Poison Ivy... grrr...

Equus--

I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake
Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon
Some call it pretty,
others call it crazy
But they all sing this tune:

Mairzy doats and dozy doats
And liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Yes! Mairzy doats and dozy doats
and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

If the words sound queer
And funny to your ear,
A little bit jumbled and jivey
Sing "Mares eat oats
And does eat oats
And little lambs eat ivy"

Oh! Mairzy doats and dozy doats
And liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

Sozobe--

If you have woodland nearby, a little dumping would be no bad idea. After all garbage men/sanitation engineers are people too. If you have no woodland in walking distance (and I wouldn't put the stuff in the trunk of my car unless there was NO OTHER CHOICE) bundle it up in plastic bags and then triple bag the stuff so that other people won't be exposed to the oil.

Side thought: Your poison ivy was probably planted by birds. The berries ripen and turn white in the fall just about the time that songbirds head south. The poison ivy leaves turn bright red so the birds can spot them and scoff them up as quick and tasty refreshments.

This gives "eating like a bird" new meaning.

poison ivy
DON"T BURN IT !!! ...the smoke can be very irritating...

here is information on ...POISON IVY CONTROL...

Hamburgers site reccomended what I said, cut the plant and paint the stem with Roundup. Im tellin ya thats the only way you wont kill everyother plant on your property. Roundup takes no prisoners (with the exception of clover, it wont kill clover)

She comes on like a rose
But everybody knows
She'll get you in dutch
You can look but you better not touch

Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy
Late at night while you're sleepin'
Poison Ivy comes a creepin' around
She's round

She's pretty as a daisy
But look out man she's crazy
She'll really do you in
If you let her get under your skin

Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy
Late at night while you're sleepin'
Poison Ivy comes a creepin' around
She's round

Measles make you bumpy
And mumps'll make you lumpy
And chicken pox'll make you jump and twitch
A common cold'll fool ya
And whoopin' cough can cool ya
But poison ivy Lord'll make you itch

You're gonna need an ocean
Of calamine lotion
You'll be scratchin' like a hound
The minute you start to mess around

Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy
Late at night while you're sleepin'
Poison Ivy comes a creepin' around
She's round

I remember one of the signs of spring in my youth was Month of May poison ivy--sordid souvenirs of splendor in the grass.

Roundup it is. Thanks for the link, hamburger.

Can anyone give me a pep talk? I have this horrible sinking feeling every time I go take a look and see more and more of the accursed stuff. (Maybe because I know what to look for, at least partly because more are growing as I gather info, the infestation is now well beyond the dozen or so plants I estimated earlier. I'd say more like I dunno 50. Little ones, though.)

Go for it Soz! Then you can breath easy all summer . . .

You can definitely do this, Soz. Just be careful and prepared.

Thanks guys. <mutters IcandoitIcandoitIcandoit...>

New question... how do I know when they're dead? How do I know if my application has done the job or if I need to do more?

"we kept having people tell us the back yard was riddled with poison ivy"

They may or may not be right. So keep a box of disposable long kitchen gloves by the back door. Every couple weeks take a pair, go on the war-path and stalk those sumbiches, just like weeding a garden.

Again, slather Technu all over your boots, ankles, wrists, and any spot that starts to break out. Then it's okay. Any spot that has Technu on it is invincible! It fully "unlocks" the Urushiol molecules.

After the initial spring-cleaning, there should only be little sprouts here and there, so the full Haz-Mat Suit shouldn't be necessary.

Be sure to check a little past the perimeter too. You don't want their dust and leaves (and creepers and seeds!) blowing into your yard. The roots may keep sprouting for a whole season, but after that you're home-free.

You want motivation? Pretend that Sozlet is crawling around, playing hide and seek, right in the underbrush.

Be fierce! Be ruthless! Poison ivy has no place in your home!

Lances! Swords! Roundup! Charge!

<Sitting up a little straighter>
<still sitting, though>

I'll get all this stuff today.

A word on the warnings of poison ivy we received -- we also have a whole lot of wild strawberries. Leaflets three. I thought people were being alarmist, and it was just the strawberries.

Sigh.

I still don't quite get how sozlet and I have tromped around back there innumerable times over the course of almost a year with absolutely no ill effects -- I mean, I never had a terrible reaction in the past but I had reactions. I don't think it would go from something to nothing.

Anyway.

Getting Technu, Roundup, and some gloves today.

<girding loins>

Strawberries and wildberry leaves have jagged edges. Leaves in threes, but jaggy.
Poison ivy and poison oak have smooth edged leaves, with no hairs or thorns along the stems.


Pictures here: http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/picqna.html
and also here: http://www.poison-ivy.org/

Right, I was hoping THEY were wrong about it. That they saw the strawberries and THOUGHT they were poison ivy, when it was just the strawberries.

But no, we have strawberries and then poison ivy, as well.

Growing up in Michigan, we always picked wild strawberries in late spring. Inevitably, the patches were interlaced with poison ivy, making the task next to impossible.

I guess they like the same conditions.

So I got the Roundup and Tecnu. We have some electric company fun and games going on today (complicated), hopefully I can do it tomorrow. Sporadic thunderstorms expected, but the kind I got says "rainproof in 30 minutes."

You can do this - you are invincible - you are the foe of poison ivy. The type of foe it's never faced before.

Here I go!

Really!

-pause-

Dunno why I'm so nervous about this. Best chance I have, really should do it. Will make some preparations (have a change of clothes ready in the basement, plastic bag ready for clothes I'm wearing to go into, Tecnu, etc.) and then off I go.

Wish me luck.

Wait a minute!

Of all days to embark on something potentially dangerous, Friday the 13th ain't it!

Right?

No?

Off I go.

It's the perfect day - Friday the 13th just means bad luck for poison ivy today.