Getting Rid of Poison Ivy

[Shellyann36]

I would like to find a non-toxic way to get rid of poison ivy. There are several places in the edge of the yard that it grows here and my youngest twin (2) is highly allergic to it and so am I. Hubby is not allergic to it and it does not bother him but he is not making any efforts to pull it up for me. He keeps putting it on the back burner. I cannot touch it because if I do it does not matter how many layers of clothing I wear or if I wear gloves I will end up covered in it.

I had heard of a weed killer that called for vinegar/dish detergent and water but I cannot find the recipe. Does anyone know thie recipe or another alternative that is not toxic?

 

[firelily99]

Straight white vinegar supposedly will do it but pulling it is the most effective way if you can get someone to do it for you. Check the gardening center, they may have some sort of organic herbicide that will work too.

 

[Chuck]

I would like to find a non-toxic way to get rid of poison ivy. There are several places in the edge of the yard that it grows here and my youngest twin (2) is highly allergic to it and so am I. Hubby is not allergic to it and it does not bother him but he is not making any efforts to pull it up for me. He keeps putting it on the back burner. I cannot touch it because if I do it does not matter how many layers of clothing I wear or if I wear gloves I will end up covered in it.

I had heard of a weed killer that called for vinegar/dish detergent and water but I cannot find the recipe. Does anyone know thie recipe or another alternative that is not toxic?

The recipie you are refering to is 1 gallon of pickling vinegar, 2oz orange oil and a good squirt of dishsoap. This will burn the tops off but it will not kill it immediatey. It will take many applications. There is a product by GreenLight called Stump and Vine Killer. It is not organic, it is a chemical. It come in a 2 oz squeeze bottle and what you do is cut the vine at ground level and put 1 or 2 drops, very little of it, onto the cut. It will be absorbed into the roots and no more poison ivy. I realize that it is toxic but very little of it is used and only on a selected basis. Much, much better than products like Roundup. Pulling poison ivy out of the ground is backbreaking and next to impossible to get all of the roots removed. Another way is to mix diesel fuel and molasses 50/50 and spray it. The diesel kills the ivy and the molasses makes the diesel rapidly break down. Another way is to get a goat

 

[Pat]

Well if you get a goat you will get a 2 for 1 deal. Get rid of the posion ivy and free manure.

 

[Kansas Terri]

I have HEARD that straight baking soda will kill plants by messing up the PH in the soil, but I have not tried it yet.

 

[Shellyann36]

@firelily99 thanks for the input. I wish I had someone that would pull it for me. My older boys are all just as allergic to it as I am and hubby just does not seem interested.

@Chuck thanks for all of the ideas. I like the goat idea best of all! Hubby has talked about getting goats recently.... wonder if he is still thinking about it. Thanks for the original recipe I was thinking of. If all else fails I will try this first.

@Pat this is so true!

@Kansas Terri Thanks for that input. All I want to kill is the actual poison. I don't want to harm the rest of the plant life/tree life in the same area. I will do a search for this to see possible other alternatives though.

 

[Becky]

Another way is to get a goat

Thinking outside the box - I like it!