Eradicating Poison Ivy

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by elizabeth, Jan 19, 2004.

  1. elizabeth

    elizabeth Junior Member

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    Hello everyone,

    I am looking for ways to eradicate poison ivy using children friendly processes. In other words I do not want to use pesticides, but am interested any companion plant combinations or other methods.

    Any information is appreciated!!

    Elizabeth
     
  2. muttabuttasaurus

    muttabuttasaurus Junior Member

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    I have no personal experience of poison ivy AT ALL, but aren't goats famed to be capable of eating it? If your children and your goats can make friends, how about goats?
     
  3. Mont

    Mont Junior Member

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    G'day. Here's some info from a UK site called Plants for a Future (https://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr). Maybe if you do the opposite of what it likes you might damage the bugger, although it seems pretty versatile. Sorry I can't advise on how to infect it with coral spot fungus, or even if that's a good idea! Good luck.
    Mont

    'The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. It has brittle branches and these can be broken off in strong winds. Plants are also susceptible to coral spot fungus'.
     
  4. elizabeth

    elizabeth Junior Member

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    thanks for the ideas!

    i've been looking at a few other forums and it looks like sunflowers might help. apparently they have allelopathic qualities that many plants don't like.

    cheers!
     
  5. Mont

    Mont Junior Member

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    Sunflowers are hungry feeders so they compete well against other plants but I haven't noticed the plants around ours suffering particularly. The beans use them to climb on. Still, you can give them a try. If worst comes to worst they look great in your garden so you've lost nothing.
     
  6. vix

    vix Junior Member

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    Could you maybe grow choko over the top of it to smother it out, a la choking out lantana with choko.
     
  7. elizabeth

    elizabeth Junior Member

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    what's choko? i'm from canada, eh!
    :D
     
  8. mossbackfarm

    mossbackfarm Junior Member

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    We had a pretty big infestation of poison oak (similar to poison ivy, anyway) at our old place, and the pygmy goats LOVED eating it...as well as the blackberry....:D

    The only caveat is don't get all cuddly with your goats when they have been browsing in the patch....

    Rich
     
  9. Mont

    Mont Junior Member

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    Elizabeth, chokos are originally from South America and are known as chochos or chayote there. They're a green, perennial vegetable, shaped like a lightbulb and almost as tasty. They're regarded fondly by many Australians because they remind us of our childhood, when they were boiled white by thorough mothers, and they're handy for covering unsightly fences or backyard toilets with their rampant vines.

    Mont
     
  10. muttabuttasaurus

    muttabuttasaurus Junior Member

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    Almost as tastey as a lightbulb? Oh Mont, you do the noble Choko an injustice! Boil the life out of anything and it will taste little better than a lightbulb, but treated with respect the Choko is a wonderful food. Try baking it in olive oil with garlic... Yum.
    I can't believe it but they sell Choko's here (in New Mexico, USA) in the supermarket for $3 each. Thats $3 US mind you.(Hmm, there's an idea for the trellis to shade the western wall of the house...)
    I don't know if it true but they say McDonalds uses it instead of apples in those things they call apple pie, but they obviously do boil the #### the #### out of them and adulterate them with God knows what...
     
  11. elizabeth

    elizabeth Junior Member

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    wow! chokos sound really delicious! :p
    unfortunately, i don't think they grow in this temperate climate. poison ivy is a real problem in ontario, especially in disturbed areas and it seems the most effective way of getting rid of it is through pesticides. which really isn't an option at all! so, i will continue my search and any more delectable alternatives are welcome!

    elizabeth
     
  12. Gardening Rob

    Gardening Rob Junior Member

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    Just out of interest, what does poison ivy actually do? I mean, is the sap poisonous, or is it prickly? And what do skunks smell like? (Weird I know, but I've always wondered why Pepe La Phew had such an effect on that cat...)
     
  13. elizabeth

    elizabeth Junior Member

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    i think it's the oils of poison ivy that are so poisonous. without getting into too much detail, they cause itchy and painful rashes. but the worst part is that the oil can get on clothing or animals and spread that way and is really hard to avoid. LUCKILY, i have never gotten it! and as for skunks... they smell like skunk cabbage, or like someone smoking homegrown...
    hope that helps you out!! :;):
     
  14. Mont

    Mont Junior Member

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    I actually like them, and I think they're great diced in curries in place of potato because they soak up the liquid. On that basis my wife, not a fan, will allow them in the house. I've never baked them as you suggest but I'll give it a try. I'm told they've also got more flavour if you pick and eat them when they're smaller and younger, but you'd need your own vine for that.
     
  15. Mont

    Mont Junior Member

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    Chokos, I mean!
     
  16. muttabuttasaurus

    muttabuttasaurus Junior Member

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    (chuckling) yeah mont, they are definitely sweeter if you get them when they're young and tender, like most things...!
     
  17. Gardening Rob

    Gardening Rob Junior Member

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    ...And I thought you had just given us your favourite skunk recipe! Mmm... roast skunk.
     
  18. john2116

    john2116 New Member

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    Re: Eradicating Poison Ivy

    Im doing research on how to eliminate poison ivy from a project im doing. I have found the glove of death method (herbicides) and mechanical eradication (physicaly removing the plants and roots). The mechanical methods will take too much energy and time. How can i design the ivy out. I know they dont like full shade. So if i use the mechanical or glove of death method combined with planting trees that cast full shade i think this eliminate them. Does anyone have any tips using this method? I am in temperate Michigan USA.
     
  19. Ojo

    Ojo Junior Member

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    Re: Eradicating Poison Ivy

    Mulch, Tarps, Pulling
    I've taken out long-established vines with trunks as big as your arm with but two or three strategic, thorough cuttings and a bit of digging and pulling. I carefully note locations of major vine colonies in the middle of winter here, when they're easier to see and brittle to cut as well. One had completely covered a large stone retaining wall, at the bank to the ramp to the main barn loft. In winter I removed major sections of matted vines from the stones, after cutting all along the perimeter of the wall. I threw mulch hay along the top of the wall and it killed the poison ivy there without further ado. I knew that there'd be a good burst of new growth from the base of the big vine I chopped away and dug out, but part of that would be mowed as part of the yard and the other would be the rest of the project. More runners would pull up as the ground thawed, too. Then I waited until the leaf growth was as good as it could be before the seeds form. I cut the vines twice each with a sharp action of the corn knife, two or more inches apart, digging aside the cut section. That takes only minutes. I usually let it rot in place or at least wilt down to a dry brown before removing it to a composting area for ornamental, non-food uses. The seeds are a big source of food for birds and end up under trees to a large extent, so thick mulches can be used in places where mowing isn't practical, as long as they don't extend right up to the trees. I search for separate smaller vines and pull them to find all their branches. It's often easy that way to get most of the ivy in a big area just by first locating a small number of well-spread vines. I have a spading fork, rake, and hay hook that I use to lift stubborn vines rather than cut into the dirt with the knife. I also use nippers to finish off each and every smaller sprout in the area. At most I'll check it to remove any resprouts, once, later in the season. If I remove a plant I replace it with something else, and I'll mulch heavily and position the replacements once I see that the growth is all browned out. This is a plant that gets as indignant as any hothouse ornamental if you demonstrate your willingness to cut away at it with some persistence. It enjoys thick mulches even less. Hell, I've killed some vines just by dropping scrap visqueen and tarps on them, which do the job in a season or two and can be hidden under mulch until removed. One big cluster of vines used to live under a spot where I subsequently stored a couple tons of cypress bark, but it didn't seem to thrive at all once it was under a few feet of slow-rotting mill byproduct ...
    from
    https://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/control.html

    https://www.organiclandcare.net/articles/poison_ivy.php
     
  20. SueinWA

    SueinWA Junior Member

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    Re: Eradicating Poison Ivy

    Spraying the poison ivy plants with 10% or 20% vinegar may be enough to kill them. Most grocery stores only carry the 5% vinegar, so you would probably have to get agricultural vinegar. Check with your local feed and farm stores. Spray the ivy with the straight vinegar mixed with a quarter teaspoon of dishwashing detergent (like Dawn or Palmolive -- it helps it stick to the leaves). Use it on a warm, sunny day when rain is not expected.

    Try to find it locally if you can, but here is a source I ran across online, don't know a thing about them: https://www.marshallgrain.com/marshall/p ... ICEAHMJECM

    And please be aware that you MUST NOT BURN poison ivy vines. The oil will be in the smoke and can cause severe lung damage.

    If you show up with an allergic reaction to the oil, soaking in a bathtub with a cup of baking soda added will really help stop the oozing of the blisters, said one of my co-workers who got a bad case of it.
     

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