How to Kill Poison Ivy Without Killing Everything Else (Or Yourself)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video I test four alternatives to Roundup for killing poison ivy that also will not kill surrounding surrounding vegetation if used carefully: Bonide Poison Oak & Ivy Killer, BioAdvanced Brush Killer, Ortho WeedClear, and a homemade solution of salt and soap.
Spoiler alert - all these solutions work for killing poison ivy, but some work better than others, which the video demonstrates. All can be purchased through major retailers or on online (except the homemade one). When in doubt, google it.
There are other methods to kill poison ivy beyond these, so please feel free to comment with your favorites.
Always take precautions when handling chemicals or poisonous substances. This video is not meant to demonstrate safety measures.
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Chemist/ toxicologist here, I done these same types of ivy killer comparisons on my property. Unfortunately poison ivy has developed as another superweed. This means it is now highly resistant to most herbicides. The bit of die back shown in this video is soon followed by an even more aggressive resurgence of growth that is even harder to treat. I now put on shoulder high impervious gloves made for handling poison ivy, a polyethylene tyvek suit (garbage bags as shown are a good substitute) plus face shield - I am severely reactive to poison ivy) and then I pull the vines. It’s important to get as much root as possible and pull it out in as long sections as possible. Wait until right after a soaking rain. That holds down oil contaminated dust from getting in your lungs and eyes and makes pulling out the vine roots much much easier.
I pulled about 25 lbs of PI vines yesterday in about 1.5 hours and NO RASH. Bag all the vines in doubled plastic trash bags for disposal. Take great care to avoid brushing broken vine ends or the leaves on your protective layer and wash thoroughly with cool water, Dawn soap and a face cloth immediately after pulling vines. This is an annual task on my property now. The birds transfer new seeds from surrounding land after they eat PI berries but I know where it sprouts best now and can usually wipeout new growth fairly quickly. PI is growing more vigorously these days due to a couple of factors. Good luck in your battle with this horrible stuff.
Thanks!!
If worried about oil contaminated dust getting in your lungs and eyes, I recommend a respirator. I bought one recently, mostly for mowing, and it's great. No more coughing & hacking while mowing. It even filters out exhaust fumes. It works great on dust. I will be using it on my annual PI battle.
I need a homemade solution like I can spray on poison ivy and poison oak plants.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I had a poisoned ivy stalk when my property that I cut and it had 45 growth rings in it. I painted 2 4-D on the stalk and it was completely dead in 6 weeks. I am a licensed applicator and poison. Ivy has not become resistant to herbicides. You don't know what you're talking about.
Do you mind my asking for your opinion of how long the product in Roundup to remain in the ground? I moved into a home that my neighbors say won awards for the yard, lawn, flowers etc and based on the large containers and pump sprayer of Round Up in the garage, I assume that played a large part in her success. I like to flower garden, but would like to plant some vegetables this year and wonder if I should use new raised beds or container garden with packaged soil and compost. Thank you!
Poison ivy was one of the reasons I bought goats in the first place. That, and goat milk. Poison ivy is their favorite and as a bonus, after a few years of drinking the milk when they were eliminating the ivy, I’m not allergic to it anymore. It took about 3 years of the goats eating a leaf every time it grew to kill the plants, but it’s been a decade & it still hasn’t come back even though they haven’t been in that area since.
Wish I could get mine to eat it! If we confine them they will eat what is there but ours freerange. They love privit but poison ivy is their least favorite. :(
Bam! A non-toxic solution to a problem. No chemicals, just animals designed to eat these damned things. 😎
I'm sorey I don't buy any of that except giats will eat it.
i drank goats milk from free range goats that ate poison ivy for 10 years as a teen and it never gave anyone in the family immunity to being allergic to the plant.
I don't know what you think is going into the milk to save you but chemically and biologically it's ridiculous.
THIS! We have it everywhere in Connecticut, and my grandfather used to hire goats to clear it out. My nephew now has the property, and he says he'll do the same. I think goats are really all that works.
@@katherineweber8955 And they're lovable! But only in the winter when they've not been in poison ivy! It will transfer! But by winter their coats are clean and they're lovable again! They have their own unique personalities and a side effect is always a lot of laughter! Bonus if you get milk goats!
Ive been itchy ever since i watched this
me too!! I'll probably have it on my wrist tomorrow
I can guarantee that this video will give us that can get it by thinking about it, at least a few bumps.
I am too, but I have a poison ivy rash.
One word... GOATS!
There are goat herders that you can "rent" their goats and they will stake off your area and let their goats feed on the vines and they eat down to the roots mostly killing the plants.
I was thinking the same. As the video plays I look up the ingredients mentioned..... Go Goats Go
My brother was a park ranger at a water reservoir, when he was assigned the task to clear the trails of poison oak (Calif). He is highly allergic. He brought in a goat herder and it was a great success.
they really really do it's like the go straight to that stuff they love it to me it's wild but they just do
I just came across your video. Poison ivy has made me VERY ill in the past. When we discovered it growing in our backyard--not to the extent as your property--I dug up what I could by the roots and then added a bunch of lime. Poison Ivy loves an acidic soil. In the 25 years since, we have had no poison ivy anywhere around the treated soil.
I also pull it out, but i never limed. I am going to try that next time I attack.
I tried looking up adding lime to soil as a poison ivy treatment and couldn’t find anything, how did you apply the lime as well as could you provide anymore information? I have this annoying bit of PI growing up my back fence butted up against a chain link so any natural solution I can use would be greatly appreciated
@@kmcam2524 For me, this was a two step process. I dug up the poison ivy by as much of the roots as possible. Then I just put the lime on top on top of the soil. Where I had the problem, it was under my deck, so was protected from the elements. If it can get rained on, I suspect you would need to add lime periodically, probably every couple of years..
It depends on the poison ivy type. Eastern poison ivy doesn't tolerate high pH soils, whereas western will tolerate up to 8.5.
@@kmcam2524 if you a heavy coat of lime around the poison ivy and give it time it will die the soil pH will make it impossible to uptake nutrients. A couple of gallons of sodium hydroxide will do the same thing. It will raise the pH so high that nothing lives. So will calcium hydroxide. Or Potassium a hydroxide.
BUT BE CAREFUL THEY WILL BURN YOU.
As you said, DO NOT BURN poison ivy. I had a friend who ended up in the hospital when a neighbor burned poison ivy and the smoke drifted onto her property. As she was elderly, it was kind of touch and go for her survival. Fortunately she pulled through.
TRUE. This bit of knowledge needs to be spread everywhere. Poison ivy in the lungs is no joke. Most people would never think to NOT burn it.
you also don't want it in your eyes I was thinking that I heard somewhere you could go blind if you get that smoker in your eyes!
Sorry about your neighbor. Glad she made it.
Chemical warfare.
I'm highly allergic to poison ivy and my doctor warned me about burning it. The smoke inhaled can cause a reaction inside and that can be fatal.
Salt and soap will not kill the vines and the roots, so next year, if the vines aren't killed, it will just sprout again. Don't be deceived.
Besides that, the salt will remain in the soil. It will not break down in time, like Glyphosate & Triclopyr will.
Salt, 12% vinegar, soap isn’t too bad.
I used to service equipment in a plant where glyphosate is made. After going through the chemical safety training we went through I won't let glyphosate on my property. I realize that we could have been exposed to much higher concentrations than I would likely be exposed to by using it as directed in my yard or garden, but still I won't use it.
I've been fighting poison ivy for decades on couple properties that neighbors intentionally grow it to encroach onto my property to use as excuse to poison my trees and bushes.
To get it out of my yard had to dig up all roots, and maintain killing sprouts with shovel to keep beating back root remnants.
Need barriers couple feet underground to stop roots spreading back.
@@joneses1962what’s wrong with it?
I mean everyone should wear gloves and pants when using an herbicide anyway
In my experience, (30+ years in my present home) areas sprayed with (take your pick) dies back more quickly if it's in direct sunlight. The hotter it is the faster it works. Obviously, shaded areas will take longer. Secondly, in the hot part of summer when the ground has dried out, if you get a rain shower a day or two after spraying, then sun, it'll die back almost as you watch it. One could also shower an area with a garden hose or sprinkler in the morning and when the sun starts doing its thing, the plant will drink up the water on its leaves, bringing in the poison to kill it. I've witnessed this many times when the spray doesn't look like it's going to work then we get a little rain, the sun comes back out, then by the afternoon it's all going brown. Conversely, in spring time when the ground is still moist, it will take longer to kill the weed as it's getting moisture from the ground. I'm no chemist, botanist or scientist, just a guy trying to kill weeds.
Amateur gardener; former Air Force Nuclear, Biological, Chemical specialist; and overall mad scientist wannabe here. :). I get what you're saying. Plants have their biological systems like we do. I don't understand them all; but they do breath; circulate liquids, minerals, and nutrients around their structures. A dry plant will suck up liquid faster than a hydrated plant. They are made to withstand rain, because they are made to be outdoors. There is a delay in the time when the poison is metabolized into the plant and the plant shows the effects.
It's not new that plants suffer when they are hit by bright sunlight while being damp--some plants in nature die off that way in the forrest all the time. Dampening plants with water, after spraying could be counter-productive; if the spray is still damp on the plants. You'd reduce the effectiveness of the poison by removing or reducing the dose of poison you just gave it.
What is new is all the chemicals we can throw at them. Bleach will also turn Poison Ivy leaves brown quickly, but they are still toxic even when brown--in fact the whole plant is, dead or alive. I find that undiluted 4-5% Vinegar, Salt, and soap recipe is most effective and cheapest solution to use. salt dehydrates the plant; soap makes the salt stick; and vinegar burns them with its acidity. It's good stuff. Happy weed control!
You have proven to be able to kill poison ivy leaves, but the underground runners are very hardy, I predict the vines will sprout twice as many leaves in a month
Regardless of your choice of spray, add some dye. It won't do anything by itself, but it will show you where you have and haven't sprayed. Farm and feed stores have it economically. A little goes a long way.
also, he might have started near the rear of the patch n worked his way backwards out of the patch. less chance to get in contact with the plants
Great idea
Get some gosts they eat to the roots
@@yvonnemoretti7646 spoooooky
@@yvonnemoretti7646 No they don't they just eat leaves but that eventually repeated defoliation kills the root.
Eager to hear how it's doing this year! I've only had success with smothering with black plastic for over a year! Spraying has never had a long-term improvement.
Hire goats to come to your property and clean out the underbrush.
What's their hourly rate? Are they unionized?
Also, some people have success with pigs. But for those of us without animals…..
Goats will eat the leaves but leave the vines. They'll grow back eventually. Most effective way I've seen is to wait for rain and then dig it out root and all by hand. Or just completely remove all the brush and plant grass over it
Hire? Buy some goats. Just don't pet them.
Goats.
The salt and soap idea is so appealing because it's so easy and pretty cheap, but remember -- salt is a mineral and doesn't go away. Put enough of it on the earth and after awhile you won't be able to ever grow anything there again. Tempting for things like poison ivy, but dang.... what if you wanted wild flowers? What if the runoff landed on your tree roots? How long will it take to percolate down and into the water table? Salt.... it's the gift that keeps on giving. We need to think of the long term effects, eh?
One more thing: If feels like the little sprayer you were trying to pump my hand was much too little and took way too much effort to get enough of anything onto those plants. For that large a footprint, maybe investing in a nice pump-action air-pressurized sprayer would be beneficial?
In our experience, yeah, salt poisons the ground for a loooong time, but vinegar is neutralized rapidly, especially if it rains.
@@RandomAxeOfKindness I agree on the vinegar. :)
it gets washed away with rain , worms, bugs, bla bla gets deeper in ground, .. its not radioactive.. in most garden or back yard cases.. why would i care anyway
I admire your humor , gives me hope for my ivy farm ,best of luck
I had (some) on my property. 10-12 areas along the fence. I used Red Devil concrete cleaner in an aluminum can, cut the stem 12 inches from the ground and stuck it in the can. left it there 2 weeks. it absorbed it into its vascular system killing itself down to the roots including all their offshoots. the rest of the plant was pulled off the fence and discarded. this was 17 years ago and has not returned. I suppose Roundup could be used like this too in limited infestations.
regarding "cut the stem 12 inches from the ground and stuck it in the can", would you please explain this? Are you saying you cut the stem, bent it over into the can... and that did the trick?! If that works... I'm gonna try it.
I've been dealing with poison ivy and poison oak for several years with no success so last fall I marked where it was so I could find it this spring before the grass and weeds started growing. With long sleeves and gloves I pulled the poison ivy vines, growing on the surface and about 1/4" or less below the surface, straight out of the ground. I did this last month and I haven't found any growing yet so I think I got it all. If I missed any I will mark it and pull it up next spring.
One vine did accidently come in contact with my skin and I suffered with blisters for two weeks but I am determined to win the war against this poison.
Get Zanfel. This stuff absolutely works and itching is gone in minutes, blisters dry up in a day.
I used the BioAdvanced last summer; I got the concentrate you mix in a pump sprayer. You have to give it almost a week before it shows any really noticeable signs. It does work, it completely annihilated everything that was in there. After a week, it looks like it's dying. After 3 weeks, it looks pretty dead. After 6 weeks, it looks like scorched earth. I definitely recommend BioAdvanced.
What does it look like this year? Normally unless all the roots are killed, it starts up again next year.
Does it kill other plants in the area?
Since that was a year ago, did it stay dead or come back this summer.
@christopherhoffman2515 Everyone wants to know if the Poison Ivy returned the next year…
So what's the verdict this year (2024)? Did it come back?
if you can find the main vine/base of the plant and cut out about a 6inch section in it…everything above the cut out section will die very quickly and will not grow back. I had a huge growth of poison ivy growing up my chimney of my house and another bunch growing up into a dogwood tree…this method was the easiest way to permanently get rid of it.
That’s our issue and it’s mixed with nasty English ivy I need gone too. We managed to get the ivy roots but the poison ivy is coming back this year…
That's what I did then soaked it down with the vinegar and salt method. Works pretty good on mulberry trees.
Roots found at dig sites that were over 200 y/o still have oils that can cause a reaction. So roots must be dug out to be safe.
I concur. This plant is evil.
Just for people to know, if you consistently mow poison ivy starting the mowing season, it will die out by the end of summer. How we dealt with it when the yard got expanded a bit onto a place with poison ivy. Mow it each week and poof, gone.
Does this really work? I have a similar situation. We are trying to convert an overgrown field into a grassy area for our kids to play. Is is full of poison ivy. I had cut the field a couple times when I noticed the poison ivy and stopped cutting it for fear of breathing g it and spreading it more.
Triclopyr 4 I found worked the best on my mountain property. Worked on all the poison plants, wild honeysuckle, forsythia, any woody vibe WITHOUT killing grass. You can buy the concentrate fairly cheap.
Unfortunately, poison ivy and other noxious weeds develop resistance to herbicides and they work less and less well the more you rely on them. It takes very careful herbicide selection and rotation to avoid this problem. Even if you do that perfectly, birds and other furies can bring resistant seeds onto your property after they eat the berries on properties with careless herbicide use.
Monsanto knew back in the 1990’s (revealed in court depositions and testimony- see the Dicamba Papers) that Roundup would cause target weeds to become resistant to it. They sold (and still sell) the Roundup Ready engineered seed tailored to it anyway and many billions of dollars of it and the Roundup. Same with the 2016 introduced Dicamba Ready seed and matching herbicides that is the follow-up to RoundUp.
Now property owners and farmers around the world are in a hopeless battle with increasingly resistant super weeds that are taking over their farms, homes, parks, etc. Other herbicides have the same resistance problem. That is why manufacture’s pesticide formulations have had to become progressively more toxic and consequently more damaging to non target plants, organisms and the environment as a whole in the pesticide arms race with these weeds that these companies created. Ask a farmer. The weeds are winning. Yet the chemical companies, many of which have been my clients, make more and more money. Mechanical means of dealing with weeds worked for generations of farmers. Smart ones are going back to that.
I have to use a solvent (mechanics orange soap) within about an hour of exposure. I scrub the area (without breaking the skin) rinse carefully with a cloth to contain the rinsed oil then rub with a dry clean towel. Sometimes repeat. Every single time I have done this I have not gotten a breakout. It's been over 5 years not that this has worked.
I have used straight round up with a little paint brush. Straight product and you only need a little bit of covering the same vine and it translocation. Also used a rubber glove and a cloth glove over. You need to protect your sleeves
A trick i found that works on small areas, mainly full sun - buy some clear chair floor mats if you can, and lay them over top of weeds for at least a day or 2. It causes the sun to cook everything underneath the mat.
I have a wooden fence that had a spot covered in Poison Ivy the vines were pretty big. What I didn't was cut them all off at the ground and sprayed the freshly cut "stumps" with what I had at the time which was RoundUp that was 3 years ago and it hasn't comeback. I have another area that has some and plan do to the same thing with the BioAdvance brush killer.
Other Notes: 1) If you think you have the Poison Ivy oil on your skin treat it like grease as if you've been working on a car but you just can't see it. lately I've been using automotive hand cleaner and no rashes. 2) Look into a plant called Jewelweed impatiens Capensis Touch Me Not. it's the ying to Poison Ivy's yang it's also good for bug bits and other rashes.
It's often growing right next to the p.i. as well.
Watching this reminds me how lucky I am. I have never been bothered by poison ivy while everyone with me suffered. The house I am in now had what I thought was a couple hundred SF of fancy ground cover behind my garage which I walked around in for a couple years wearing shorts and crocs with no socks. Then my son walked in it once and had both legs covered in a rash. Since learning to identify it I find it all over my property including spiraling up the trunks of trees. I just pull it out when I see it, with bare hands.
I tried the salt/vinegar/soap mix years ago. It clogged in my spray applicator, so I ended up just pouring it on the weeds.
They loved it. I think they looked healthier afterwards.
The poison ivy on my property is a couple hundred years old. The vines extend above ground and underground. It takes years to spot spray enough to clear a small section. The plant vine might die in a spot but because the vine extends for hundreds of yards, it does very little. The plant just shuts down that area and the poison spray many times kills other plants around the poison ivy. When the ivy rebounds, it now has less competition and comes back stronger than ever. It takes a ton of work every year to slowly kill the ivy and birds eat the white seeds and replant the it everywhere. Nothing works well against it. Good luck.
Excellent video, thanks for documenting the work. You are lucky to have a great production director. I have also fought poison ivy, buckthorn, and thistles in my woods and fields, and the struggle is real! I have a couple notes from experience to add. Perhaps others may have already said similar, but I didn't read all the comments...
1. MOST IMPORTANT FOR POISON IVY: Add extra surfactant (Dawn detergent or better yet, surfactants specifically designed for herbicides) to get weed killers to adhere better to poison ivy leaves. Many water-based weed killers will just roll off poison ivy leaves due to the oil in the leaves. This may also be related to the remarks that poison ivy has developed characteristics to survive weed killers,. Surfactants are designed to allow better interactions of water-based solutions with oily materials, which would then allow the active ingredients in the weed killer to penetrate leaves of poison ivy and absorb into the roots.
2. You and some of the commentators made a good observation that is relevant. Rain or watering a couple days after application also helps absorb the weed killer more completely into the plants. I've applied weed killers and saw very little evidence that it was working until the rains came.
3. Using salt and vinegar mixtures may be effective, but there are long-term effects to consider. Salt and vinegar may stay in the soil for long periods of time, and may prevent growth of plants in the spots that were treated. They may eventually get diluted enough to allow things to grow again, considering salts are used on roads during the winter to melt ice, But if you try to grow less hardy or finicky plants, flowers, or vegetables, you may have an extremely difficult time growing them in areas that salt and vinegar were previously applied. Vinegar, which is a solution of acetic acid, will acidify the soil, and subsequent plants that require a neutral or higher pH soil may not grow well, if at all.
4. Roundup (or glycophosate) kills poison ivy, especially when you add extra surfactant. Due to the health concerns of this product and possibly any herbicide, it is best to use a respirator, rubber gloves, and protective clothing to be safe.
5. My best concoction is to combine two weed killers for the very most stubborn weeds or invasive plant species. Crossbow herbicide and either Ortho Ground Clear (or Roundup/glycophosate) at their recommended concentrations with extra surfactant will kill poison ivy, thistles, and most other weeds. Do not use it on the lawn because it will also kill the grass. As an additional bonus, Crossbow herbicide at 25-40% concentration will kill buckthorn, but may not kill buckthorn at lower concentrations. Crossbow is the most effective herbicide I've found to kill buckthorn so far.
I really enjoyed the production value of this video. Thanks for the info!
I had an aborist pruning trees and he found the 'mother roots' and dug them out and cleared by hand all the trailing plants. Yes, by hand and no protective gear. He said the oils did not affect him.
Boil vinegar and add salt ....1 part salt/3 parts vinegar..once salts has dissolved add 1 part dish soap and put into a sprayer and go!
Remember vinegar will kill anything green and it will travel in the ground to other plants in the area
So, if you have any plants that you want to keep, beware that vinegar travels
Thanks
Why would you boil the vinegar?
@@kimrocksthetreesProbably the increase the concentration.
@@garion333 is this better than purchasing 30% vinegar and adding salt / soap ??
Dandelions are good for your yard. When they show up, it’s bc your yard needs what they can provide. Once their job is done, they go away. They are also great for us to eat.
Um, sure. One day you'll have one dandelion, the next you'll have 100. Soon the entire yard is covered. Yes they go away, right after you put weed killer on the lawn.
@@stargazer7644 They do play out. It may take a year or two, though. They pull calcium in to the top of the soil. Then, if you mow them, it gets distributed.
After watching this and reading comments, I will be covering mine PI with cardboard and mulch tomorrow. That's def the safest way to get rid of it.
The Brush Killer product works with 1-2 sprayings, in my experience. HOWEVER you are desperately underselling vinegar. We find that salt sprays linger in the soil for months but vinegar is neutralized within a week or two, in practice. We buy concentrated vinegar (usually 75%, but sometimes 40% is cheaper even factoring in dilution) and dilute it to 30-40% strength, then spot-spray it with a cheap sprayer (because, like salt, it usually ruins them eventually). DO NOT get it in your eyes or nose or on your hands.
30-40% vinegar will start wilting poison ivy leaves in under an hour. Yes, the roots may survive, but when it pops up, hit it again. Roots aren't magic -- the plant only has so much biological resource underground. The vinegar spray also works on Virginia creeper, if you're too allergic to pull that up. But it will corrode things like metal fences, etc, so be careful.
You can beat poison ivy. I have done it on a couple of farms. First, I use a 4% solution of Crossbow. It is much more effective than Roundup on Viny plants. Apply when warm, but not above 85 degrees with Crossbow, no rain for a couple of days. Be sure to add surfactant to the mix. Afterwards, apply again regularly until the noxious weed is dead. You just have to be persistent. It might take a couple of years of spraying but, it can be done. TIP: If you have large vines of Poison Ivy climbing up your trees, cut out a wedge about half way through the vine. Apply full strength Crossbow or Roundup on the wound you have created. Do that every few days. The Poison Ivy will die and this method will have the added bonus of killing the roots as well.
I've used a Bonide weed killer and the WeedClear, both without success. The poison ivy and other weeds wilt to varying degrees, but the plants don't appear to die away. I now have the Brush Killer and am going to try it.
With so much poison ivy, goats might be an easier treatment and no poisons are needed. They’re very thorough! CAS NC
When say use something safe, I'm not sure if you are meaning safe for humans to use without risk of health problems or also safe for wildlife/bugs. Just a tip on the Bonide, the products with the purple corner are synthetically derived. The products with the beige corner are organically derived. If anyone is trying to grow organically, avoid the labels with the purple corner. But Bonide generally has a good product that is safe to use when you use skin and eye/nose protection.
Yes because somehow "organic" chemistry is different from "synthetic" chemistry.
What if you laid a thick layer of cardboard or tarps/landscape fabric over it?
I would try several layers of cardboard if I could get it.
Then spot spray if necessary.
It would be hard to grow thru 2-3 layers of cardboard, and then the cardboard decomposes into compost.😃
Cardboard has never succeeded for me with PI. I have used black plastic (for over 1 year) with some success.
One thing to consider with the cardboard is to make sure you cover an area significantly larger than the area covered by the target plant so that it doesn't just grow around the cardboard.
CARDBOARD IS THE OLD PACKAGING FOR APPLIANCES.
Vinegar, salt, and soap just killed the leaves for me. I tried the vinegar, salt, and soap last year; it killed a bunch of leaves and eventually regrew back from the vines. The BioAdvanced brush killer is suppose to take up to 6 weeks to kill the plant at the root, so the leaves shouldn't come back. It also takes longer to work in the shade. It looks to be working well so far! We'll see if it comes back next year. I'm guessing if I missed any, I'll see some resurgence, but it won't be from the same vine.
I also pulled some up then laid cardboard over where I pulled it up with a small amount of dirt on top, in case I missed some roots or something. That worked really well.
Bonide has worked well for me - kills the root - I do use it for spot killing (if I don't feel like trying to pull it out...). Goats (if you have any in the neighborhood...) are the best to do an initial clearing, but will still need to spot attack for a couple seasons. I use a vinegar and dish soap mix to remove general weeds from pavers, gutters, etc. - works like a champ!
very informative, I just ran into poison ivy while weeding my flower bed, I was looking for something I could use with out killing delicate flowers and plants, you gave me a lot of info to start my decision making on this problem! Thanks
I realize this won't apply to everyone, but this is what I've found works incredibly well. My father in law tried it as well halfway across the country in a completely different area with 100% success.
If you have access to hardwood ashes, simply spread them over the poison ivy areas in a thin (but not sparse) layer before a rain.
They can't tolerate the alkalinity pH change and it does kill the roots. Other plants will continue to grow.
I've cleared over an acre over time with just this, and it has not returned.
It takes a couple of months to start, but it works year after year, and you don't need to pull the runners or roots.
Re-treat each area several times over a spring or summer, and you'll see a marked improvement in a few weeks and by the end of a season, it'll be truly dead.
Odd question perhaps, but if it's the alkalinity would baking soda also work?
Amen!! Grateful for resources! This sounds great! On it!
Use a 20% vinegar (you'll have to get a concentrated solution, usually comes at 45%) with salt and a little dish soap. You won't use enough vinegar to significantly change the pH of the soil. It won't kill the roots, but does a good job of killing the leaves. Once you kill the leaves (it may require a few treatments, cut the area down to the ground, and keep it cut for the rest of the season. Some will come back as you don't kill the roots. The same problem exists with trying to pull it out. Another option is to apply the vinegar solution once, then follow with the Bioadvanced. The vinegar weakens the plant, so the herbicide may be more effective.
Even if it dies on top of the ground, the oil will still be in the roots and will be just as dangerous. Just an FYI.
Immediate upvote at 4:45 for the fashion pants.
Very helpful video, thank you!! I put 30% vinegar into the homemade solution. I see wilting the same day. Stay upwind as the high potency vinegar is pretty acidic, so don't inhale the vapor.
the triclopyr in the brush killer will definitely damage trees, although its probably got a pretty low rate in it. I have heard salt stays in the soil forever and can eventually prevent anything from growing, I don't know how true that is.
It depends on the drainage and the amount of salt, but yes, concentrated salt in the soil can kill all plants not salt-tolerant, and few in the garden are. It is never the choice for use around lawns or plants you are wanting to keep. So, in those situations, work on selectively spraying just the poison ivy with a systemic herbicide and/or pulling it up by the root.
@@borderlineiqAh thanks for the info. Ive been hitting our poison ivy with glyphosate and surfactant in a little spray bottle. I've also been using a handsaw to get the vines going up the trees and fence. I know people like in this video reference other herbicides to avoid glyphosate, but I couldn't imagine 24d, diquat, or some of the others in these alternative formulations could be that much safer -Especially with limited use and gloves. That's just my opinion. My friend has an area in his lawn he has had salt blocks for deer in the past, and nothing has grown in it for years. Thats obviously a lot of salt though.
My husband gets it everytime he mows or weed eats. I literally went out there with regular garden gloves
And pulled the vines out by hand, dug up the deep ones with a shovel. I can honestly say they definitely touched my arms and legs.
But no rash. I learned years ago some people are more suseptible than others. My husband is a PI magnet. I've never ever gotten it.
And he uses a riding mower...how he gets it I don't understand.
Years ago, I worked with a guy who said that one day he was with his girlfriend. She noticed poison ivy growing and told him to avoid it. He had never gotten a rash from it, and so he told her it doesn't affect him. To show off, he even rolled in it. He told me that from that, he got rashes bad, and said that apparently after enough exposure immunity wears off.
I get poison ivy rashes myself. The best advice I've heard is from a video that said (to wear protection that can be disposed or washed and) if any gets on you, within 20 to 30 minutes wash it thoroughly as if it were used motor oil or dirty grease, because poison ivy oil bonds to the skin in 20 to 30 minutes. He washes 3 times with dish detergent and a brush. I wash with regular soap, then a gritty pumice soap (like a bar of Lava soap), then regular soap. I've pulled poison ivy vines and roots several times since learning this routine, and even though it's touched my wrists (between my gloves and long sleeves), I have avoided rashes so far.
@@mwoods8988 That's funny about that guy you worked with. I bet he regretted showing off.
@@novelist99 Yes, he said he regretted showing off. He laughed at himself when he told me the story.
For the last few days, I've been pulling poison ivy from a new area I'm clearing. I pretty well filled 7 paper grocery bags with poison ivy clippings! Each bag took about 1 to 1.5 hours. A disposable latex glove tore once, so I stopped and washed thoroughly.
Now my biggest problem is if sweat runs into my eyes and then I wipe it with my long sleeve shirt by using either my bicep or the inside of my elbow. Then for days my eyelids can get slightly itchy and the corners of my eyes can burn a little from my tears' salt, which is a little uncomfortable. A bandana can stop most of it -- but swim goggles stop all of it -- I used them last year, but I forgot about wearing them when I started up a few days ago.
I can tell you Roundup works better than all of these. I also have an old bottle of brush killer that I think was made by Sevin. I guess its pretty dangerous (like agent orange) because it kills everything in its path. LOL
Using fine Epsom salt and 45% vinegar is supposed do better job as a salt treatment.
The best I've found in Milwaukee is 30%, but my search was not exhaustive. Hmmm. (yet!) Thanks.
Amazon has 45% vinegar. I mix it 1:1 with water. Kills everything it touches. Best to spray on a sunny day. Be careful with the 45% vinegar. Don't breathe it in.
some ppl say it will grow back unless you pull the roots out. I dont know personally,I havent done it yet. But nothing else Ive tried has worked.
don't kill dandilions and clover... the bee populations need them... they are natural medicine too... do some research...
No, they don't. Dandelions and clover are European plants. Plant native American wildflowers if you're concerned about bees.
@@pamelah6431 yup... came over on the mayflower... and are now found all around the world and still good for all bee populations thank you very much...
Dandelions areate compacted soil, add calcium and aren't bad for yards, just more unsightly for many people to like. I think Dandelions are pretty but, for me, just not nilly willy in my yard like they used to be.
@@pamelah6431Honey bees are of European origin. The familiar honeybee is the Italian honeybee and we're known as "white man's flies" by native Americans.
@@wilfredvanvalkenburgh2874 yes, exactly. Honey bees are European livestock. They're also generalists who outcompete our native bees, many of which are specialists who are losing their menu to hostas and burning bushes...
You know what else works? Cardboard.
Did you know that poison oak (sister species, pretty much identical, west coast) is on the MANDATORY restoration list for Caltrans (Highway dept.) Why? Poison Ivy & Oak are sisters of Cashew. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for native birds diet. Poison Ivy Honey is silvery, absolutely delicious and gets a premium price. Why? because it confers immunity.
More likely because they are important ground covers that prevent erosion.
The problem with poison ivy is the stems and roots hold the oils, even when the foliage dies.
You are Mark Mansons doppelganger!!!!! (Motivational speaker/author on YT) That's crazy! Same hair, sense of humor, facial features. It's crazy!
That’s curious.
You watch you phraseologly there young lady....... Going , and callin him some sort of Dopple somepin' or other.
He doesnt give a F 😂
@@GottaSayIt 🤣😂
Thanks for doing this experiment. The information is very useful. I am allergic to this hateful plant, but I also work IN it most days outta the year, cutting grass and clearing land. This ain't NOTHING! Please mow that shit down! Even with a weed whacker! You'll be just fine. That entrance there, you could whack down in 5 minutes. BUT here's the trick to not getting poison ivy, oak, sumac whatever... Surgeon was your hands, THEN shower, and wash 3 to 5 times. Good luck to you.
That is why i use Roundup
If you touch poison Ivy, it is important to remove the oil ASAP.
With dish detergent and a wet warm wash cloth use mechanical elbow grease.
If you do a good job scrubbing off all the ivy oil you should avoid an outbreak.
Pay special attention to between fingers and toes.
Many do not know this, not knowing that the poison ivy oil is still on their skin, boots, socks, pants etc. and to remove it right away.
Hope I saved some of you the pain.
There are videos on you tube on this.
Cleared a bunch with gloves and such, a week later I made the mistake of putting the same shirt on and there was a little on it somewhere and next thing I know a week after clearing poison ivy I got some rash
Cats can bring in ivy oil on their fur.
Great video. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I’ve been dealing with it for years here and what I’ve noticed that has helped the best is bleach. I’ve sprayed bleach on it as well as watering the roots with it and it works the best for me. I’ve been able to keep it under control doing that thru out the years. We had a lot of it on our property in the past and now I’m down to a few popping up and I spray and water it immediately. It dies off and it helps to kill the roots underground from spreading further. This is just my opinion that I thought I would share with you. Thank you again and take care✌️
Over the counter 'box store' products rarely work. You need the stuff farmers use. Go to a farm supply place & ask for Carmax, I don't think you can get that actual product anymore, but they have a replacement. And it works.
I have a friend who is an expert gardener, and she says the best thing is to go out in spring when the new plants are small and pull them out by the roots when the soil is wet and slippery. This gets rid of plants that started from birds dropping the seeds. (She's not affected by PI.)
I use vinegar and salt. The rubber gaskets on the sprayers are destroyed. Is there a sprayer that can handle vinegar?
Still, I wish you tried, water, soap, salt and vinegar for comparison.
I have 42 acres of forest and clearings. Much of it is covered with poison ivy and kudzu. It doesn't bother me and I pick it by hand but it makes the power utility people go crazy when they see it. I decided this year to start spraying. My first treatment was a month ago with Roundup (3x the suggested concentration) and this weekend I am following that up with 2-4-D amine. I have had good dieback with the Roundup but some of the ivy is very resistant (the stuff covering my house).
Odd, I am mostly immune to poison ivy and oak but lawn grass sap will make me break out in hives.
Poison Ivy didn't effect me either, THEN it happened, and it got worse every year, I can't get near it. So just a heads up. I hope you never get it. I had it everywhere, eyes, crotch, between toes, fingers, you name it. what a battle. A close friend said he would pull it out for me. He didn't have a break out but, even with me at a distance, got a mild case. I'm an incubator when it comes to this stuff.
Blake give this one a try, as it has worked very well for me, when a lot of others have failed. The important thing is the active chemical & how it's mixed (concentrate). Find "Diquat dibromide 2.3% along with Fluazifop-p-butyl 1.15%" mixture. Mix 7 oz per gallon of water. The manufacturer isn't important, but the one I use is Spectracide Weed & Grass Killer. This is a non-selective weed killer. Even a light mist carried by the wind will kill any green plant foliage it hits. For $15 or so, it's worth a try. Good luck.
Thanks for this. I have fences with vines separating my yard with my neighbors. It looks nice but is full of poise ivy which I get every time I brush against it mowing. Hoping to kill the poison ivy and not everything else. May try the salt first. Really like your videos
Thanks! I hope it works.
For more potent white vinegar, buy the 30% gallons at Home Depot. It's also called horticultural vinegar. Grocery store vinegar is 6-8%. 30% is strong stuff, so keep it away from your face. As other commenters have pointed out, it doesn't kill the roots.
I am extremely sensitive to poison ivy. Last Year l had a severe case that lasted three weeks. It didn't start to get better until l went to the doctor and got cortisone. My right arm and hand were covered with huge blisters. I looked like l had a plague. I have three neighbors that adjoin my yard and the do nothing to eliminate it from their yards and it keeps invading mine.
I react to poison ivy easily, but as long as im wearing long sleaves and gloves ive never had a problem from mowing poison ivy. Mowing blades arnt blending leaves to a slurry either, but thats a good way to kill poison ivy, bag your grass clippings and dump them on the poison ivy.
I WILL TRY THE SOAP AND SALT, MY NEIGHBORS POISON IVY IS GROWING OVER AND THROUGH MY PRIVACY FENCE, THEY WON'T TAKE CARE OF IT, I WILL! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATIVE TESTING EXPERIMENT. PERSONALLY I'D NEVER USE CHEMICALS.
Or lower case.
I have the same problem but didn't realize it soon enough. So a couple years ago, I discovered it all over my side of his privacy fence when I was cutting back my Rose of Sharon (which also snuck in under the fence but aren't so bad). The roots were growing amongst my black raspberry vines, so I had to be very careful trying to get them out. Between the Brush Killer, cutting the vines, digging the roots, I think I got most of it. I see a plant/two this year so I'll just do it again. I'm highly sensitive and always miss one/two spots cleaning up, but worth it. Thank you for the comparison and good luck!
Would throwing tarps over them, or mulch, kill them off? I have seen my neighbors do that on their laws before they laid sod down on top.
I have found that Crossbow (@ >/= 4% ? Would have to check product leaflet to be sure) + dish soap works on our poison ivy in typically only one application and good weather.
The salt residue out last the effects of vinegar. We use horticultural vinegar. And there are no lasting effects after a couple rains.
How do these products affect pollinators and the microbiome?
It probably kills them. I won't use such products.
Dude, how are you doing? Still waiting? Healing slowly?
Your personality shines through in your videos, your love.
I wish you well Sir, hope to see a healthy, shining you.
Peace Dammit!
How much vinegar do you add to the 1 gallon salt/ dish soap/ water solution?
Back about 40 years ago, I was digging artifacts at a site and began to get some itchy spots on my face. When I got home I took a shower and in the morning my face looked like that of a burn victim. I told my wife to keep the kids from seeing me. The doctor gave me everything he could, the last was some super powerful antibiotic as I recall. He told me if that didn't do it there was nothing that could be done. That turned it around and weeks later I made a full recovery. Also, after I healed the doctor warned me about inhaling the smoke from burning poison ivy. He said you can get an internal infection. Also he told me not to eat cashew nuts as they're from the same family. If one tends toward reactions to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, one is playing with death when eating cashew nuts.
Becareful of the hairy vines, that is poison ivy.
No, not always.
@@pamelah6431 If the hairy vines are in an area that's full of poison ivy, it's very likely it's a poison ivy vine, and an old one at that which would produce berries in the fall that birds love to eat and then spread the seed to other areas. Often in the spring you can see poison ivy leaves growing on the hairy vine further up the tree that it's wrapped around. The vine can be kill by cutting it off about 6 inches above the ground and dabbing the cut surface of the vine's stump with undiluted CONCENTRATED glysophate or triclophyr to kill off the root below ground. The cut vine above with the leaves don't need to have anything done to it after cutting it off at the bottom, it will shrivel and die in days .
Recommend you gently (with gloves!) pull along the ivy to find the major root (if you rip it up you will break it) .. the root keeps spreading right at ground level. Yeah, i bought a paper type hazmat suit pretty cheap on Amazon because I am really sensitive to that mess. I sprayed with some stuff last year that came highly recommended and it all seemed to die off .. back this year 😢
There is actually a stronger vinegar for that, I have seen at Walmart on occasion.
I tried salt and vinegar. It will make some grass weak and frail but for the most part I'd say its a waste of time. Just get something strong like Bioadvanced concentrate so that you can spray large areas with ease and that it will work. Fall is also the best time to be spraying brush since it will kill the roots. If you spray during summer it just kills what's on top.
Thank you for this. I have some rather large growths of poison ivy in my yard and didn't know how to deal with it. I'll be picking up Brush Killer today.
FYI vinegar at these rates is not going to change your soil pH.
You have a wonderful sense of humor and a good voice! "Dish Soap"? Don't you mean "Dish Detergent"? Big difference. I use soap on my face but would never use detergent as it is formulated to break down grease into smaller particles, one of the reasons "detergent" is better than "soap" for cleaning. Regarding the banning of an effective poison: Isn't there a difference between crop dusting and home poison ivy control? why do they make "one law for every possible situation"?? I wonder if Bleach would work? I've tried salt and vinegar with no good result. Some plants die if you put Flour on it because it clogs up their pores. WOW! Cool outfit! Probably scared the neighbor's cat. I get poison ivy every year, but don't have a face mask. (Bought an expensive one but I couldn't wear it because the smell of plastic made me ill.) At our local park, the poison ivy is on the ground, a bush, or a vine---gets you coming and going. Thanks for an interest video. Some of the comments below are valuable, too.
Maybe a little pricey ($80-90 gallon), but CROSSBOW is the best I've found so far.
Not a popular opinion I’m sure, but Round Up kills the root. Used it for treatment on a huge swatch last fall. It did not come back this spring, except the stuff at the rear I barely got due to distance.
I’d like to see how this looks next year. I suppose that means I will subscribe :)
My dad was a train engineer for many yrs. He would bring home diesel from the trains and used that on this stuff still it lived. Ive read you have to kill the roots. Dig down to the main root and dig it up. I also found companies who would come out to your house and do this to kill the stuff
Triclopyr is awesome. Crossbow with 16.5% triclopyr absolutely nuked my creeping charlie, which is an ivy. It hurt several other weeds as well which is a bonus. Newly seeded grass was not harmed and sprouted through. Is been about 4 days since I applied and the ivy is all ashed and getting blown away by the wind. Just get a 2 gallon sprayer and dump 4 oz of crossbow in it and some dawn dish soap to help it stick. This will produce a 1% triclopyr solution and should cover 5000ish square feet. Should turn milky white and you need to shake it to keep it mixed. I use 45% vinegar and salt with dish soap to spray in areas where growth is not desired. Never salt an area unless you are darn sure you want nothing growing there.
My problem is I help poison ivy growing on the side of my house on the brick itself. Plus it's whining around my air conditioner and a small garden box😢 I called a professional so they can treat a and they'll remove it for an extra cost, because the oil that causes the rashes active for up to a year after the leaves have died. Please remember that if you end up going around it or you decide you want to pull it up yourself.
Through and prompt washing will prevent the rash from developing.
Vinegar only changes the pH for a few hours. I use it as a temporary pH down in hydroponics.
It depends on how much is used. I used vinegar on my lawn once and it prevented anything from growing for several weeks. But that was too much.
@@BuildingWithBlakebecause it’s acts just like roundup. It kills everything. Just took a while for it to grow back. Not because of ph. I use it at places my customers don’t want roundup sprayed at. Does the same as roundup by killing everything it touches. It will also depend on how much rain you get afterwards. The more rain you get the quicker stuff will grow back. If hot and dry it will last longer.
It's not so much about the PH of the soil. Vinegar (Acetic Acid) at 20 % or higher will destroy the leaf, Hence killing the plant..... for now anyway. It'll be back.
I bet you got poison ivy on your hands after this video. You put those flags in the ground with your hand less that an inch from that stuff. Even after you kill it, the roots and dried up plant can still give you blisters. That's how to get poison ivy blisters in the winter, cut a tree that has a poison ivy vine growing up it, can be a 2 in wood vine, the saw dust chips will do it.
I've found 2 4 D to be effective.Doesnt harm grass.
Nice video! Appreciate your comparison tactics….tho using a product stored for 12 years in a shed subjected to hot/cold is questionable. 🤣. Gosh, they all looked pretty ineffective….or….disappointing. Please, when you spray chemicals - wear gloves on that spray hand. Best of luck getting ahead of these monsters. 👍🏻
The dry leaves still have urushiol oil in them, so, yeah. Nasty stuff. I used to get poison ivy reactions a lot as a kid despite avoid it like the plague when I recognized it. Finally figured out I was getting it from playing in piles of leaves that I didn't even realized contained dry poison ivy leaves.
I've found the triclopyr as the most useful to kill poison ivy, briars and sweet gum trees. Glyphosate may need to be sprayed twice on poison ivy if it resprouts from below, so... Also, the triclopyr is not so hard on the grasses if you want to avoid killing them. Don't get it near Privet bush roots though. Great chemical.
Deer work about as well as goats. Our neighborhood deer herd has removed all the poison ivy, English ivy, and most of the other ground growing plants. The only problem is how to get them to not eat the plants that you really want to keep.
Common cooking vinegar has 5% acidity, but some of the big-box hardware-store replacements might carry 30% vinegar, which works much better sprayed on some cursed-leaves. But if PI loves an acidic soil, this might mot be helpful, on second thought. Back to the beakers and test tubes. (Harumph.)
2,4-D works really good in the Midwest. But you need to change herbicides every year