How to Kill & Remove Poison Ivy Without an Allergic Reaction

Poison ivy is difficult to eliminate because just brushing against it is enough to create an allergic reaction. The plant excretes urushiol oil, causing the tell-tale itching and rash when it comes in contact with the skin. Even if you wear gloves, the urushiol oil can get on your clothing and then spread to your skin when you take the gloves off. Safely removing poison ivy requires careful steps to prevent an allergic reaction.

Things You'll Need

• Stakes or marking ribbons
• Heavy clothes
• Gloves
• Spade or shovel
• Saw
• Tecnu

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Instructions

• 1

  Identify all of the spots on your property that contain poison ivy. Mark them with stakes or ribbons on nearby trees. You don't want to stumble into one patch of poison ivy while trying to get rid of another.

• 2

  Dress in sturdy clothes that cover your body: long-sleeved shirt, jeans, work boots and gloves.

• 3

  Dig up the poison ivy by the root using a spade or a shovel. It's important to get the entire root, because otherwise the plant may grow back. If possible, wait until after a rain, when the ground around the poison ivy is moist and easier to move.

• 4

  Cut the poison ivy down to the stump, then apply generous amounts of Roundup or a similar glyphostate herbicide. Use the herbicide if uprooting the plants is impossible or as an alternative to digging them up. Apply the Roundup in late summer, if possible, just before the ivy leaves begin to turn. Spray the entire remaining plant with the herbicide once you cut it back.

• 5

  Stack the uprooted poison ivy somewhere out of the way, mark it so that no one touches it, and call your local sanitation department to see how to properly dispose of it.

• 6

  Apply liberal amounts of Tecnu to all clothes and tools used while removing the poison ivy. Tecnu neutralizes the urushiol oil and prevents it from being spread to any bare skin. For tools, soak a cloth in the Tecnu and rub every inch of the tool surface. Soak clothes in a bucket of Tecnu for 5 to 10 minutes, then wash in the washing machine with detergent and hot water.

• 7

  Apply Tecnu to any parts of your skin which may have been exposed to the ivy. Do this as soon as possible after completing previous steps--the less time urushiol oil is on your skin, the less damage it will do.

• 8

  Shower with soap and lukewarm water before putting on clean clothes.