Poison Ivy

Its in the middle of the hedge (privet). I can't get to it without cutting out around the privet. That, or spray everything.

Might take longer, but perhaps you can carefully wet the poison ivy leaves with Roundup of Weed-b-Gon.  Over time, the poison ivy will die off.

Alternatively, loss of privet is considered to be acceptable collateral damage.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Its in the middle of the hedge (privet). I can't get to it without cutting out around the privet. That, or spray everything.

You could try just carefully spraying the roots. 

tjohn said:

Might take longer, but perhaps you can carefully wet the poison ivy leaves with Roundup of Weed-b-Gon.  Over time, the poison ivy will die off.

Alternatively, loss of privet is considered to be acceptable collateral damage.

I've tried that. The stuff just slides off. Some of the leaf goes to brown. No luck. Leaves are deep into the privet and hard to get to.

KarenMarlowe said:

You could try just carefully spraying the roots. 

I've tried that. The ivy is deep into the privet. I am having difficulty tracing the leaves to the stem to the root. 

If you are able to get the roundup on some of the leaves of the poison ivy, it will be absorbed into the roots and the plant will die.  It may take a week or more, but the other leaves will then die off.  

If you can reach any of the stems without touching the leaves, you can clip and drip plant-killer on the cut surface. I've had good luck with that tactic.

While most people keep privet under control by shearing it, I understand  the proper (British) method to be removing an entire branch from near the base to thin it out, letting more light into the interior. 

If you can remove an entire branch near the poison Ivy, you might have better access to the roots of the P.I. 

Of course, that’s easier said than done if the hedge is thickly grown. 

RobertRoe said:

If you are able to get the roundup on some of the leaves of the poison ivy, it will be absorbed into the roots and the plant will die.  It may take a week or more, but the other leaves will then die off.  

I will work on that approach. I was spraying with 30% vinegar and soap. It just slid right off the leaves. There are a couple of brown spots on the leaves I sprayed with Ortho poison ivy spray

Cut off at bottom and paint the stub with Roundup, then remove leaves/branches at your convenience, easier to find if they're dead?? (hate to recommend R, but poison ivy is the exception!)

eta:  paint = brush on

I had it growing up into a small scrub / bush.  I, with long gloves on, followed the vine downward to to ground to locate the root.  Then just dug it out.  It was a mature vine about 1/2" in diameter.  One the root was severed, the vine / leaves in the bush just dried up dead.  Good luck. 

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

RobertRoe said:

If you are able to get the roundup on some of the leaves of the poison ivy, it will be absorbed into the roots and the plant will die.  It may take a week or more, but the other leaves will then die off.  

I will work on that approach. I was spraying with 30% vinegar and soap. It just slid right off the leaves. There are a couple of brown spots on the leaves I sprayed with Ortho poison ivy spray

Vinegar and soap?  The idea being that the poison ivy laughs itself to death.

I don't use Roundup very often, but when I do, I use it on poison ivy.  And Japanese knotweed, but that was an eradication battle I won many years ago.

There is a specific poison ivy spray which I find very satisfactory.  Roundup is too potent to be trying to spray inside your privet hedge.

jwm64 said:

I had it growing up into a small scrub / bush.  I, with long gloves on, followed the vine downward to to ground to locate the root.  Then just dug it out.  It was a mature vine about 1/2" in diameter.  One the root was severed, the vine / leaves in the bush just dried up dead.  Good luck. 

I've got a scaled up version of that task ahead of me. I realized the verdant, green leaves of a tree at the edge of my property were... not the leaves of a tree. The vine's probably about the width of my arm. There's a hacksaw, gloves, long sleeved shirt, hat, mask, and lots of dial soap in my future this weekend.

tjohn said:

Vinegar and soap?  The idea being that the poison ivy laughs itself to death.

I don't use Roundup very often, but when I do, I use it on poison ivy.  And Japanese knotweed, but that was an eradication battle I won many years ago.

Ugh. Don't talk to me about Japanese knotweed. I wish I could use Roundup on mine, but all I can do is attack it with a machete every year.

ridski said:

Ugh. Don't talk to me about Japanese knotweed. I wish I could use Roundup on mine, but all I can do is attack it with a machete every year.

after I cut mine, I drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the stub and poured paint thinner into the hole…. Never came back.

Jaytee said:

ridski said:

Ugh. Don't talk to me about Japanese knotweed. I wish I could use Roundup on mine, but all I can do is attack it with a machete every year.

after I cut mine, I drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the stub and poured paint thinner into the hole…. Never came back.

I live on the river. Anything I pour in there will kill the fish, ducks and herons. So I have to hack it all with a machete.

When prevention fails... We've had great results/relief with Ivy-Dry products, recommended by the nice people at CVS.  There was a 2-part kit at one time, not sure which products it included, probably soap and cream??

http://ivydry.com/treatment-guide/

PVW said:

I've got a scaled up version of that task ahead of me. I realized the verdant, green leaves of a tree at the edge of my property were... not the leaves of a tree. The vine's probably about the width of my arm. There's a hacksaw, gloves, long sleeved shirt, hat, mask, and lots of dial soap in my future this weekend.

I think I've mentioned it before, but you may want to choose the Dawn FOAMING dish soap as your post-yardwork wash. It's usually available at Target. Washes the oils off your skin (they use it to clean oil spills off the wildlife). 

https://www.target.com/p/dawn-platinum-dishwashing-foam-pump-fresh-rapids-scent-soap-10-1-fl-oz/-/A-13044216#lnk=sametab

Pretty cheap and easy to use for poison ivy prevention. We have one on the sink, and one in the shower for after yardwork and hikes.

Round up is a selective herbicide.  If you mix it according to the label it will not harm the privet.

In the 1950's and 1960's Fels Naptha bar soap was the preferred soap for treatment of poison ivy, oak and sumac.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2010/05/04/uses-for-fels-naptha-soap/61251940007/

Years ago, when we lived in our first Maplewood home, we were directed by Pierson's Mill Garden Store to use Ortho Brush Killer - "paint" on the leaves and then it goes down into the stem and roots.  It worked, but took some time. I've assumed that this was similar to Round Up, but I haven't ever compared the ingredient list because our only other brush with PI (in our current home) was a single plant that we were able to pull up including the roots (with carefully plastic-covered hand/arm) and dispose of without chemicals.  

Does your poison ivy live in dense or sparse soil? Around here in Ulster County, NY, it only appears where the soil has been churned recently. As such, it's easy to pull. I know the thought of pulling it is horrifying, and it was to me, too, as I'm insanely sensitive to it. I showered thoroughly after pulling it and discarding it. I used Dawn dish soap liberally, as that cuts the poison ivy oil. Scrubbing with Dawn is a great remedy for poison ivy on the skin.

Oh and hello, after a long absence. Nice to see folks I know here.

Tom_Reingold said:

Does your poison ivy live in dense or sparse soil? Around here in Ulster County, NY, it only appears where the soil has been churned recently. As such, it's easy to pull. I know the thought of pulling it is horrifying, and it was to me, too, as I'm insanely sensitive to it. I showered thoroughly after pulling it and discarding it. I used Dawn dish soap liberally, as that cuts the poison ivy oil. Scrubbing with Dawn is a great remedy for poison ivy on the skin.

Oh and hello, after a long absence. Nice to see folks I know here.

good to see you back. How’s your Great Dane? It’s been years. 

Tom, good to see you back.    You had some of the all-time best post lines on MOL.  And was it a greyhound as I recall?  I am retired but still like to post on MOL at times.  

RobertRoe said:

Tom, good to see you back.    You had some of the all-time best post lines on MOL.  And was it a greyhound as I recall?  I am retired but still like to post on MOL at times.  

I think you’re correct, it was a greyhound. Got my big dogs mixed up. 

Ok, wish me luck -- suiting up and headed out. I feel like I've been tasked with pruning the Hogwarts Whomping Willow.

PVW said:

Ok, wish me luck -- suiting up and headed out. I feel like I've been tasked with pruning the Hogwarts Whomping Willow.

Good luck!  At least it isn't hot out today (assuming you are local) so protecting yourself won't be quite as oppressive.

Ok, seems like I emerged unscathed! I ended up sawing through three main vines -- looks like, just like with the ends, the vine itself likes to split three ways.  The thickest was 2 1/2" !

Ok I think this may be poison ivy.