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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity  |
We have a poison ivy problem  We are thinking of using some kind of weed killer because I think it's beyond our control at this point. We haven't settled on what we'll use yet, but my neighbor (who moved in around the same time we did and has been trying to get her yard under control and has the same problem) said that none of the natural remedies (like with vinegar etc) they tried worked. IIRC she said they are going to try something called "bioadvance." Does anyone know anything about that? Or have other remedies to suggest? The poison ivy in our place is in among ground cover (the creepers that get those cute purple flowers) and in some monkey grass. I assume if we use weed killer there, it will kill whatever else there are well. But those areas have enough of the desirable plants that I think it will come back. Am I right? My bigger concern is that there's also poison ivy behind our only rose bush. The poison ivy is more then a foot away from the roses. If we put weed killer there, is it likely to damage the rose bushes? And, is doing any kind of chemical treatment likely to be bad for any bees that might be around? TIA!
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Have never had to deal with it, so I can't give you any advice except to be very, very careful if you decide to tackle the project yourself.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Kill it. My advice is don't worry about what pesticides you use. Have someone come and get rid of it. I had poison ivy every summer growing up in Upstate New York (and some winters). It was terrible. I've seen the poison ivy in your state. It's virulent. Just get rid of it. My 2 cents. | |||
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Minor Deity |
Has to be specifically for poison ivy. One cannot use just any old weed killer
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| Minor Deity |
Use a spray that has a wand where you can touch the leaves, not just spray all over the place.
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana  |
Ortho has a "vine killer". The last time I bought some, it only came in a quart bottle of concentrate that you dilute like 20-to-1, so one bottle is enough to last a lifetime. It's very nasty stuff, so wear rubber gloves face protection. I was trying to rid a corner of the yard of blackberry and ivy. Neither of them is noxious like poison ivy, but instead of just yanking it out over and over until it got a clue that it was not wanted, I used the vine killer. I mixed up a quart of diluted stuff and applied it with a paintbrush directly to all of the leaves I could get to. I was careful not to drip it on other things that I didn't want to kill. It worked, but it did take two or three applications. Eventually, the blackberry came back, but most likely from fresh seeds (birds eat the berries and the seeds are still viable when they come out the other end of the bird).
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Beatification Candidate |
I've had very good success with the Roundup poison ivy herbicide. I got it in a jug with a spray wand and was able to selectively apply it to the poison ivy leaves without spraying much if any on other plants. It's worked very well and now I just patrol our yard a couple of times a year looking for new growth (I think the birds seed it). The other use I've found for it is killing woody plants that have come up. I cut them off close to the ground and apply the concentrated product directly to the cut ends. It has stopped them from sprouting new growth. This has been very effective against privet and honeysuckle. Big Al
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
Thanks for all the comments everyone! We also been googling around, and frankly, if I can pay someone to take care of it, I will. I just have no idea how much it costs... I need to put up a few photos so you can see, but the problem is, it's in clumps in multiple different places, and often times you can't see where the base of the plant is.... What a nightmare. Ugh
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| Minor Deity |
No pics needed...we know what it looks like!!!!
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
I had a bunch in my yard in Massachusetts. You will have more luck with the heavy-duty weedkiller pj mentioned if you CAREFULLY cut it and apply the weedkiller to the open end. | |||
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
No, I mean pics of where it is in various places around the house, because that impacts what we might do about it.
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
I'm sorry, what do you mean here?
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| "I've got morons on my team." Mitt Romney Minor Deity  |
Yes Roundup isn't "environmentally friendly," but you're not killing an acre of weeds. You're selectively targeting one species. If you can identify the plants, Big Al's correct. Use a targeted nozzle that will apply the stuff directly to the leaves without much contact with the "good plants" around it. Periodically patrol your yard and you'll slowly work the problem away. | |||
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
If you cut the poison ivy out as Quirt said, you will be left with stems that have an exposed end. You apply the weed killer to the cut stem. It’s an open conduit to the root system. Plus you are limiting collateral damage to plants you want to keep because you are selectively applying the weed killer instead of spraying it.
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
I don’t think collateral damage can be limited. Also I don’t want to risk either myself or Mr SK having a bad reaction, so trying to cut it and get at the stems doesn’t seem feasible. I’ll try some photos. Far away view — the poison ivy is in that ground cover that goes up the hill. It’s like it’s woven in there. It through the whole thing, but clumps of it maybe in 10 spots or maybe more actually.  Flower close up — I had to destroy this ground cover bc it’s so pretty  Far away view — this is along our front walk (ignore the garbage can etc, we were doin’ stuff). My SK was going to weed the monkey grass here  Until I found this— close up of monkey grass with poison ivy woven in. 
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