Suffering through Poison Ivy... Ugh :(

[D the Catastrophist]

The ditches next to the road on my property are overgrown with western poison ivy. Since I bought the property last year I have been at war with it. The good part is I am not as sensitive to it as my dad(he has been hospitalized from exposure). The bad part is that even wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves(real fun when 80+), the oils soaking through the clothes still get me. 4+ gallons sprayed multiple times, of the Roundup formulated for poison ivy didn't do more then kill off the leaves for a couple months.
The only way to get rid of it appears to be pulling out the long underground runners(I pulled a couple well over six feet long).
At least the soil in the ditch is soft but here I am, suffering through the raised welts and itching for the next week.
Where the hell is my easy button?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Poison Ivy is just evil. It serves no legitimate purpose in this planet other than irritate everyone it can.

 

[Henbrew]

Gold Bond makes some good anti itch creams. That was my go to when I got poison ivy pretty bad.

 

[sibelman]

Sorry to hear of your affliction. Is this what we westerners call poison oak? Does beer help at all?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I as well got into some this weekend.
I've found to dry it up and reduce the blisters, I soak a paper towel in denatured alcohol, the strong stuff from the hardware store.
It dries out the skin, the liquid wicks up to moisturize it, and keep doing it several times a day.
It seems to help for me.

No poison oak is another plant with similar irritation.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

Nope. Eastern poison ivy is a vine, western poison ivy is a shrub that spreads by underground runners. Michigan is blessed with both.

 

[SanPancho]

The ditches next to the road on my property are overgrown with western poison ivy. Since I bought the property last year I have been at war with it. The good part is I am not as sensitive to it as my dad(he has been hospitalized from exposure). The bad part is that even wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves(real fun when 80+), the oils soaking through the clothes still get me. 4+ gallons sprayed multiple times, of the Roundup formulated for poison ivy didn't do more then kill off the leaves for a couple months.
The only way to get rid of it appears to be pulling out the long underground runners(I pulled a couple well over six feet long).
At least the soil in the ditch is soft but here I am, suffering through the raised welts and itching for the next week.
Where the hell is my easy button?

brew up some high OG wort, no hops. spray the ivy. let it dry. spray again.

find yourself a goat or ten.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

The ditches next to the road on my property are overgrown with western poison ivy. Since I bought the property last year I have been at war with it. The good part is I am not as sensitive to it as my dad(he has been hospitalized from exposure). The bad part is that even wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves(real fun when 80+), the oils soaking through the clothes still get me. 4+ gallons sprayed multiple times, of the Roundup formulated for poison ivy didn't do more then kill off the leaves for a couple months.
The only way to get rid of it appears to be pulling out the long underground runners(I pulled a couple well over six feet long).
At least the soil in the ditch is soft but here I am, suffering through the raised welts and itching for the next week.
Where the hell is my easy button?

Diesel fuel is hell on the environment, but does a good job at killing it.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Whatever you do, don't burn it, the oil in the smoke still gets you.

 

[day_trippr]

^you ain't kidding^

When I was ~10 my dad decided to clear a quarter acre of the forest behind our house and was burning the gathered brush pile, and I was screwing around with the burn, getting smoke all over and in me. Promptly ended up in the hospital with vivid lesions outside and inside me, being pumped full of steroids and antihistamines for three days.

Only upside is I was (and am) no longer reactive to poison ivy exposure. I can literally roll in it and develop maybe two tiny bumps somewhere - and that's it...

Cheers! (Still, I don't recommend it )

 

[kingmatt]

Boiling water is a cheap solution to kill off the vines/leaves. The roots will eventually start to put up new shoots but if you keep killing them off with more boiling water, eventually the roots will die too.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I was trying to kill some fire ants.
I poured white vinegar on the hill in the yard, it made a dead spot for a long time.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

it's just impressive the amount of abuse you can inflict on the plants and they still come back. In a month it went from crispy, everything dead to lush rolling waves of the poison ivy. You couldn't tell I'd done anything.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

Only upside is I was (and am) no longer reactive to poison ivy exposure. I can literally roll in it and develop maybe two tiny bumps somewhere - and that's it...

Cheers! (Still, I don't recommend it )

I knew someone who was the opposite, when he was young he could walk through it, weave wicker chairs from it, nothing. Then, as he got older, each exposure got worse and worse.

 

[H.Stiglitz]

I have PTSD from the ivys. The devil's plant. Not only is the reaction terrible, it makes you wait stressfully for several days to figure out if it got you.

I have some wooded land and that stuff always creeps into common areas. The birds will spread it too by eating the seeds/berries. Nice of them, eh?

Go to TSC and get some RM43. It will scorch the earth it touches including Ivy. However, nothing will grow there for over a year. Good luck.

Cheers

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Go to TSC and get some RM43. It will scorch the earth it touches including Ivy.

Cheers

Put that in a pump up sprayer and put memorable messages in the yard of your ex.

 

[Dland]

Geesh, I should be getting hazzardus duty pay, between that PI & the ticks...

Best over the counter remedy for post exposure for PI I've seen is Tecnu Extreme. It is recommended for use just after exposure, but it can also help to rub it on after rash too. Let the exfoliant shread some of the skin that is affected, let remaining toxins out.

If it is driving you nuts (& hopefully not on them), wash affected areas with water as hot you can stand, get some soap or shampoo, and rip out the blisters. Sounds extreme, but better than gasoline, which is also an old timer cure. If you're going to go that route, use rubbing alcohol, or everclear if you want food grade, way less toxic than gasoline, does the same thing.

I don't get it much anymore, but still have healthy respect, as I know others who developed immunity, only to have it fail them at some point.

 

[passedpawn]

Leaves of 3, leave it be. That's what I learned. Sounds good, but leaving it wasn't an option. Bought a property that was overgrown with vines to the sky, weaving in and out of the live oaks and palms. It is all gone now, pulled it all out. But every time I got into it, I'd end up with rashes.

Steroidal cream (prescription) gets rid of it very quickly. I was so impressed, I got an extra tube because I knew I'd get it again.

 

[passedpawn]

Geesh, I should be getting hazzardus duty pay, between that PI & the ticks...

Best over the counter remedy for post exposure for PI I've seen is Tecnu extreme. It is recommended for use just after exposure, but it can also help to rub it on after rash too. Let the exfoliant shread some of the skin that is affected, let remaining toxins out.

If it is driving you nuts (& hopefully not on them), wash affected areas with water as hot you can stand, get some soap or shampoo, and rip out the blisters. Sounds extreme, but better than gasoline, which is also an old timer cure. If you're going to go that route, use rubbing alcohol, or everclear if you want food grade, way less toxic than gasoline, does the same thing.

I don't get it much anymore, but still have healthy respect, as I know others who developed immunity, only to have it fail them at some point.

Calamine lotion was the one recommended in the song. I know I'm not the only one thinking of this song when they saw this thread.

 

[Dland]

Calamine lotion was the one recommended in the song. I know I'm not the only one thinking of this song when they saw this thread.

Yeah, we had that stuff around when we were kids. I think it was basically a semi-week dilution of alcohol with some scented chalk particles suspended, worked as a mild descant. Was somewhat better than nothing.

 

[oakbarn]

Does not affect me but my wife is very sensitive, If I am around it, I strip outside and place my clothes directly in the washer and wash. Even if you are not sensitive, the more you handle it the more likely you will be!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

apparently goats like poison ivy

 

[H.Stiglitz]

Put that in a pump up sprayer and put memorable messages in the yard of your ex.

I prefer obscene gestures.

 

[H.Stiglitz]

Fun fact - the vines can emit urushoil even when dead.

 

[Deadalus]

Tecnu works but if you can't get that right away, try Fels-Naptha bar soap. Walmart usually carries it in the laundry soap aisle as it can be used for making your own laundry detergent. You want to use either product ASAP to get the oil off you.

 

[Dland]

apparently goats like poison ivy

It is said that one eats the meat of animals that graze on PI, that helps with immunity. Rings true to me, I was eating a lot of local venison for a while, and I think that helped a lot in me not getting it.

I know someone who did the thing where one eats a little bit of PI leaf just as it comes out in spring, and continues to eat some as the leaves get bigger, until they ate a whole leaf. Sounds good in theory, and I'm told it worked for them, but I'm not going to try it. I'll eat some PI fed goats, deer or sheep though, ...anytime.

 

[bracconiere]

Where the hell is my easy button?

easy buttons are figured out, not displayed! (i'd guess a tiller, and a trap to catch the runners? or maybe rake them up? maybe if the tiller didn't leave them on the surface, it'd losen the soil enough to use a pitch fork to get them out, possibly?)

 

[Dr_Jeff]

easy buttons are figured out, not displayed! (i'd guess a tiller, and a trap to catch the runners? or maybe rake them up? maybe if the tiller didn't leave them on the surface, it'd losen the soil enough to use a pitch fork to get them out, possibly?)

You have to be careful working in ditches, if you loosen up the soil too much and get a big rain, then you have a major erosion problem.
Been there, done that.

 

[bracconiere]

You have to be careful working in ditches, if you loosen up the soil too much and get a big rain, then you have a major erosion problem.
Been there, done that.

good thought....what about tossing some cement mix by hand while tilling. then watering it down when you get the runners out?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

That might work, but I would guess that it would depend on ones soil type.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

apparently goats like poison ivy

There's several people in my neighborhood that will unleash the goats for free on the PI. They just show up with a trailer and open the gates. I don't know if it will kill it but it does put two ornery bastids against each other.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

I'd consider the goats except the ditch and ivy is right next to the road(maybe a foot or 2 of shoulder, also covered in ivy. That and we have some really bad drivers. I can see then either 1). Crashing in the ditch when they try to hit or spook the goats, or 2). Ending up in the ditch on the other side avoiding them.

 

[CharlaineC]

Look up super Ivy dry It is a godsend for dealing with any of the plants like this. many pharmacies keep it behind the counter but it is an otc med. for some reason back in the late 80s they started to hide it. a little goes a long way and the bottle lats for a long while

 

[balrog]

seen is Tecnu Extreme.

Tecnu. This. They make a "it puts the lotion on" lotion for before you go out, and the vinegary stuff for after you get it, as well as soap I think.

But this.
Tecnu.

I always got swollen shut eyes with PI exposure as kid. Still affected but not as badly. But, Tecnu.

 

[trevelynzx]

Hair dryer provides amazing relief.

 

[marc1]

The ditches next to the road on my property are overgrown with western poison ivy. Since I bought the property last year I have been at war with it. The good part is I am not as sensitive to it as my dad(he has been hospitalized from exposure). The bad part is that even wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves(real fun when 80+), the oils soaking through the clothes still get me. 4+ gallons sprayed multiple times, of the Roundup formulated for poison ivy didn't do more then kill off the leaves for a couple months.
The only way to get rid of it appears to be pulling out the long underground runners(I pulled a couple well over six feet long).
At least the soil in the ditch is soft but here I am, suffering through the raised welts and itching for the next week.
Where the hell is my easy button?

If you go play in poison ivy again, get your contaminated clothes directly into the washing machine without touching anything else, and then take a very thorough shower using Dawn dish detergent to repeatedly cleanse your whole body.

When we bought our house, there were several dead trees that had enormous poison ivy vines climbing them that made the trees look like they were still alive. Actually a pretty plant! When I took the vines down, the above cleaning process within a couple hours of exposure prevented me from developing a rash.

Be careful with your shoes, the urushiol doesn't really go away on its own, so touching your shoes afterwards will get it right back on you. IIRC, I wore really old sneakers and threw them away afterwards.