05-21-15, 11:57 AM | |
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Sweet Home Alabama
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Our yard backs up into a natural woodland, and that natural woodland is FILLED with poison oak. On the plus side (if there IS a plus side), it's quite pretty. On the negative side, it takes over EVERYTHING, it spreads not only by roots, but also by birds eating the berries, then pooping out the seeds ... and of course, if you touch it, you will be very sorry!
I don't like to spray poison oak because I don't want to harm the birds, so I am constantly pulling it out. To help protect myself, I wear rose gloves (the kind that extends to your elbows) and long sleeve shirts (which gets hot here in Alabama!) Afterwards, I spray everything that came into contact with the plant (my gloves, my shoes, gardening tools) with alcohol: I have a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol just for this purpose. You can get "infected" again by touching something that's been in contact with poison oak/ivy; spraying with alcohol helps kill the plant's "juice." This hasn't prevented me from getting poison plant rashes, though. I, too, recommend running hot water over the area: as hot as you can stand. Afterward, I apply Ivarest http://www.ivarest.com/ over the infected areas. Good luck! Contact dermatitis sucks!
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Debbie Don't wish for it. Work for it. |
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