Poison Ivy - It's that time of year - Info and Suggestions

Poison Ivy (PI) looks like it's coming out in force this year. I'm seeing PI growing out of rock walls, under shrubs, along stream beds, near the schools, etc.  This thread is to put suggestions from old threads into one place in case it helps others deal with this itchy pesky plant.

1. How to identify

"Leaves of three, let them be (then it might be poison ivy)".

If it has 3 leaves, whether very green, or with reddish tints, it could be poison ivy.  

However, it's NOT poison ivy if:

  • It has thorns (then it's probably blackberry or raspberry). However, PI can have a fuzzy stem.
  • The leaflets are growing opposite each other (in pairs) off the main stem (then it's probably Box Elder/Ash Maple). PI's leaflets will grow in alternating spaces off the main stem.
    • (see this site for photos: http://www.purplebutterflies.com/identify.html)

2. My experience controlling PI in my yard, and neighbor's yards: 

About 3 years ago, I had a couple of small patches of Poison Ivy in my yard. I got PI spray at "The Mill" off Valley St to treat it.  (I don't remember what brand/chemical spray it was. I don't usually use any chemicals in my yard/lawn, except when I treated this PI). 

When I sprayed the Poison Ivy (PI) plant twice in the same week, the PI died completely and then disintegrated, without pulling the roots. Spraying only once wasn't enough. (Try to spray twice during a week when it's not predicted to rain at all).  It hasn't come back since.

Note: If you go the spray route, do not touch the leaves (or stem!) even if they are dead as they still contain the oil that causes the rash. 

Also, be aware that the PI oil stays on clothing, garden tools, or anything that rubs against the PI (including pets, your lawn mower, sneakers, etc). My spouse got poison ivy from touching his garden shoes in the winter ... which was many months after the PI was gone from our yard!

After I treated my own poison ivy, I had some of the PI spray left, so I went around my block with the bottle, and asked neighbors who had poison ivy in their front yards/shrubs/flowerbeds if they minded if I sprayed it. They were all happy to let me do so... and two people even invited me to check their backyard for PI.

3. Other PI removal suggestions:

Some prefer to pull the PI by the roots while wearing disposable gloves over garden gloves, and doing the pulling with doubled grocery bags. Then discard in the doubled bags (which are turned inside out over the PI so you don't touch it) into the trash (don't put in compost since the oil takes a long time to break down, and definitely do not burn or the oil can get in the lungs). 

I didn't do this method since my spouse is so allergic that I don't want to chance the oils getting on my gloves/clothes, and then having my clothes/gloves leave oil on something in or around the house that he will later touch (doorknobs, the washing machine, etc.)

Some have also suggested cutting off most of the PI (and discarding in trash), and then spray the  remaining exposed PI stem in order to kill the PI's roots.


 4. How to help control PI around Maplewood (on both private and public property)

If you see PI around Maplewood, you can report it in the automated Maplewood tracker system: 
http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/RequestTracker.aspx
For private property, report it under:
Health Department -->>"Environmental issue"


For township property, report it under:
Public Works -->> "Public property maintenance, repair or cleaning" 

To enter it into the Maplewood tracker system, you need to have/create an account on the Maplewood township site first. (I'm not sure if you need to be a resident of Maplewood to register for an account).

You will need to include an address for the PI, and write in a description to help the Health Dept/Public Works find the area with PI (you can also attach a photo). I have found the town to be responsive in past years. (I got email updates to let me know the progress on my reports).


5. South Orange: If anyone has insight into how the South Orange website reporting works for this, please post it.


6. PI Removal services:

If needed, services advertise that they can remove it (I have no experience with these - but just providing a googled starting point).  I googled "poison ivy removal services in new jersey" and several came up, including:

http://www.poisonivygone.com/

http://www.idontwantpoisonivy.com/ (near the Philly area -- not sure if they come up here).

(And one organic removal company -- I assume removal occurs by digging up the roots):

http://www.poisonivyremoval.com/removal-services.html


Thanks! I have a bad PI problem this year, and this is REALLY helpful.


Good luck in dealing with it!

One more plant that can be confused with PI is wild strawberries (since it also has 3 leaves) -- but strawberry leaves are very jagged and more oval in shape.  Poison Ivy tends to come to a point at the end.

You can see a photo of wild strawberry at the bottom of this page:

http://www.cvacmi.org/cvac/node/80


I don't know where it is on my property but I got a wicked attack this year. As a transplanted city kid, I'm always unsure of what it looks like but I found this picture online. It took over a month to go away and I think I got another brush with it weeks later but not as bad.


I have never seen it as bad as it is this year. We've got it all along the driveway growing with the English ivy. I am going to wet down the ivy first, then put on a full length Tyvek suit, which covers you from head to toe, put ivy block on the exposed parts of my face, and under latex gloves, wear large industrial rubber gloves. Each and every time I pull one out of the ground I will use a separate plastic bag, then seal and place into a large trash bag. When I am done, I will soak those gloves in a bucket of bleach before I use them to unzip and remove the suit, then shower with a poison ivy soap. Wish me luck!


Good luck!

My spouse has been using the Dawn Ultra Foaming dish soap (comes in a pump) for his hands and in his showers after working in the yard or being in the great outdoors. 

http://dawn-dish.com/en-us/products/by-form/foam

It seems to have really strong grease cutting ingredients, and washes all oils off the body. It feels a bit too strong of a soap for my more sensitive skin, but seems to work well for him... and he finds it easier to use and less gritty than Tecnu.


I get it for gardeners using weed wackers and the oils get into the air.  as soon as I start to itch I grab a prescription spray-Topicort.  Crazy expensive, but gets rid of the rash in hours, not weeks


This is from You bet Your Garden. He has some good tips for the clean up afterwards too.

http://www.gardensalive.com/product/polish-off-your-poison-ivy-without-personal-peril/you_bet_your_garden


Here is another recommendation for PI removal: 

Denny Wiggers Gardens - Poison Ivy removal service

http://www.dennywiggersgardens...

(as recommended in this thread: https://maplewood.worldwebs.co... )


@sprout, I got a little poison ivy rash this weekend. I can get it just from being in the same town as poison ivy. The Dawn soap worked for me. I lathered and rubbed heavily, and I did it three times. It did not irritate my skin.


Tom -- Glad the Dawn Ultra worked for you!  It seems to be a fairly easy (and cheap) P.I. oil remover.

I found dish soap also works to reduce the itch from mosquito bites if used on the bite and rinsed with very warm/hot water. Maybe it also washes out some of the itchy mosquito saliva from the bite?



sprout said:

and definitely do not burn or the oil can get in the lungs). 


This.  My grandmother was highly allergic.  Her BIL offered to remove all the poison ivy in their yard when she and my grandfather bought a new house that had poison ivy in the back yard.  He pulled it all up, and then burned it.  She ended up in the hospital, it was really bad.


sprout said:


About 3 years ago, I had a couple of small patches of Poison Ivy in my yard. I got PI spray at "The Mill" off Valley St to treat it.  (I don't remember what brand/chemical spray it was. I don't usually use any chemicals in my yard/lawn, except when I treated this PI). 


A few years back I was helping my aunt out with some stuff in her yard.  I asked her what she thought about chemical weed killers, she proceeded to say how she was against them, adding toxic chemicals to the environment was bad, health effects, etc, etc.  She then asked why, I said she had some poison ivy in her yard.  Her response "Poison ivy?  That's different, use whatever you want on it."  oh oh 



spontaneous said:

 
sprout said:


About 3 years ago, I had a couple of small patches of Poison Ivy in my yard. I got PI spray at "The Mill" off Valley St to treat it.  (I don't remember what brand/chemical spray it was. I don't usually use any chemicals in my yard/lawn, except when I treated this PI). 

A few years back I was helping my aunt out with some stuff in her yard.  I asked her what she thought about chemical weed killers, she proceeded to say how she was against them, adding toxic chemicals to the environment was bad, health effects, etc, etc.  She then asked why, I said she had some poison ivy in her yard.  Her response "Poison ivy?  That's different, use whatever you want on it."  oh oh 

I have to say I agree with your aunt. I do not like using chemicals in my yard, but with poison ivy, all bets are off.


Once you are exposed, it is critical to wash off the plant sap/resin, before it bonds to the skin.  I think that any detergent will do, but you have to wash & scrub several times.

'Country solution':  Rinse with full strength bleach.  It takes off the outer layer of skin, and the sap/resin with it.  It does not hurt or damage you, as long as you rinse with plain water right away.

If you start getting the rash, go to CVS and spend abt $45 on a tube of ZANFEL (I posted about it back in March, when I had a fairly bad case).  It is a special soap with abrasives, so you can scrub off the bonded sap/resin (which otherwise spreads).


Desitin,, then oodles of calydryl-a mixture.  And beware, if it's in with other plants and weeds, after rain, they might be oozing the juices. Just being near it could end up in a mess.


I use more or less the same plastic bag technique for PI removal that I do for dog poop ... but with multiple (at least 3) layers of bags and (if needed) with a plastic bag or disposable glove on the other hand.  The innermost bag is a long narrow one (like newspapers come in) to cover as much of my arm as possible.  The others may be baggier or shorter - whatever I have.  I put my hand in the nested bags and then pull the plant up by grabbing the stem as close to the ground as possible in order to get the roots and then peel back the first bag and enclose all of the leaves, stems and roots, then the next bag and the next ... the multiple layers allow a margin for error if everything isn't quite contained in the first bag or if there are holes in any of the bags. Then I tie it all up and possibly put it into yet another bag and it goes into the garbage ... not the compost heap, not the garden recycling, and certainly not anywhere that might be burned.  

If your PI is too large or there are too many plants to safely (or comfortably) handle this way, then it is time to call a service, but this method works great for small infestations.  I removed two PI plants from my english ivy the other day this way.  Small infestations grow into large ones, so best to catch it early if possible.

Good luck!


Ahhhh PI, my old friend. I make a habit of showing new neighbors a picture of it in case they don't know what it looks like.... and most don't.

I took an incredible amount out, including the biggest, thickest vine I ever saw- it was about the width of a thumb maybe a bit more. Roundup Brush B Gone- few carefully applied squirts to the leaves and dead inside of a week. The gallon I bought will last till the next century at this rate.

No need to go berzerko with it. Tactical strikes are sufficient. It comes out as a foam sort of so if you just do a little squirt it will stay where you want. I suppose you could use a paintbrush instead if you want to be super careful. Again- THE LEAVES, not the roots. No need to do anything with the soil or roots.

It'll always be a touch up story. Birds are big spreaders of the seeds.


Using Dawn dish soap to remove PI oils from skin after suspected contact, or just as a preventive measure after being in the woods or gardening, seems to be getting more popular (based on my google search).  

From my experience, Dawn Ultra Foaming seems to be the strongest oil remover of the Dawn dish soaps (but all dish soaps are more effective than regular soap). 

It's also recommended for washing the oil off your pets:

https://www.thespruce.com/rid-...

Dawn dish soap is also used to wash oil-spill crude off animals:

http://www.npr.org/templates/s...


We paint Roundup on the leaves with a brush.  You have to be careful with that stuff.  It can kill anything that it touches.


I was able to kill a plant that came coming back year after year by pouring a few kettles full of boiling water. I did it two days in a row and it never came back.




cabameyers said:

I was able to kill a plant that came coming back year after year by pouring a few kettles full of boiling water. I did it two days in a row and it never came back.

Interesting...



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