Well, Ms Styles, you pose a question to which I have an answer from direct experience, and not once but several times.
Since January I have cleared most of the poison ivy from .6 of an acre in South Carolina. I have employed more than one method depending on the condition of the poison ivy, that is whether it is alive and flowering, or in its dormant winter stage with no leaves, or dead and dried out. But make no mistake, in all of these stages it will bite you if you are not careful.
One method I employed was to cut the vine at the base of the tree and leave it hanging for 5 months. During this time it died and dried out, making the tentacles (my term) brittle so they snap, instead of bending only and not breaking. This makes it easier to put the remains in a plastic contractors trash bag, or a large trash barrel. After 5 months, I cut the 65foot tree down and it was easy to get the vine off. You may not want to try this.
Another time, I covered my self well and pulled the vine down, running like hell when it let go of the tree. I was lucky. Then I broke up the pieces while wearing leather work gloves with green disposable rubber gloves underneath (from the paint department at Walmart, 12 to a pack).
Another method I employ on live, leafed stuff is to spray it well with a brush killer that specifically says it will kill poison ivy. Follow the directions on the bottle responsibly, and it will not hurt you. Stand up wind when you spray it at the higher leaves. I am not as pleased with the results as much as I am when I remove it by hand and bag it for disposal; it just makes me real nervous while I am doing it. But this way, once it is in the bag, it is gone.
I have lost my overriding fear of poison ivy, now that I have confidence I can control the effects of it.
It is still somewhat scary, but I am careful to keep my skin covered, and to wash any areas I suspect may have been exposed with isopropyl alcohol (from the Dollar store, or Walmart). I use a cloth rag I dispose of, or tissue paper from a roll and dispose of this. Then I wash thoroughly with soap and water. You may want to adda a skin moisturizer after the alcohol treatment. I flod my self withthe stuff. One could use acetone, 111 trichlorethane or any degreasing agent. Only recognize that the use of these other degreasers may be problematic on sensitive skin.
The big thing to remember is, urushiol is an oil. It reacts as an oil does when it is exposed to a degreasing agent. Once you realize and absorb this, you gain power over the poison ivy.
For those times when I miss a spot, I have a prescription salve, triamcinolone 0.1%CR#120. Amazing stuff!
Inadvertantly, I picked up an armful of dried and decomposed poion ivy vine that came off a toppled tree. Several hours later, while watching TV, I innocuously scratched my arm at the very sensitive pit between the forearm and bicept. As I scratched, I wanted to scratch more, and harder and then suddenly I realized, "Oh, no, I've got it". The pit of my arm was red and puffed. I put the salve on immediately, and looked forward to several days of repeated applications, and the mess and the annoyance, etc. The next morning - to my astonishment -no rash! Like I said, amazing stuff.
Well, Ms Styles I wish you luck. Remember, keep covered (especially your eyes and face when dealing with stuff above your head) and never take the stuff for granted. Keep a couple of bottles of alcohol on hand, better to wash and not need to, than to need to and not to have washed.
My e-mail is mayer9422@bellsouth .net; however, you may only contact me with happy stuff, success stories etc. |
