# Help with poison ivy removal



## DeanBrown3D (Aug 13, 2006)

I have a few trees that have the cut-through dead remains of poison ivy (see pics). Now, I understand about the dangers, but wanted some recommendations. I wanted to remove the ivy and leave a cleaner looking trees. I could put a winch on it and pull it off. What do you think? There are some intertwined small healthy branches that would get ripped off probably.

Thanks for any suggestions
Dean


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## Bermie (Aug 13, 2006)

UUGHHH, makes me cringe just looking at it!
Can you afford (visually) to just leave it and let it drop off as it dries?
Unless you can find a climber who is immune to poison ivy, I think you've got your hands full (and covered in blisters!)
As for winching it off, the vines might well break during the pull, you'd have to decontaminate everything afterwards....
Nasty! Sorry.


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## Tree Machine (Aug 13, 2006)

I back the chipper up to it. Hook a sling to the poison ivy, attach that to the chipper. Get in the truck, pull forward 4 or 5 meters. Back up 4 or 5 meters. Get out, start the chipper. feed the ivy in. Be careful and all, face mask good idea, respirator, tyvec suit if you're allergic as most people are (I'm lucky and unaffected by the stuff).

The chipper will pull the vine out of the tree and it magically disappears. I charge a lot of money for this service and it usually takes just minutes, making it one of the most profitable things I do so I don't mind performing the service. Who else is gonna do it? Pretty tough to find ANYONE to deal with this particular situation so I more or less sell 100% of those jobs for whatever price I want to charge. $250 an hour is the rate I shoot for. It's a 15 minute thing, though.

It really helps if the ivy has been dead for awhile, like Dean's. I find the bigger the diameter of the stalk, the easier it is to get of the tree (no match against the puull of a truck). Some parts of the plant might be left in the tree, but that's just how that's gonna be. If the ivy had been dead awhile it comes off easier, too, but is dustier, though toxicity goes down over time. In this case you may want to pull the ivy completely off the tree, cut it up into regular lengths with long-handled lopping shears (no sawdust). Place lengths on the oldest, most beat-up tarp you have, roll them up, dumpsterize the whole thing, along with the long-sleeve shirt you were wearing, the gloves, and the particle face mask. Dispose of all of it. That's pretty fast, too.


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

i don't get it either.

folks are always having me yank this stuff outta trees, i too use the truck, chop it up, take it home and toss it in the burn pit.

cutoffs & a tee-shirt. they just shake their heads......

sumac? now THAT's a different story.....learned the hard way while camping...use your imagination....


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## xtremetrees (Aug 13, 2006)

Dont burn poision ivy. It could get in your lungs and that bad.
Great post TM


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

xtreme said:


> Dont burn poision ivy.



i burn it 'cause i don't care for the prospect of anyone else coming in contact with it. i'll take care not to breathe it in the future, but i've not had a problem thus far.


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## Tree Machine (Aug 13, 2006)

Same here, Cord.

Thanks, X.


I burn it sometimes, too. I only share this with you because you *are my tree brothers *and it is one of those subcategories of Arboriculture that gets rare mention, but is a common and cheap way of disposing of a lot of tree debris. Bonfires can be man's best friend _in certain special instances_. I don't recommend you do it, but this is just a way of disposing of a bunch of debris, some of which might be poison ivy; by burning.

The theory is, if you get a fire hot enough, the extreme heat changes the toxic chemicals in a reaction known as _incineration._

This is also the by and far best method of _sterilization_, though the thing being incinerated and chemically inactivated, is at the same time destroyed.

The key is getting the fire hot enough. I book these types of jobs all Winter. In fact, the colder, the better. As for the fire, the hotter the better.


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

i concur. i've seen what this stuff can do to mortals.

i've a friend who got a REALLY bad case of poison ivy from borrowing my silky saw.

i swear, i never even THOUGHT about it 'till he called to tell me about it.
i was tellin' him he's a fool for messin' with the stuff when i could do it.
he says he wasn't anywhere near it, he knows better....

using my superior powers of deduction, armed with the knowledge of what i was doing the day before, i..uh..figured it out.

yeah, i had to tell him. on a positive note, folks are reluctant to borrow your tools....


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

and, i got to thinkin'.....

what if this guy would have wiped sweat out of eyes or put his hand to his mouth for whatever reason? you know, with no reason to think there was any threat?

i'm gonna be much more cautious with this in the future....


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

which leads me to the following...

tree machine, if i cut this stuff living, how long ya think it would be toxic on something like a pole saw? or the chain i yanked it with? or the bed of my truck that my wife may be in for whatever reason? (that last one's a very scary scenario)


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## cord arrow (Aug 13, 2006)

well, i'm on a roll about this, so i did some research. found this:

" Learn to recognize and avoid the plant. If exposed, wash the affected area as quickly as possible with soap and cold water (hot water is reputed to cause the pores to open and allow the oak oil in). A product called Tecnu is supposed to break down the active ingredient in the oil. It's available at some drug stores, or from Solutions (1-800-342-9988). It's supposedly recommended by power company linemen.* The oil is very easily spread, and can persist in crystalline form on clothing or other contacted items (including pets) for many months (years?),* so you should wash anything you may have touched. Scratching affected areas after symptoms develop can not spread the infection, but different levels of exposure, and secondary exposures, can cause delayed reactions (2-3 days) in adjacent areas, giving the impression of spreading.

There are supposed to be naturopathic regimens to develop immunity to poison oak. Some people are naturally immune.

*Under no circumstances should you burn the plant; the smoke is as potent as the plant itself. "Inhaling the smoke can produce a systemic reaction, including potentially serious lung inflammation."*

ok. given the above, when i burn am i endangering my downwind neighbors, or have i become annoyingly paranoid?


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## woodchux (Aug 13, 2006)

Deodorized mineral spirits cleans the poison ivy oils up good, and its cheap.


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## Tree Machine (Aug 13, 2006)

I only burn PI in the Winter as that's the only time I have fires. This is in the case of backyard overhauls where you have the chipper there, but a fire also to consume whatever you don't want going through the chipper. I enjoy occasional root-yanking jobs, again usually only in the Winter, saplings, bushes and small trees only. Pop the roots out of the ground and then you have to do something with the root. They're cool looking, but they've gotta go. If you get the fire really, really hot the amount that disappears can just be astounding. A couple-three hours feeding a roasting bonfire and you can complete a lot of work. The fire is silent. The fire is free. Except for the gas used while giving it the turbo with the backpack blower. That's what I mean by _hot_.

Still, I agree. You should not burn P.I.


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## DeanBrown3D (Aug 13, 2006)

Yeah I did burn it once a few years ago. I definitely felt it was an irritant in the smoke. It didn't hurt me but I recon some people would get a really bad reaction from just that smoke.

Thanks for all the tips.

Dean


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## Tree Machine (Aug 13, 2006)

Here's a few pics of one way to create an effective portable incinerator. Create some big vent ports in a 55 gallon drum.

Note the barrel in photo #3 is glowing red hot, top to bottom. The Blower is running at idle (not so good for the blower, I know).


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## DeanBrown3D (Aug 14, 2006)

You could do that in NJ, but you'd have to have a hot dog at the ready on the end of a 5' pole, excuse-ready.

Good call on the blower. I had a drum like that and it worked quite well, but not without smoke some of the time.


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