Id pull it all up by hand and then put "barriers" in the soil that go deep to prevent the vine from spreading...
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi better be...

I'm not sure I was clear about the extent of the problem. Our property borders another property with a 140ft lot line that has a stockade fence along it. This neighbor for reasons of illness, is not able to tend to their yard. I think they have a son who mows the lawn once in awhile. I cannot see into their yard much, but what is coming through the fence, is in the middle of the fence, between the pickets.

Are you suggesting I dig a trench all along the 140ft of fenceline and install some sort of barrier into the ground under the fence? I have no idea what would be an adequate barrier, chicken wire wouldn't help, but regardless, 140ft of it seems unreasonable to think about doing.

I suppose I could call it to their attention, but I am afraid if I do that, they will call in some sort of service that will spray strong pesticides all along the whole fence line of my yard. Horrible thought! Sooner or later though, there is a chance 'someone' on that side of the fence is going to have to attend to it, and most likely they are not going to want to dig it all out by hand, due to the illness in the family or expose themselves to the risk of infection. I was hoping to have an organic solution I could use and recommend for them.
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I am having the same problem with poison ivy...and I can't get rid of the source as grand-daddy PI is in my neighbor's yard. This year, at someone's suggestion, I poured gallons of white vinegar on it. So far it is dying...if it stays dead, then I will carefully remove the plants. I have heard the you can't plant anything in the area for at least year after the vinegar dousing...but I am new at this myself. I'll keep you posted.
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weedsmakemecrazy, Glad to give you hope about the poison ivy. It is the nastiest thing going. Just be sure you are using the roundup poison ivy and brush not just the regular roundup. Regular doesn't work well. As for fencing in the area to keep the dog away, try having to fence in one whole side of a yard to keep a 5 year old away from it because she was so severely allergic to it she almost died twice after getting it. One problem I've found after I finally got every bit of poison ivy gone from my yard was this. It started showing up in new places a few years later. I turned green and had to start getting rid of it again. That fall I went for a walk down the street with my young daughter and found poison ivy on the side of the road and red berries on it. Then it hit me, new poison ivy was growing in my yard courtesy of the birds. So I started using the roundup stuff on the side of the road. Neighbors started helping me get rid of it and we keep after it all the time. Now all 10 houses on my street have had no poison ivy growing for 10 years. My little girl is 24 now, still badly allergic to poison ivy, but knows to be careful where ever she goes. She was an athlete all through school, varsity sports in high school and college and never got poison ivy playing. She'd walk the fields and side lines before a game and learned where to stay away if needed. Just keep after it and remember it takes a year but then it will be gone. Walk around the neighborhood and check the side of the road too. the birds will be very happy to seed more for you all the time. Fran
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We had/have a similar problem with St. John's Wort. It's dig, pull, repeat. The ground is likely good right now for doing this -- it looks like a total weekend project. We did this to our bed, but now I have planted grass in it so that I can mow any straglers. By the way, I have used the newspaper covered with a thick layer of mulch, etc. to smother nasty weeds in my veggie garden and it seems to have worked. This is just the second year so I'll see if my nasties return.
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nywoodsman's worldview is such because he has never experienced poison ivy like the rest of us! My wife and I are very allergic to p.I. But she is more allergic than I. We went to Disney World one year and they wouldn't let us in to a tour group because they thought she had a highly contagious skin disease (like eczema) on her face!! We had an abundance of it growing in a shrub we wanted to keep. I trimmed the shrub but avoided p.I. like the plague!! But it got so bad growing out of control each year that this year I had to do something. I obtained SYRVET's OB Veterinary Gloves which go all the way up to the shoulders (you can get them on Amazon). I had my wife tape them to my shoulders--however, you have to tape them across the back of the shirt, from top of glove to top of glove because the sweat will cause the tape to come loose and the glove will descend down to near the wrists. Not good!! After I finished working, I had my wife carefully pull the long gloves inside-out and we placed them in a plastic bag for disposal. She had to wash right away but did not get any rash. Once the gloves were off and disposed of, I immediately used Technu on my hands and wrists by rubbing them for several minutes. Then I used a liquid soap on that and washed my hands and wrists off. I followed that with a shower. Don't think that wearing an old pair of pants will protect you completely! Some of the urushiol oil penetrated the cloth and I got a rash on my thigh. I treated it with Technu soap regularly for several days. That did not get rid of the rash but it did lessen the severity of the itch. Some may be interested In knowing that Technu also makes something called "Tecnu Corticool" which is a hydrocortisone that gives you relief from the itch. But you will have to apply it again after awhile. This cream comes in a 1.5 oz tube and can also be gotten on Amazon. Hope this helps
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dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
Assuming you are allergic to poison ivy, then you have a problem. Goats LOVE to eat poison ivy. Is there any chance you can graze a goat along that line or in the neighbor's yard?

You can try spraying vinegar on the leaves of the poison ivy. If it doesn't work look for 20% vinegar. It will kill the tops of the plants. Keep after it and eventually the roots will die out.

A sprinkler installer with a Ditch Witch can dig a 140 foot trench in a half a morning (easy). Then fill the ditch with concrete and build a low concrete, brick or stone wall on top of the filled trench.

Help, poison ivy. What can I use to get rid of it?

Comments (3)

it_better_be_organic

prairiemoon2 z6b MA
Original Author

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Help, poison ivy. What can I use to get rid of it?

Comments (3)

it_better_be_organic

prairiemoon2 z6b MAOriginal Author

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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
Original Author