Q&A for How to Get Rid of Poison Ivy Plants

The poison ivy then spreads to the surface you just touched. Let's say that you removed some poison ivy while wearing gloves, and then touched your car's steering wheel with that glove. If you were to touch the steering wheel with your bare hand, you'd get poison ivy. That's why it's important to be very careful and cautious when you're removing it!

Yes! In fact, the vines can carry more oil than the leaves. Cutting the vines can lead to a very bad rash.

Definitely. Treat dead poison ivy with the same caution as live poison ivy.

Not normally. It's almost exclusively humans who experience contact dermatitis (rash) when exposed to poison ivy. However, animals can carry the plant's volatile oil on their skin and fur, and pass it on to humans.

Not unless the plant is burned. If you burn the leaves, stems, or roots of poison ivy, the urushiol in the plant can vaporize and become airborne as a white smoke. Needless to say, you don't want to breathe it in.

It is possible to avoid a rash, but most humans are allergic to it in some way.

Make a solution by adding 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup bleach, and about 1 tsp of dish soap to 1/2-1 gallon of water. The solution should be used the same day, and be sure to vent the container. I use the concentrated 1/2 gal version for bad weeds like Johnson Grass and especially Poison Ivy. Results can be seen in a day or two. Reapply if new growth is noticed.

Consider doing it yourself because it saves money and if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

That could very well be black raspberry. The leaves also grow in clusters of three when the plant is young, but stems are thorny and usually thicker, and the leaves have very fine serrations, rather than large, regularly-spaced indentations.

Anything that kills plants.

Poison ivy has shiny leaves in clusters of three.

Bleach is the most effective way. Gasoline works well, but to dangerous to use. Spray, or even better, just pour bleach over the poison ivy.

Shredding the leaves/stems with a lawnmower will bring out more of the oils, which remain viable for a year. Spreading them in your vegetable garden would be very unwise. Imagine walking barefoot in there, or laying your vegetables down on the mulch as you're picking them and handling/eating them later.

Yes, because it is an herbicide. Creosote is very poisonous and can kill a human in just 15 minutes.

Yes. Spraying a poison ivy plant liberally with bleach (and only bleach -- no mixtures or solutions) should kill the plant.

There are a few methods, some temporary and some more thorough. For temporary relief, use calamine lotion or run the area under hot (but not scalding) water, this will overstimulate your nerves and provide relief for a short period of time. More thorough help can be found with desiccants (which dry out the skin and the affected area). Tea tree oil has worked best for me and has gotten rid of poison ivy very quickly; talcum powder or baby powder may be used to absorb the ooze and help dry out the affected area. If you have a large patch or are particularly allergic, you may need to get a cortisone shot from a physician.

It's a vine and will grow along the ground as well as climb trees - I've seen it well over 30 feet up on a tree in my yard.

The cardboard does not kill the poison ivy. It just covers up the roots.

Vinegar is acetic acid (about 5 - 20%) plus water. Use a vinegar with higher acetic acid content. It shouldn't matter whether it is cider or white, as long as it contains acetic acid.

There are some varieties of poison ivy that are not as shiny/waxy as others. It is better to be safe than sorry - "leaves of 3, let it be."

It depends on if your vegetation killer also kills the roots. Many defoliants won't penetrate into the root,so you would need to dig up the root. Glycophosphate in sufficient concentrations will move into the root and kill it, as will ground sterilizers. In these cases, it is best to leave the roots and let them decompose.

It depends on the size of the area you need to treat. Glycophosphate at regular household concentrations, carefully applied to individual leaves with a hand sprayer multiple times, will prevent friendly fire.

Yes, but only if you are careful when you harvest them. Wear gloves and thoroughly wash your vegetables when you get to the kitchen. Your root crops may be too dangerous to harvest since it is not easy to distinguish poison ivy roots from other roots in your garden.

One week to get bad, one week running itchy blisters, one week to resolve. Could take longer.

Yes, but not always. It presents itself with and without flowers and berries.

Poison ivy is pretty hard to kill. Anything that will kill it will also kill just about anything else.

The oil will remain on the bush, although you could possibly wash the bush thoroughly.