Controlling Poison Ivy
I live in central Illinois and bought a 10 acre piece of land loaded with poison ivy. I removed a good portion of the vines over the winter, but it seems to have reemerged heavier this spring.
I've tried Ortho Brush-B-Gone and Round-Up with very limited success. Someone also told me to spray it with a 50% brine solution, but I haven't tried that yet.
What do you recommend to kill the poison ivy (pulling it out at this point doesn't seem to be an option :)
Ron
Doug says
Here's where I start to have problems with organic controls. It is really, really tough to control woody plants with organics. But for what it's worth...
Leaf "Burn" Organic Chemicals
You can use an organic herbicide containing acetic acid. There are different products of this stronger than vinegar acid - a commonly known one is 'Sharpshooter'.
These are "burn" defoliators and will act like a chemical burn agent taking off the leaves so the plant can't obtain energy from them.
Repeat Regularly
The kicker in any burn (chemical or organic) is that it must be regularly repeated for at least one entire season whenever leaves are produced anywhere on the plant. Consistency is required and it may take several seasons to fully kill off the plant (I'd be surprised if you got it in one season).
I won't comment on Brush-B-Gone as this is really ugly stuff and I'd never use it anywhere on my property no matter the plant.
Roundup or Glyphosate
Roundup is a hazy area for me. I know the active (glyphosate) has some negative press and the fillers are deadly witches brew but... in limited spraying it is probably the least offensive of the chemical sprays.
I'd never recommend using it as a general spray but it could be effective in specialized applications.
On woody plants it has to be used at the highest label strength and usually repeated several times. Frankly, it is not as effective as the advertising would have us believe on larger woody plants with established root systems.
It is much more effective painted full strength onto the stumps of freshly cut woody plants. You wouldn't have to pull them but cut them at their base; painting the fresh cut with the roundup "oil" at full strength is a registered label use and will kill the average plant with a single application.
And if you're spraying multiple times, why not use the slightly more expensive but much safer organic alternative.
I've never tried a brine solution but it might burn the leaves. I really can't comment or recommend it as I've never tried it or examined the organic impact of excess saline on eastern soils.
So there you have it. The problem with a noxious plant is that it will require multiple sprayings of either chemical or organic treatments. Or a painting with full strength Roundup concentrate.
Still have questions about controlling poison ivy?