poison oak removal

When it comes to poison oak, how nasty would it be to remove the woody parts of the vines this time of the year? Is the threat of poison oak only in the leaves, or am I going to need to be careful that the sawdust and vines are going to be just as bad?

By my experience, you have to be careful of everything!! Poison Ivy spreads from the oil that is contained in the plant. Some people are even allergic to the fumes from it being burned. After clearing the vines be sure you wash your clothes also. The oil will spread on them.

I would make sure my gloves were water tight before i would mess with it. Wait until spring and use round-up. You could cut the vines now with some cutters then when stub grows in the spring and spray. I used to get it BAD then took shots and now just will get a small irritation still nasty stuff depending on the person as we arent all the same with that stuff some it doesent even bother.

My former FIL was not sensitive to poison ivy
until he burned some. Put him in the hospital,
almost fatal for him.

CrossBow and make ita little stronger than what it is called for after it has dried good then burn the left overs or to be sure just bury them.
Best thing is to hire someone like me who doesn't have problem with Poison Oak and let them do the work while you go to Vegas.
Walt

Get a product called Tec-Nu.It kills the oils in poison ivy and I think poison oak.Its more for cleaning an ax off and washing your hands.To kill stuff I go out on a below freezing day and slash the base with a machete and pour ortho poison ivy and oak killer on the cut.All parts of these plants are poison including roots.Washing with Tec-Nu is preventitive for you not getting it.

My daughter was doing a twig collection for a science class during the winter a few years ago. All leaves were off the plants. She got into poison oak and it got her. Winter doesn't seem to stop it.

You can get it from touching any part of the plant, especially if you disturb it and open up the woody part of it, the roots, etc.

Best get some of that stuff that neutralizes the oils before you even start messing with it. Then, wash up right away afterward.

Last summer, (2008) I tried Round-UP poison ivy
and brush killer, and it worked great on the
Poison ivy. I would recommend it !! I'm not
aware of poison oak in Wisconsin, so I don't
know about that.

All parts of the plant contain at least some urushiol (the itch-inducing oil). You must wear gloves and take suitable precautions when handling it. There is a product called "Ivyblock" which inhibits skin absorption, and I will second the recommendation for TecNu for washing after possible contact.

Never burn poison oak/poison ivy. The heat volatilizes the oils and wafts them into the air along with the smoke. Your lungs are much more sensitive than any other part of your body to trace amounts of toxins -- that's why more people smoke tobacco than chew, and why crack pipes are popular for ingesting cocaine and methamphetamine.

The body's reaction to the oil is an allergic reaction. The immune system attacks the oil as if it were bacteria/viruses/bee venom. In the process, your body itself creates the rash/bumps/itch. A dose of oral or dermal prescription steroids like prednisone can throttle back the reaction. Most over-the-counter stuff can only reduce surface itching, it is too late to neutralize the oil once the skin turns red and bumpy.

You can't "build up a tolerance" to urushiol by serial exposure, or by drinking some sort of diluted homeophathic extract. In fact, for most people, the reverse is true, the immune system becomes MORE sensitized to urushiol the more it is exposed to it. In my own experience, both my father and myself started out relatively immune, but got more sensitive with age and repeated exposure.

For what it is worth, and relating this subject to old tractors, the toxicity of isocyanate paints also stems from the reaction of the immune system. With repeated exposure, the body learns to recognize smaller and smaller concentrations, and reacts more and more extremely. That's why long-term auto body painters can initially get away with less than optimal protective equipment, but eventually become so sensitive they can no longer work in the field at all, even with full body suits and supplied air respirators.

Thanks for all the replies. I cut all the shoots I could with a large set of pruners last year. That killed a lot of it. So if I get it good and dead this year, would it be safer to wait until next year to clean it up? The hard part is it"s growing up the side of a barn between it and an old grainery so getting the heaviest growth is tough. 2-4-D slowed it down. I had heard about Crossbow and will hit it hard with that this spring.

brian, i got some info a year or two ago from the guys here on poison ivy to kill it. i have been using generic roundup (kilzall) 41 %. i used 8 oz of kilzall per gallon of water, 4 oz of 2-4d, and a few drops of dishsoap. apply with a pump sprayer. it will burn it down in two weeks. the dishsoap helps it stick to the waxy ivy leaves, should work good on poison oak and sumac too.