How do you remove poison ivy vines from fence posts?

Answer 1

There are several chemicals available that will kill poison ivy. Check with your local lawn and garden store to see what they recommend. Ivy is a woody stem plant and normal weed killer like 2-4-D will only make the leaves drop off but not kill it. 2-4-5-T will kill it, but I don't know if you can even buy that now. They also have ground sterilizers (Round Up or Pramatol) that kill every plant they touch and sometimes prevent anything from growing for years when sprayed on the ground around posts. Don't try burning it because if you breathe the smoke, you will have worse problems than you will care to deal with. Even contact with the smoke on your skin can cause problems. I don't recommend bothering to use chemicals to kill the plant because the dead ivy still needs to be removed and dead poison ivy is still poisonous. Plus it will still continue to return because the roots are still present. The best way to rid your area of poison ivy is to remove it, root and all. The following is from Mike McGrath at GardensAlive web site: 1. Apply "Ivy Block" lotion to your hands, face, ankles, wrists, etc. This clay-based product forms a protective barrier against the plant's dreaded allergenic oil. Available at drug stores and direct from the manufacturer at www.ivyblock.com (some good basic poison ivy info at that site too) or toll free 1-800-421-1223. 2. Wait until right after (or even better, DURING) a heavy rain. Or soak the area THOROUGHLYwith a hose or sprinkler. Weeds in wet soil pull out mucheasier. 3. Put on heavy boots, protective goggles, long pants and shirt. Then get a helper who will work at your side, and do The Plastic Bag Dance… 4. The PBD: Gather up lots of big, heavy plastic mall shopping bags; not the thinner supermarket varieties-we want bags from real classy stores here. Slip a bag over each hand, locate where a vine enters the soil and pull s-l-o-o-o-o-w-l-y with one of your bagged hands; the vine should come right up for you. If it resists, have your helper soak the soil around the base of the vine with a garden hose. Don't YOU (the puller) touch ANYTHING-especially your face! When you get the root (or the vine finally snaps), fold the bag in your other hand back over the ivy, and then drop the vine and both the bags that are now around it into a trashcan. Don't re-use your 'hand bags'; start with fresh ones every time. 5. When you're finished, have your helper open all doors for you. Then go straight to the washer, strip, and put all your clothes in the wash (by themselves) and run them thru a cold water cycle. Then you get right in the shower and wash with cool water. No soap; no washcloth. Water dissolves the allergenic oil; soap and cloth can spread it to other, perhaps more sensitive, areas. Yes, exactly the areas you're thinking about now-so don't cheat! THEN take a regular shower. 6. Next day, go back to where any roots escaped and either: A. Suit up, bag up, excavate the area with a shovel and get them (perhaps GIANT) roots out of the ground; or B. 'Mulch' those spots with heavy carpet, metal sheeting, or something equally impenetrable 7. Then pay close attention to the areas you've eliminated. Immediately pull any new sprouts (again, using bags-NEVER gloves!) or spray them with herbicidal soap or a vinegar-based organic herbicide; or soak the spot with straight white vinegar. Then keep an eye out for new plants sprouting up-thanks to the birds that love to eat those pretty berries, there will always be fresh vines for you to pull.