How to kill poison ivy?

[+Castle Mischief]

So, the eradication of a few noxious and, for some, dangerous, plants is going to upset some microcosm to the point of completely upsetting the balance of the Universe. As someone who has eradicated my fair share of those plants, I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that they are doing just fine on this thing we call planet Earth. And, quite frankly, if they were not, I wouldn't miss them. Although, some bleeding heart would probably come up with some never before heard of micro organism that was somehow wiped off the face of the planet because of it.

 

I might suggest that those hung up on the ownership thing not damage a single blade of grass or bend a single twig or heaven forbid squash a single bug. Avoid at all cost any living thing whether plant, animal, or insect. If you're bothered by a wasp or a bee or a hornet, you just say, "here I am, I don't own you, have at it" and then thank it for the refreshing wake up call and enjoy the pain that it inflicts.

 

Some people just need to be grumbled at for grumbling.

 

You know, you're right. We should all carry around bottles of Round-Up with us and spray it wherever we go- the park, the lawn of our neighbors, the lawns of businesses we visit, the golf course, the nature trail, and even the botanical garden down the road. It's our planet and we should start making it more comfortable for the people that pay the bills.

 

I'll start with your yard tomorrow. Just to be safe, I'll just spray the whole darn thing in case any micro-organisms or noxious weeds are hiding in the hard-to-reach places.

 

(Hyperbole, solving the internet's problems since 1997.)

[+Castle Mischief]

So, the eradication of a few noxious and, for some, dangerous, plants is going to upset some microcosm to the point of completely upsetting the balance of the Universe. As someone who has eradicated my fair share of those plants, I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that they are doing just fine on this thing we call planet Earth. And, quite frankly, if they were not, I wouldn't miss them. Although, some bleeding heart would probably come up with some never before heard of micro organism that was somehow wiped off the face of the planet because of it.

 

I might suggest that those hung up on the ownership thing not damage a single blade of grass or bend a single twig or heaven forbid squash a single bug. Avoid at all cost any living thing whether plant, animal, or insect. If you're bothered by a wasp or a bee or a hornet, you just say, "here I am, I don't own you, have at it" and then thank it for the refreshing wake up call and enjoy the pain that it inflicts.

 

Some people just need to be grumbled at for grumbling.

In spirit, I tend agree with what you are saying, but I think that you are totally missing the point here. This is not a tree-hugger issue; it is a land manager perception issue. You have no right to go onto somebody else's property and start eradicating poison ivy, do you?

 

Now there you go, getting hung up on the ownership thing again.

[knowschad]

Now there you go, getting hung up on the ownership thing again.

Yeah... it is a weakness of mine.

[+BulldogBlitz]

who truly owns the land?

 

[+Castle Mischief]

who truly owns the land?

 

 

Whoever has the power to tell you that you can never place another geocache there again or he will have you arrested- and follow through with it.

 

Every parcel of land in the USA has an owner or a manager. It's a matter of public record.

[+BulldogBlitz]

who truly owns the land?

 

 

Whoever has the power to tell you that you can never place another geocache there again or he will have you arrested- and follow through with it.

 

Every parcel of land in the USA has an owner or a manager. It's a matter of public record.

 

can that land be taken away from the deemed "owner"?

 

[+Castle Mischief]

who truly owns the land?

 

 

Whoever has the power to tell you that you can never place another geocache there again or he will have you arrested- and follow through with it.

 

Every parcel of land in the USA has an owner or a manager. It's a matter of public record.

 

can that land be taken away from the deemed "owner"?

 

 

Can we cut to the chase and get to the point? I'm not in a "answering leading questions" kind of mood. Where does your rabbit hole lead?

[+thedeadpirate]

They tried killing her off by having her drink another serum and dying. But less than a year later, she was out killing cops in Robinson Park.

 

Harvest almost kills her, but Batman intervenes and she is saved once again. Poison Ivy seems to be a very hearty villain.

[+Castle Mischief]

They tried killing her off by having her drink another serum and dying. But less than a year later, she was out killing cops in Robinson Park.

 

Harvest almost kills her, but Batman intervenes and she is saved once again. Poison Ivy seems to be a very hearty villain.

 

I'll agree she's a healthy villain.

 

[+roziecakes]

I totally want to make that costume.

[+Brassine Family]

 

You know, you're right. We should all carry around bottles of Round-Up with us and spray it wherever we go- the park, the lawn of our neighbors, the lawns of businesses we visit, the golf course, the nature trail, and even the botanical garden down the road. It's our planet and we should start making it more comfortable for the people that pay the bills.

 

I'll start with your yard tomorrow. Just to be safe, I'll just spray the whole darn thing in case any micro-organisms or noxious weeds are hiding in the hard-to-reach places.

 

(Hyperbole, solving the internet's problems since 1997.)

 

Im NOT being a smart arse, but if someone Uses round up on my property, more power to them. Just make dang sure you get around the house and the poles! Less work and money spent on gas for me this summer.

[+texasgrillchef]

They tried killing her off by having her drink another serum and dying. But less than a year later, she was out killing cops in Robinson Park.

 

Harvest almost kills her, but Batman intervenes and she is saved once again. Poison Ivy seems to be a very hearty villain.

 

I'll agree she's a healthy villain.

 

 

Oh man.. the "ITCH" I have for her! LOL!

 

TGC

[JohnX]

I have been trying to kill poison ivy at a beach near where I live for years. RoundUp seems to slow it's growth down but not kill it. The best success I have had is to cut the vines with a hammer and chisel. I used to get poison ivy rashes like crazy when I was a kid and I want to spare others the misery.

[+thistleRacers]

I have been trying to kill poison ivy at a beach near where I live for years. RoundUp seems to slow it's growth down but not kill it. The best success I have had is to cut the vines with a hammer and chisel. I used to get poison ivy rashes like crazy when I was a kid and I want to spare others the misery.

 

Put on jeans, boots, long sleeve turtle neck shirt, long dishwashing gloves. Use elastic or tape to keep your pants tight to your ankles and the gloves tight around you arms, put an extra set of gardening gloves over the long dish gloves and pull the stuff up, it comes up pretty easily. Our leaf and limb pick up says it is ok to put poison ivy in the lawn bags...don't know if all are like that. DO NOT BURN IT (but I guess everyone knows not to do that)

 

Afterward be very careful how you undress, put everything straight into the wash and use a bit of bleach. Wash your boots off with Clorox wipes.

 

It's a hassle, but if you want to clear the area around your cache on someone else's property, this a chemical free way....

 

But I personally would get permission even to do this...but that's just me...

 

This is how I get rid of poison ivy in my yard.

[+DragonsWest]

Best is to dress fully and avoid contact as much as possible. If it's too thick then give it up.

 

Could always be worse.

 

Years back a lady I worked with told me of some annoying grass growing in the cracks in the pave before their garage. They tried gasoline, salt and various weed killers, but nothing stopped it (upon reflection, they were probably hybridising a lethal Super Grass,) until they found a large tin in the garage and tried some of what was in it - it killed the grass. They tried it on other weed problems around the house. It killed the weeds and anything even close by, leaving bare ground upon which nothing would grow for years. They passed it around to the neighbors and everyone marveled how effective it was in small quantities.

 

What was it? Where did they get it?

 

Turns out her first husband worked for a chemical company. The chemical he brought home from work (most likely without authorisation) and left in the garage after their divorce. The chemical would become notorious in the news in the next few years. Knowing they used it, they had to test their ground water, for you see, the neighborhood all houses water came from wells. The chemical turned up in the well water, much to their chagrin and distress. All houses had to be put on city water (at no small expense) and the wells shut.

 

The useful chemical is commonly known as Agent Orange.

 

Sometimes it's best to just leave the plants be.

[+BulldogBlitz]

[+Howell13]

many places have deemed poison ivy to be a "noxious weed" which wikipedia defines as:

 

A noxious weed is an invasive species of a plant that has been designated by county, state or provincial, or national agricultural authorities as a one that is injurious to agricultural and/or horticultural crops, natural habitats and/or ecosystems, and/or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds are introduced species (non-native) and have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident. Occasionally some are native. Typically they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls (native herbivores, soil chemistry, etc.), and adversely affect native habitats, croplands, and/or are injurious to humans, native fauna, and livestock through contact or ingestion. Noxious weeds are a large problem in many parts of the world, greatly affecting areas of agriculture, forest management, nature preserves and parks, and other open space lands.

 

I would tend to agree with this assesment and don't think that killing or removing poison ivy is harmful to a local ecosystem, chances are it wasn't meant to be there anyways. The problem with taking roundup into a wooded area to kill poison ivy is that any over spray will potentially kill whatever it hits.

 

I have a ton of poison plants in my back yard and generally have a rash of some form from april - nov. Not saying this should be done on the property mentioned in the first post but for reference here is how i've killed vines like the one pictured. I find that cutting a section out of the vine near it's base and removing it will cause the plant above that point to die out at which point it usually becomes easier to remove from whatever it's attached to. On the end towards the base spray/inject/or soak that in some round up so that it will get back to the root of the plant and that part will usually die off.

[+Chrysalides]

This thread is back from the dead??

 

OK.. fine.. what do you guys think about this for killing weeds?

[+DragonsWest]

This thread is back from the dead??

 

OK.. fine.. what do you guys think about this for killing weeds?

 

Only for use before the Fire Season.

 

[+Coldgears]

As this thread has been revived the issue has been fixed. I have moved the cache two feet from the location it was previously... The land is owned by the county I live in. It is called Armstrong Park... And to be honest it has MUCH bigger issues then some round up being used. People that frequently go down there include, violent teenagers, drug dealers, drug addicts... It's a nice little park... The sad part is it's not even on the maps, it's extremely local. You wouldn't even know that it was down there unless you heard from word of mouth. No sign, nothing. Just a drive way into the woods. There is a rock with the spray painted words "armstrong park" but you need to go down into the park to see it. It has a lot of fishing areas! A lot of people fish there. A beautiful view of a HUGE creek. A small playground (a swingset that has been destroyed by teenagers.) Plenty of trash, and a huge sign saying, "There has been property damage, if you have any information leading to the arrest of these peoples please contact the local police" That's referring to the destroyed swingset, the demolished port-o-potty made of wood. The broken fishing areas, (People kick in the wood planks) and more... I thought hiding this cache would raise awareness of this park. There is only one cache left... It is from a user who hid three here. Sadly, two are archived, that one has gone missing. And he hasn't logged on in months.

 

Yeah, so I didn't kill the poison ivy I moved my cache.

 

Oh, and I forgot the mention the "homeless" man that has been living in a tent there for years. He begs for money at the cornerstore, but is non-violent.

[+paleolith]

I ... don't think that killing or removing poison ivy is harmful to a local ecosystem, chances are it wasn't meant to be there anyways.

I disagree on the "wasn't meant to be there". I'm not aware of any places where poison ivy is growing non-natively. It doesn't need to ... it's native to basically the entire eastern 2/3 of North America. And poison oak is native to much of the rest.

 

Poison ivy may grow more thickly in some places due to openings and edge effects resulting from human activity. However, it is native in those locations.

 

Still, I don't oppose attempts to remove poison ivy. I've removed it from places in my yard. It's very resistant to mechanical removal because it can regrow from even a tiny bit of root. I have places where for several years running I've donned latex or nitrile gloves and carefully followed every bit of root. After a few years, it looks like I've conquered it. Almost ten square feet clear! For those with larger infestations, or whose sensitivity prevents using this technique, weed killers containing both glyphosate and triclopyr claim to kill poison ivy. I have some of this product on hand but don't have enough PI to be worth trying it on. Certainly herbicides can cause a lot of damage when misused.

 

OK, back from the dead, now perhaps back to the dead ...

 

Edward

[+Jedi Cacher]

People that frequently go down there include, violent teenagers, drug dealers, drug addicts... It's a nice little park...

Hmmm, sounds like a beautiful place!

 

Most of the caches in my part of the country contain poison ivy in the area, but not the fault of the hiders as it just happens to grow about everywhere. I am highly susceptible to contracting the dreaded itch while others can roll in it and nothing happens. I know what it looks like and try my best to avoid it, but some how I get it every summer. It won't stop me from caching though. I got the worst case of poison ivy last spring at this cache GC1RHHJ. It itchy rash lasted about 6 weeks, but it was one of the most awesome caches. I was with 2 other cachers and they walked away unscathed. Bear Grylls of the TV show Man verses Wild filmed an episode at the cache location where he jumped into the pool near the waterfall. Sweeeet!

Edited May 27, 2010 by Jedi Cacher