What’s the best way to eradicate poison ivy?
Our summerhouse is infested with poison ivy. What’s the best way to eradicate it?
answer:
Put on a hazmat suit and start digging it out. “You might have to do it a few times, but eventually you’ll get rid of it,” says Leslie Weston, Ph.D., a professor of weed management at Cornell University. “Poison ivy doesn’t reroot well after disturbances.” A slightly quicker, albeit less thorough, method is to yank the vines out by their bases (a low grip ups your odds of getting the entire root). Seal the weeds in plastic bags; don’t burn them. “The smoke can inflame the mucous membranes of your lungs and throat,” says Weston. Translation: The same rash that causes your skin to ooze an oily goo is now inside you.
If the ivy is intertwined with your prize azaleas, a more delicate operation is in order. Pull the vine up by its roots and leave it to die. Once it does, you can unravel it from your azaleas. If it’s too thick to pull up, cut it at the base and paint the stump with a weed killer. There are Ortho and Roundup products specifically for poison ivy. Sprays work well on vines crawling up trees or houses. Be careful where you aim, though—they don’t kill selectively. Of course, you can avoid all the hassle by hiring a gardener or buying a goat. Goats love the taste of poison ivy and are immune to the chemical that irritates human skin.
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