Poison ivy on a load of logs

[Okie]

I've also seen that in people where as a kid they get it really bad and as they get older they are not as allergic.

I've seen kids walk through the woods and brush by the Poison Oak or Ivy plant on their britches leg or shoe and have major break outs and seems even worse if the plant is wet or damp.

As they got older, like usually 30 and up they were not as likely to have a casual outbreak.

I've cautioned several kids and grown up about LEAVES OF THREE, LEAVE ME BE.
AND to not wipe around the eyes if they start having symptoms.

Speaking of wiping, I know one guy that wiped with the poison Ivy leaves instead of toilet paper when in the woods. Major outbreak of the vital area.
He now knows about leaves of three plants.

I've seen some people that are cautious of Virginia Creeper vine that looks like the poison Oak or Ivy but it's harmless and will grow and climb trees in same vicinity. It has 5 lobed leaves. You can review such and see pictures on-line.

 

[Tithead]

Never, ever burn poison ivy! You can try a product called Technu...for prevention and treatment. An old fashioned soap called Octagon brown bar soap with cool water right after exposure can prevent reaction (note...also excellent for cleaning laundry....my grandmas used to shave a bit into the laundry and everything came out super clean)

 

[pdqdl]

Spray the log, kerosene works FAST, kill the vine, burn the dead vine after it is dried out......move on to the next log. This happens daily all over America...

That is just ignorant. Really, really stupid.
1. The vines are already cut, and will not regrow. At all.
2. Kerosene won't do anything but preserve the vine from drying out. It will also increase the probability of spreading the urushiol by any casual contact with the vines. Urushiol is an oil, and kerosene will dissolve the oil in the plant and act as a carrier of the antigenic oil to anything that rubs against the vine.
3. As has been mentioned previously, burning the vines is hazardous to the health of someone allergic. Soaking in kerosene won't do anything to mitigate that risk. If you can wait for the log to dry out enough for the bark to fall off, it should be easy after a year or two to use a tool to pry off the bark and then throw it into a compost pile, or even burn it. Make SURE you throw the vine covered bark on a healthy fire, and then leave before you get exposed to any smoke from the vines. Upwind with gloves, hold your breath, and you'll be fine.
4. The vines are attached very firmly to the bark of a tree, especially the big vines at the base of the tree. If you are highly allergic, attempting to pull the vines off with pliers of some sort would be futile and very risky.
5. No one has mentioned being watchful for the seeds germinating. Anywhere that mature seeds have dropped, you should consider treating with a pre-emergent herbicide, or remaining watchful in the future and spraying emerging vines with a brush killer.

I have a suggestion for you highly allergic guys. Purchase a homeopathic product called Rhus-tox. These are little more than sugar pills with a minute quantity of the antigen that causes the rash. By swallowing very low doses on a daily basis, you can become immune to the poison ivy (or other plants that contain urusiol, including mangoes). It is available in a variety of concentrations. I recommend starting out with the weak stuff, and getting stronger with time.

The advertising for the Rhus-tox won't mention it as a treatment for poison ivy allergy abatement. That would be a medical treatment, for which it is not FDA approved. But it does work that way for a lot of people. Over the years, I have gotten quite a few of my guys so that they have only minor or no reaction to working in the vines.

Myself, I've always been immune. I did string trim a giant vine once while wearing shorts. My bare legs were completely green with the juices off the vine. I worked a whole day, and washed it off at the end of the day. I wasn't worried, 'cause I'm immune, right? I never got a rash, but legs itched like hell for a week.

 

[Bill G]

Never, ever burn poison ivy! You can try a product called Technu...for prevention and treatment. An old fashioned soap called Octagon brown bar soap with cool water right after exposure can prevent reaction (note...also excellent for cleaning laundry....my grandmas used to shave a bit into the laundry and everything came out super clean)

That soap is hard to find now. It is a lye based soap. I think you find it is the same as Fels-Naptha which we used for years. It is a brown Lye based soap that will clean well and dry your skin out.

 

[Bill G]

Spray the log, kerosene works FAST, kill the vine, burn the dead vine after it is dried out......move on to the next log. This happens daily all over America...

Your post not only shows totally ignorance of commonly known and proven scientific facts it is a DANGER to anyone reading your post. Your totally ignorant post could harm someone

Just as a huge amount of fine folks have already noted on this thread there is no totally safe way to burn it. It does not matter if it is green or dead, it is still toxic.

One somewhat safer method if you must remove it is to get a tyvek jumpsuit, elbow length rubber gloves, good mask, and googles. I have strip it off and attempt to get ito large heavy plastic bags. I would then find a ravine where I could put it AFTER taking out of the bags. Do not put the bags in the ravine. Then cut enough safe brush around the ravine that you can cover it and allow the pile to decay naturally.

Personally I would get the excavator and just bury it but of course that is not an option for everyone.

Just,,,,,No one burn it!

 

[JAXJEREMY]

I've had poison ivy rash multiple times, absolutely the most miserable experience. I've been told if you're allergic the older you get the worse your reaction will be to it subsequent times. I'm super careful now, especially when out in the woods. Try to wear long sleeves and if I get into a patch of it, I make sure to scrub any exposed skin with dish soap, cold water and a wash cloth at least 3 times as soon as possible..Learned that from a video where this guy showed how the urushiol oil spreads, almost like grease..washing it just pushes it around, you have to scrub the hell hell out of it to really remove all traces.

 

[Mad Professor]

Spray the log, kerosene works FAST, kill the vine, burn the dead vine after it is dried out......move on to the next log. This happens daily all over America...

burning dead poison ivy is just stupid.

The oil is not volatile so it's still in the vines if dried out. In a few years the oil will degrade if left out to rot where microbes digest it. I mean where what is left looks like old compost.

 

[lone wolf]

I've had poison ivy rash multiple times, absolutely the most miserable experience. I've been told if you're allergic the older you get the worse your reaction will be to it subsequent times. I'm super careful now, especially when out in the woods. Try to wear long sleeves and if I get into a patch of it, I make sure to scrub any exposed skin with dish soap, cold

burning dead poison ivy is just stupid.

The oil is not volatile so it's still in the vines if dried out. In a few years the oil will degrade if left out to rot where microbes digest it. I mean where what is left looks like old compost.

Sounds right to me.

 

[GeeVee]

Zanfel.

And burning from a distance if you must, burying it deep if you can with a exacavtor is better.

 

[Bill G]

burning dead poison ivy is just stupid.

The oil is not volatile so it's still in the vines if dried out. In a few years the oil will degrade if left out to rot where microbes digest it. I mean where what is left looks like old compost.

Yes I agree. That is basically what I was trying to say in post #25. Strip the fines off, put them in a ravine, pile brush on top and let the rotting take care of the rest.

 

[Bill G]

Zanfel.

And burning from a distance if you must, burying it deep if you can with a exacavtor is better.

Yep

 

[lone wolf]

JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!

 

[BusaDave]

As many have posted--DO NOT BURN IT! The smoke will cause you untold problems! Deal with poison oak on many trees. Bottom line Even cutting it up, the fines from the cutting through it will get all over you and you can still breath in some of it! Do not ask me how I know!

 

[Bill G]

JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!

That works also and is the best but not always an option. I have trees that have to be cut no matter what is on them.

 

[Bill G]

JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!

That works als

As many have posted--DO NOT BURN IT! The smoke will cause you untold problems! Deal with poison oak on many trees. Bottom line Even cutting it up, the fines from the cutting through it will get all over you and you can still breath in some of it! Do not ask me how I know!

Years ago my Dad was cutting a large oak out of a fence line. The sawdust go into his crotch. He went to the doctor. I was a kid and too embarrassed to say I got it to. It was rough but I know he had it worse

 

[morewood]

Wow, lots of opinions. Things should be simpler. It's an oil, wash with something that can break down oil. I also took someone else's advice and carry fast orange wipes in my truck. I generally don't take prednisone. I have a prescription for TRIAMCINOLONE, which works great. It's a cream that you simply rub on. Don't touch poison ivy, wash everything that does. I don't throw my gloves away, clean them and go on. There are lots of myths about how it spreads, but it simply is what it touches......but burning it is another animal.

Shea

 

[Zaedock]

My last load of service ash had a big vine - it happens from time to time. I get PI pretty bad if touched so I pulled it off with my hookaroon and tossed it in the woods. I had all my gear on and nice gloves. I didn't get anything from bucking it up.
I had a small bubble here and there on my wrists after processing (with regular Craftsman yard work gloves), but no worse than say touching an unforeseen leaf doing yard work. I'm pretty cognizant of it having had it bad a few times in life - mostly as a kid playing in the woods and running around barefoot.

 

[pdqdl]

Rhus tox, guys. Get it, take it. Become immune.

On top of that, it has proven anti-inflammatory properties. The homeopathic claim is that it help arthritis. This scientific article somewhat proves it, although I haven't evaluated any peer review.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26827996/
Cox2 is the enzyme that Aspirin, ibuprofen, & naproxen are inhibitors of. These are the anti-inflammatory pain medications.

"Common brands containing Rhus tox:

• Boiron®
• FLEXmore™
• Hyland’s®"

"The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS) established that OTC homeopathic medicines containing 4X and higher dilutions of Rhus tox are safe for adults and children."

https://www.knowyourotcs.org/ingredient/rhus-tox/

 

[pdqdl]

By the way: "Leaves of three, let it be" is a nice mental guide, but not really much help. Properly identifying poison ivy involves a little more science.

Commonly confused plants for poison ivy are fragrant sumac, Baltic ivy, and box elder maple. There are others as well, but I can't remember them all.

• The box elder has almost indistinguishable leaves, but their branching pattern on the stems is opposite, rather than alternating.
• Fragrant sumac is in the Rhus genera, and has leaves of three. It's leaves and stems are quite fragrant when crushed, the leaves come in sets of 3, but don't resemble poison ivy too much. Also, it is a bush, and never vines or climbs. So far as I am aware, it is non-allergenic.
• Baltic/English ivy may have leaves of three, but the leaves are shaped considerably different than poison ivy. Most variations have single leaves with three prominent points, but I've come across some that were distinctly "leaves of three". Also, despite being a vine, it doesn't form the extensive rootlets that anchor the vine to a tree, as does poison ivy:

If you see a vine that looks like this on your tree, you should probably consider it to be poison ivy, whether or not there are any leaves present.

 

[pdqdl]

Quick id!

What is this plant?