Poison ivy

[svk]

My friend's grandpa was a very stubborn man and one time ate poison ivy in front of her and her cousins to prove people who worried about poison ivy were wimps.

He was hospitalized and nearly died. You'd think someone in their 60's would have been smarter than that.

 

[svk]

I carefully tangled (figuratively) with some PI laced trees earlier this week. Since it was in the high 60's to low 70's I was a bit concerned with exposure but showered with soap and very hot water at lunch and dinner time and no issues. I know someday I'll inadvertently end up in it but so far so good.

 

[Mustang71]

That's my main issue when going into the woods where I live. There are vines of it on a lot of trees and it grows on the ground too. I love going in the woods but I'm allrgic to it. That's the main reason I cut trees in the winter. I did ok this winter no poison ivy. I get into it a few times a year and I've had it probably 30 times or so.

I pruned a pine/spruce tree, Idk what it was, and got poison ivy, it was growing under it.

As far as hospitalised I've been ok. I did get a staff infection from it when I was a kid and I often worry about inhaling it when we have fires outside in the summer since I burn sticks and vines from winter cutting.

 

[Tin-knocker]

I carefully tangled (figuratively) with some PI laced trees earlier this week. Since it was in the high 60's to low 70's I was a bit concerned with exposure but showered with soap and very hot water at lunch and dinner time and no issues. I know someday I'll inadvertently end up in it but so far so good.

Cleaning the oils off with hot water is not such a good idea. That'll open up your pores and let the oils get in . Cold water and dawn dish soap works wonders for removing the oils. Take care of all clothes and tools too or it will be a much longer ordeal.
I get poison oak something terrible and it is all over the woods around my place. Avoiding it is the best thing but sometimes you can't. When that happens I try to wash myself off immediately and try to keep my hands away from my face and other "vital" parts. But I usually end up getting it. I found the best treatment when a rash breaks out is to wash in the shower with cold water then before you get out turn the water up to the hottest you can stand it. I mean get that stuff HOT! And run it over the rashes. It will itch like a bitch! But keep doing it for 5 minutes or so. When you get out of the shower you won't itch for hours and i feel it helps dry out the rash. Doctors will tell you otherwise but I do what works for me and I've had plenty of chances to experiment!

 

[svk]

Perhaps you are right but a lot of guys have recommended hot water and soap.

 

[Mustang71]

Since I cut in the winter I usually have a hoodie on and sometimes gloves until I get to warm. When I come inside I take everything off because I'm covered in wood chips and I wash my face, head, and neck with a wash cloth soap and hot water. Does it work? Idk I do it though. I'm usually paranoid for a few days and if no rash then I'm good. Otherwise I'm screwed for 2 weeks.

 

[fulladirt]

I made the mistake of cutting through about a 4-5" vine of this darn stuff last week. It was attached to a junk sasafras tree, I saw it but just said the hell with it braap. Not sure if I got it from the chips or from lifting the cut 5' lengths of tree into my truck, but right now I have poison ivy on both arms...I don't hate very much in this world but I Fn HATE poison ivy!

 

[Mustang71]

It took me a long time to realize there is climbing poison ivy lol. I figured out where I kept getting it from. The vines are fine if they don't have leaves on them. The leaves are what release the oils thats y the winter time it's a bit safer to cut those things. I go around with my machete and try to chop as many vines as I can so they die.

 

[svk]

It took me a long time to realize there is climbing poison ivy lol. I figured out where I kept getting it from. The vines are fine if they don't have leaves on them. The leaves are what release the oils thats y the winter time it's a bit safer to cut those things. I go around with my machete and try to chop as many vines as I can so they die.

All the PI I've dealt with has been the climbing version out in NY. I hear central MN has some nasty ground ivy and that gets you worse.

 

[Mustang71]

There's a lot of climbing but it defiantly lives on the ground too. Under pine/spruce trees is a good place to find it. We cleaned out a "rock garden" or a pile of rocks and weeds that was left by the old home owners and I got it there too.

 

[Oldmaple]

It took me a long time to realize there is climbing poison ivy lol. I figured out where I kept getting it from. The vines are fine if they don't have leaves on them. The leaves are what release the oils thats y the winter time it's a bit safer to cut those things. I go around with my machete and try to chop as many vines as I can so they die.

You can get the oils from the vine. Cut it with a saw, get some sawdust down your shirt and a rash will occur around belt level. Don't ask how I know. Glad the belt was tight and the sawdust didn't migrate further down.

 

[svk]

There's a lot of climbing but it defiantly lives on the ground too. Under pine/spruce trees is a good place to find it. We cleaned out a "rock garden" or a pile of rocks and weeds that was left by the old home owners and I got it there too.

The guy who did my septic said PI likes to come into disturbed soil and to watch the yard after he was done. Luckily we had none.

 

[Mustang71]

You can get the oils from the vine. Cut it with a saw, get some sawdust down your shirt and a rash will occur around belt level. Don't ask how I know. Glad the belt was tight and the sawdust didn't migrate further down.

Idk I always herd remove the vines in the winter and don't touch them in the summer. So far this winter I was fine. Over the summer I cut down a tree with a large vine on it and I was not fine. Whenever I get it the rash appears on parts of my body that didn't come in contact with it. You never know where it's going to show up...

 

[Mad Professor]

I make the rounds yearly to control invasives. When I see ivy it gets sprayed, then checked again a month later, and again the next year. It's important to kill it early on before it makes seed, because birds and animals will eat the berries and poop out viable seeds all over.

 

[Mustang71]

I noticed the berries on the ivy and the birds eating them. I'm going to make another round with my machete chopping vines so hopefully they die. Some of the vines are 1 to 2 inches in diameter. It got out of control way before I bought the house. It's a house in the middle of 5 acres of woods so who knows how old this stuff is.

 

[svk]

If it hasn't been mentioned be sure to clean your tools with gasoline or alcohol after use to neutralize the oils from the PI

 

[old guy]

I have lived in Wisc. & Minn. all my life and never heard of tree climbing poison ivy till I started reading these forums.
Am familiar with the ground variety tho it has never bothered me much.

 

[Ronaldo]

I have lived in Wisc. & Minn. all my life and never heard of tree climbing poison ivy till I started reading these forums.
Am familiar with the ground variety tho it has never bothered me much.

We have climbing and ground P.I. here in Iowa. Been into both......

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[Oldmaple]

Idk I always herd remove the vines in the winter and don't touch them in the summer. So far this winter I was fine. Over the summer I cut down a tree with a large vine on it and I was not fine. Whenever I get it the rash appears on parts of my body that didn't come in contact with it. You never know where it's going to show up...

If you're going after the vines with a machete you're not going to produce any sawdust. Just some oil on the blade of the machete. Plus you are generally wearing more clothes in the winter (although if you get oils on your clothes you can transfer it to your skin when doing the laundry). I do get the occasional mystery case (where the heck did I get it from?) and it's probably off of the dogs after they've brushed through it.

 

[sb47]

I don't get PI around here at my house. There is a lot of it up at the country place though. I'm not allergic to it so I don't worry about it. I do get a lot of muscadine vines though and they will weigh down trees and compete for light.