Poison Ivy

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:58:40 -0400

If you've ever dealt with poison ivy, you know it can be a pain to get rid of. After I moved out to the Hill Country, I "discovered" poison ivy by accident while cleaning up leaves and brush in my yard. I didn't even know I had touched it until a couple of days later when my arms and chest developed a pretty bad rash. This was from scooping up leaves (and poison ivy apparently) into the wheel barrel with short sleeves on. In New Mexico, where I'm originally from, I never experienced poison ivy so I wasn't all that familiar with it. Please note that I am not an expert when it comes to poison ivy, so please do some more research before trying to get rid of poison ivy. You'll find some good information on the Texas A&M website. Below is my experience with poison ivy.

The stuff in the photo above is just a little of the poison ivy I've found in my yard this spring. I've had it in my yard before, but not to the extent that I'm seeing it this year.

Here in central Texas, specifically in my yard, I usually find the main base of the plant close to a tree. From there it either grows up the tree while also shooting roots away from the base of the tree. These roots usually run about an inch or less under ground and send up shoots (like the one pictured above) about every 6 inches.

I've tried lots of chemicals to get rid of it. From RoundUp (the type specifically made for poison ivy) to a more family-friendly mixture that includes orange oil, vinegar, and dish soap. The measurements for the mixture can be found on the Central Texas Gardener website. Suprisingly, the RoundUp for poison ivy didn't do much. It was applied during a period without any rain when the ivy was actively growing and still nothing. The orange oil/vinegar/soap mixture actually worked pretty good, but had to be reapplied when new shoots popped up. The mixture appeared to kill off the growth above ground but didn't do much to the roots. But by killing the leaves and stems, the roots became starved and eventually the whole plant died. So, if you use the mixture, it will take time and a few applications for it to work. Also, be aware that this mixture kills everything, so don't spray it on or near your landscaping or garden.

The only other thing I found that worked was putting on a long sleeve shirt, long pants, thick gloves, grabbing a small shovel and digging it up. If you're highly alergic to poison ivy, I don't recommend this. Since I'm not too alergic to it (yet), this method worked well for me. To start, I found the poison ivy shoot furthest out from the base of the main plant and slowly and carefully started to dig up the shoots and roots till I got back to the base of the plant. After I dug up the whole thing, I packed it in a bag for the trash. Never burn it since the smoke can be pretty toxic and cause a serious allergic reaction. Since my two year old is exploring the yard constantly, I had to get rid of the poison ivy quickly before he discovered it. I haven't seen any new poison ivy growth but I'm keeping a close eye out just in case more needs to be dug up.

If you have any other solutions for getting rid of poison ivy, please let me know.

Orlando Castillo

Poison Ivy