# Poison Ivy/oak



## DixieandKracker (Jun 26, 2011)

:wave: 1st let me say hi, this is my 1st visit and post . I have a problem and I am hoping some one can help. I have a large fence in lot and my 2 scotties are free to roam. The area has wooded areas. My babies are allowed on my furniture and sleep with me. My problem is I am breaking out with poison ivy rash. (several times a year) I know I am getting it from them. My question..Is there anything I can spray on them when they come in from playing to prevent it from spreading to me or the bedding.. I can not control the ivy, I've tried. Any help or advice would be helpful as I sit here and itch


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Hm. Have you tried something like Roundup to kill the ivy? I've sucessfully killed bamboo with that, although it took multipe applications over several months.

The only other thing I can suggest is blocking off that area so they can't get to it, and bathing them immediately every single time they come in contact with it. Oils from the plant are what cause the rash, so if you remove that from their fur it should prevent it from getting on you and causing problems. I get poisin ivy so severely that I pretty much always will have to go on antibiotics and get a shot to get rid of it. It spreads in huge weeping sores all over my body for whatever reason. Here's hoping you don't have quite as severe an allergy as I do!


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## lshean (Jan 6, 2009)

I've found one of the best things to get rid of Poison Ivy/Oak plants is to spray prue Clorox Bleach on the plants and within days the plants fall apart never to return.


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## Dingeryote (Jun 20, 2011)

Hello Dixie!!!

You have hit on something I actually might be able to help you with!!! Unfortunately for me LOL!!!

I Farm, Blueberries mostly, and the house is smack dab in the middle of a 80A woods that is rife with Poison Ivy.
I also do a bit of tree work in the off season, clearing fence rows, windrows, custom harvesting, and removals.
I deal with Poison Ivy constantly.

First you must Kill the stuff within the boundrys of the dogs normal roaming.

"Round up" will work with repeated applications, but is weak on doing so because of the oily Urishol on the leaves protecting the plant.
Any partial kill will result in a second flush from the vine in places where it wasn't sprayed, as well as the sprayed vine/sprig recovering.
Hit it 2-3 times over a couple days to make sure, and add a couple ounces of dish soap(Surficant) to every gallon of mix to increase effectiveness in getting through the waxy leaves to the green tissues.

"Crossbow" is another option. It will flat nuke Poison Ivy and any broad leaf, or woody brush and bush it gets on. It wont kill Grass however.
It's relatively safe for animals, and more so after 48 hours. Just keep them from direct contact like you would any nasty stuff.
It will however knock trees back, if it gets on green tissues. Bark is fine, just keep it off the root suckers and leaves.

If you hit Tractor supply, they also have the homeowner herbicides, and the only one I have seen work well was the Ortho "Woody Brush Killer".
It's essentially a dilluted version of Crossbow in a smaller package that is easier on the walllet for smaller applications.
If you decide to go with something else, look for- 2,4,D ester and Triclopyr in the ingredients.


The vines and dead leaves will still have a concentrated Urishoil content, so get it out of there if you can.
Dress up with jeans and long sleeves, and gloves, and plan on pre-soaking them in a bucket of simple Green or other strong degreaser when done.

Now to the house.
Urishoil is potent. One drop the size of a pinhead, has the concentration to cause 10 people a whole body outbreak. It is also a sticky,waxy oil that requires a serious degreaser or detergent to break free of whatever it's clinging to.
To make things worse, it dosn't break down naturally for years. You can recontaminate yourself by touching something contaminated 2 years ago.

Take the bedpread, couch cover, your clothes, everything the pooches were in contact with, and start washing with a strong detergent.
Wash everything TWICE. 

Wash the dogs. Twice. It's not good to make a habit of it, but you have to use a stronger than normal dog shampoo. We use Prell Human shampoo because it is about as harsh as we can accept. 
When you are done, drop your clothes into a bucket of water mixed with Simple green as a pre-wash, and scrub up yourself. I keep a bottle of Dawn dish soap in the shower just for Poison Ivy pre wash.

Once you get done with the laundry, run two more cycles EMPTY and using simple green to decontaminate the washer. And use 409 to clean out the dryer.
This was a hard won lesson for my wife, who once did me a favor and washed my stinky winter overalls, and then tossed in her stuff afterwards.

For your exposure, look for "Tecnu" or "Tecnu extreme" at the Pharmacy. Scrub up in the shower using the stuff, and in the future if you think you have been exposed. It works real well in cutting the Urishol, and It kills the itch between showers as well. Soap is weak and generally just spreads the stuff.

Sorry to hear ya got it.
I wish you luck with this, as it can be maddening tracking down everything the pooches cross contaminated.
Ours occaisionally get us as well. Hang in there.


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