# Don't laugh at me...



## checkitnice (Aug 10, 2010)

...are these poison ivy? I'm not allergic (or didn't used to be) so I never bothered to learn to ID it. This is in a flower bed at our new place.










Again, no jokes! I just need to know whether to go scorched earth on the whole bed or not.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Yes.
That is poison ivy.
Yes.
You need to go scorched earth.

And if you get it in a scratch so that it gets into your blood stream, you can become allergic. My poor husband was never allergic until he got a floribunda scratch while working in poison ivy. Now he is as bad as I am, but without the lifetime of learning NOT TO SCRATCH!

The rule is .. Leaves of 3 - let it be, Leaves of 5 - let it thrive.
Your typical 5 leaved vine that is vaguely similar is Virginia Creeper.


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## checkitnice (Aug 10, 2010)

Well that sucks. Any recommendations? It's on the edge of a huge raised bed in the center of our driveway. Mostly weeds and nothing I won't miss.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Brush be gone concentrate. Don't dilute it. If mixed with water to the listed portions it takes several applications to kill poison ivy. Concentrated bbg takes usually 2 applications. At least that's been my experience with poison ivy removal.


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## Maverick_mg (Mar 11, 2010)

Be careful if you burn it. My uncle burned some once and his throat started to swell. When he went to the doctors they said he had the poison ivy in his throat from breathing in the smoke.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

There are only 2 things that are worth using chemicals on or 2 things that chemicals work better than any other method for..
Poison oak/ivy and European hornets.

I am a fan of scorched earth when it comes to poison ivy/oak. I use the strongest thing I can find and I use it very carefully on only the bad plant. Even if that means I use gloves and a small paintbrush. I refuse to play slappy fight with poison ivy/oak. I go in it to win it.

And I use meat bait with insecticide for European hornets. It just so happens it also takes out yellow jackets. Game bonus.
The European hornets take out all of my pollinators, my writing spiders (last year they killed all 19 of my ladies) and even hummingbirds. Their stingers are 1/4 of an inch long and they are flying evil. So... I pull out the big guns. They take the meat back to the nest and that is that.


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## CJBegins (Nov 20, 2009)

My horses and goats love to eat poison ivy.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

It is the oils in poison ivy that give people the allergic reaction. That oil, on fabric or metal, can last for years, YEARS. 
I imagine a horses tongue might be a good place for poison ivy, just be careful of exposure after they eat it, for a while.
Be careful of the smoke if you burn it, as previously mentioned.

side note: Mangos come from the same family, if you are allergic to poison ivy, be wary of mangos too.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Yes, poison ivy. Truthfully, it does not look like poison ivy that I am used to seeing, but I was cured of making that (dumb) assumption years back when I got into a patch of some "3 leaved plants that in no way could be poison ivy" on our red-clay land where "poison ivy never grows". itch itch


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

chickenista said:


> There are only 2 things that are worth using chemicals on or 2 things that chemicals work better than any other method for..
> Poison oak/ivy and European hornets.
> And I use meat bait with insecticide for European hornets. It just so happens it also takes out yellow jackets. Game bonus..


Okay, thread drift but I have to know about the meat bait. What is it and where do I get some?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

BlackWillowFarm said:


> Okay, thread drift but I have to know about the meat bait. What is it and where do I get some?


 
You make it.
Take ground meat..whatever you have handy. It is a great use for that package of meat at the bottom of the freezer when you clean out the freezer..
Mix it with some insecticide. I used Frontline last year, but I am sure you could use about anything.
This year we will use Golden Marin, but you can even use Sevin. That is what my brother uses.

Mix it in with the raw meat. Put it in a shallow pan or plate and place a milk crate and as many cinder blocks as you can fit on top..to keep kitties and dogs out of it and set it out. I try to keep it out of afternoon sun so that it doesn't dry out too quickly.

Now, My brother uses chicken thighs powdered with Sevin and hangs them from a tree. I like the plate method. I can have better control over the situation that way.

Any of your meat eaters..hornets, jackets etc.. will go for the meat, but your pollinators won't. My brother keeps a lot of hives and would never out out anything that would harm his bees. He puts it out to save his hives. The Europeans can take out a whole hive in no time at all.
They are viscious. They tear huge chunks out of their prey. It is horrible to watch. Even hummingbirds.
So.. let 'em die.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Yep on the poisen ivy..


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

Maverick_mg said:


> Be careful if you burn it. My uncle burned some once and his throat started to swell. When he went to the doctors they said he had the poison ivy in his throat from breathing in the smoke.


I have a good friend who is a trauma surgeon, he had a farmer come into his unit once who had tried to burn off poison ivy, the wind changed and he breathed in the smoke. 

He died.


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## Maverick_mg (Mar 11, 2010)

Tiempo said:


> I have a good friend who is a trauma surgeon, he had a farmer come into his unit once who had tried to burn off poison ivy, the wind changed and he breathed in the smoke.
> 
> He died.


OMG! That's awful. How crazy is that. No one ever believes me when I tell them how it made my uncle sick but I never would have guessed it could kill you. But I guess if you were allergic it could be an issue too


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## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

Personally, I wouldn't burn it due to the dangers of inhaling it, plus anyone around who is allergic will be put in the way and it will get on the clothing. The spray is good, if you get it all and it isn't near your food garden.

I would recommend buying a new pair of cheap dish gloves - the kind that go halfway up your arms - and an inexpensive longsleeve shirt. Pull the ivy from the ground, trying to get the roots, and put in trash bag. When finished, strip shirt and gloves and put them in the bag also and dispose. Then go and take a good scrubbing shower.

Anything you get the sap on while eradicating it can still cause a reaction a year or two later if you touch it.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

I would also suggest using Tecnu if you plan on attempting to pull it. They have a couple different washes to get the residue off. Supposedly it's too much like sap and soap won't take it off. 

As others have mentioned, do not burn it. We did when we got our new house and ended up covered head to toe in it. Thankfully we didn't get it internally but it was still a rough 2 weeks getting over it. Now the only time we get it is when the cats walk through it and then rub on us.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Best thing for a poison ivy rash is jewelweed. Best way to get rid of poison ivy is goats.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

Goats love poison ivy and poison oak, they will usually eat it first. Do not burn it even if you are not allergic. Someone downwind might be. The smoke from burning can be worse than getting the sap on your skin. My DD rode through some smoke one day when the neighbors were burning a small pile of yard waste. She had a horrible rash. And keep in mind that the dogs, horses or goats that have been in it can rub on you and cause problems for you. It is one thing a scorch earth policy is good for.


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## GreenMother (Mar 15, 2013)

Another method for the poison ivy is to soak the roots really well with water and then grab that piece of evil close to the base with a heavy duty plastic garbage bag and pull it up. Bundle it into the bag without touching it. However, when we move I am totally going for the goat approach.


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