Poison Ivy

[Shields]

Ok I'm getting sick of getting this stuff. I had it everywere on my property we got ride of it somewhat but now spring is here it seams to come up with a vengence. I don't want to spend alot on a commercial brand killer so I was hoping perhaps someone had a home made recipe
Thanks

[rreidnauer]

Not sure it will work on poisen ivy or not, but it's a cheap test. Heat up some water to a near boil and dump in and dissolve a bunch of plain salt. Use something like ice melt or softener salt, instead of going to the market for pricey, small bags. Saturate the ground where it's rooted. Experiment with consentrations. Too much salt will only hurt the wallet, not the effects.

I had a neighbor who had some problem shrubbery growing out of control and enveloping my walkway, and I asked him to trim it up. He pretty much blew it off, so I decided to water his shrubs for him one night. Danged if that shrub didn't mysteriously die off not long after. :twisted:

Be warned, it will probably kill more than the ivy.

[Ellsworth]

You could always get a goat :)
http://www.poison-ivy.org/images/goat.jpg
Downside is that they will eat just about anything else too.

This website suggests "Muratic Acid diluted 1 part to 2 parts water. Spray on the plants and leave until completely dead"
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/poisonivy2.html

A broad leaf herbicide should also work I'd guess.

Hey rreidnauer, these guys had your salt trick... but they use soapy water http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/control.html

[rreidnauer]

HA! Yea, how about that. The soap is a good idea that I didn't think of, though I was only worried about it getting to the roots, not the leaves.

I like the paragraph:

"I strongly recommend against using salt to kill plants. . . . . . . . . . it's toxic and persistent--much more so than Roundup or Brush-b-Gon. It does not break down, and will continue to kill anything planted on the spot until it's thoroughly leached away--a matter of years even in regions of high rainfall."

Ummmm, cheap and extremely persistent. Sounds perfect to me.

[JeffandSara]

Rod--

I remember reading that just plain old boiling water will kill many plants. Don't know about poison ivy/oak; we don't have either. But I've used it to kill weeds in driveway cracks and such. Just don't know how practical it would be for something large-scale and persistent. Hmmm...

Good luck, Matt!

Sara :D

[wood bug]

Shields, Being extremely alergic to to p ivy, oak and sumac. I have tried several things, for spot spraying I use iether plain deisel or add some roundup to it, the oil in the deisel blocks the absorption of light to the plant this alone usually works very good, the thing to rememmber with p oak and ivy is they tend to extend under ground with risomes so you may have to retreat or till, disc about 2 inches deep to pull the root system, also exposing them to lots of sun stresses them , thus they like partial shade and moist soil, I have also slash burned an acre at a time, works too but you have to watch for some re-emirgence, but watch the smoke, STAY away from burning ivy smoke, I would stay away from salts, kills every thing for a long time. cheapest method is Deisel and broadleaf killer, bulk, from your local fertilyzer/ feed store.

[Kama]

Somebody told me once that you can take concentrated Roundup and brush it onto a cut section of the vine. It's suppose to take the Roundup to the root system. I've never tried it though, so I don't know how well it works.

[Craig]

Shields,
I can't remember the ratio, but so many ounces of white vinager with water will kill a lot of weeds. Don't know if it is a kill all. You might try it. I think I found it on www.motherearthnews.com.

good luck,
craig

[Carmen]

Wood bug, I'm not so sure about using diesel, unless you have the dubious luxury of "city water." Not only is it illegal but, more importantly, you're helping poison the ecosystem and your groundwater.

[wood bug]

Well I'm not sure about the illegal part, and I'm not talking a bout pouring a 55 gal drum on the forest floor, any thing you use will change the chemistry of the land even your chlorinated, floride added "city" water. fertilyzer compacts the ground removing the air pockets over time, using diesel in a pump up sprayer to mist ivy 1 maybe twice a year will probably do less harm than you driving to work, mowing your lawn and any other combustable machine that emits pollution in to the atmoshpere

[Carmen]

It's your land.

[ponyboy]

How about Biodiesel.... :D

[lawnchick22]

glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp....you can buy it in concentrate forms under such names as Honcho, Buccaneer and there may be others. Best time of year to kill poison ivy is early spring -- before the leaves have formed a waxy coating, which is harder to penetrate. Yes, you can still kill after that with glyphosate, just may take a couple of sprayings.
Also, if you clip vines and brush the exposed root, do so within 15minutes or so of cutting the vine for best penetration.