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You could spray the poison ivy leaves very carefully and judiciously. Or you could put on protective clothing and just pull that poison ivy right off of the tree. Then carefully spray the few leaves left attached to the root in the ground.
Ivies are easier to pull when green and alive, as opposed to killing it in some manner and then trying to yank the dead dried suckles which just break off in small bits.
Poison ivy tentacles, like English ivy, are not suckered very tightly. They're pretty easy to detach when green.
I was thinking it was going to be a 30 year old vine 10 inches around... For that little thing, just put on some gloves and pull it out from the roots.
^ +1
Though PI is a remarkably tough vine, and there may be underground runners that could pop up next Spring.
But, just give it a tug...I pull them by bare hand, but I rarely get a rash from green stuff.
GL, mD
Thank you. I can't touch it, I would have to throw away the gloves (I'll look and see if I have some crappy gloves). I guess I can put Tecnu on the cutter blades, I can't take the risk of it spreading.
Spraying is better then pulling. When you pull ivy you risk the oils going into the air and getting onto your body. When you spray your killing the plant as it sits. But remember, the oils can still be there even after the leaves died. Best to "cut" the root carefully at the bottom. Look away when doing it.
I don't know what Tecnu is, but denatured alcohol does a good job of getting poison ivy oil off of tools (and skin). Cheap and available at any hardware store.
1) I pull a couple of newspaper sleeves (the plastic bags they put on newspapers to keep them dry while they're sitting in your driveway) over my glove and sleeve to keep everything poison ivy-free. That oil (urushiol) can get into your washing machine and contaminate a whole load of clothes! If we didn't get a real newspaper, I'd probably use a kitchen garbage bag instead.
2) Tecnu really works, if you wash exposed areas right away and scrub really hard. It's a solvent that dissolves the urushiol on your skin. Once blisters form, the Tecnu can help dry them up, but I really recommend getting steroid cream from the doctor.
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