Has your poison ivy gone crazy?

[ramapo]

I've read about the effects of CO2 on poison ivy and I sure believe it because, here in NJ, I have the biggest, friggin' PI leaves growing in my yard that I've ever seen.

There are also a number of vines in the garden that seem to be running amok. They grow almost in air, you rip them up, and they just grow back.

Today I saw this article in the paper:

Pollution is fueling the vines that choke gardens and forests

"Vines -- poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, kudzu -- snake through the back yard, girdling trees and strangling shrubs, thriving, scientists say, on the same pollution blamed for global warming.

From backyard gardens to the Amazon rain forest, vines are growing faster, stronger and, in the case of poison ivy, more poisonous on the heavy doses of carbon dioxide that come from burning such fossil fuels as gasoline and coal.

Complaints about vine infestation have increased tenfold in a decade, said Carole Bergmann, forest ecologist for the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission....

.."The woods they used to know have just changed character," Bergmann said. "They're covered with vines. The trees are being weakened and falling over -- or strangled."

full article:
<http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTYyNjkx>

[stellanoir]

1. Salt water is the best ..

and most non toxic and non invasive way to KO poison ivy vines.

Otherwise "your gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion. . ."

n/t

[SharonAnn]

4. How do you use it? I'd like to get rid of mine, the yard is full of it!

[stellanoir]

10. When I was a kid we'd just grab buckets of ocean water

and pour it over the vines and they whither and die over a couple days, but so might part of your lawn. Grass is fairly easy to reestablish though.

[Sadie5]

2. I guess I am one of the lucky ones

Never had PI in my life, neither have my children. Some people are just immune the Doc said. But my husband gets it terrible, has to go to the doctor.

[mod mom]

9. Don't be fooled, you can change your response later in life. My husband

never got it and when we found some in our ground cover a few years ago he decided it to pull it out wearing shorts. He was so sick from it and had to go to the ER. It was a month before he could go to the pool or be seen in shorts. It was very hard not to say I told you so, but he was so sick. Lesson learned "never say never" and treat it with caution.

[HereSince1628]

3. My poison ivy doesn't really form climbing vines but it carpets

much of my woodlot. It doesn't seem any worse now compared to 15 years ago. I wish I could say the same about the the prickly ash and the buckthorn.

[NNadir]

5. Indeed it has.

[benddem]

6. Isn't the poison more toxic

this year too? I heard that even people who've never been allergic are now. I'm terribly allergic to it and am glad it doesn't grow here...that I know of.

[femmocrat]

7. I hope you aren't "rip[ping] them up"!!!

There is no really safe way to get rid of poison ivy. I have had some luck with Ortho "Brush be Gone" (a spray) but it is hard to find. We battle the nasty stuff every year... but yes, this year it does seem to be more vigorous. I thought it was from all the rain, not from pollution, but that is a very interesting theory! I am very interested in learning how to control it with salt water!

[ramapo]

8. Cut the vines?

My PI is mostly in the vine form climbing up the trees. I've thought about cutting the vine as low as possible. At least that would unburden the tree.

[NNadir]

11. This works. It will start to grow back, but if you cover it with mulch

lawn clippings and the like you can suppress it. I also use judicious amounts of round-up where the war becomes intractable.

[Javaman]

12. Yes, a few plants went postal this past week, it wasn't pretty...

People were scratching for miles...