Dear Suzy,
I just moved to my parent’s 40-acre paradise east of Austin. My husband and
I are lucky enough to have wonderful parents/in-laws and soon 4 acres of those
40 will be ours. Our piece covers half of a long-neglected pecan orchard. The
orchard is filled with nasty stuff like mesquite, various small woody trees,
and poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak.
We hired a guy to shred the undergrowth surrounding the pecans. After he
dragged his machinery through the orchard the result was: a beautiful stand of
low grasses, a vision of the old rows of pecan trees, complete access where
once there had been none, nine flat tires from mesquite thorns, and two really
bad cases of poison ivy — on me and on the tractor driver.
How do I remove this killer from my new homesite without destroying the
environment and myself?
A. Dodge
Dear Mrs. Dodge,
The poison in this plant (Rhus radicans) is actually not a poison, but an
allergen called urushiol found in the sap. Some people are exceedingly
sensitive to it; other are immune. Researchers at the University of Mississippi
are working on a “vaccine” made from synthesized urushiol. They’re hoping an
injection will eliminate sensitivity. Maybe if you get a shot of this you can
march in there in your bikini and chew the stuff out.
According to the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, “large infestations
of poison ivy can be controlled by mowing close to the ground in midsummer,
then plowing or harrowing, or grazing sheep and goats. Poison ivy will
eventually die out if you keep it clipped to within an inch or two of the
ground with a power mower.” They also suggest smothering it with tar paper,
card board, or a deep mulch of straw. They caution you to wear gloves and
protective clothing and to wash well afterwards with Fels Naphtha.
Considering you’ve tried most of this approach with uncomfortable results,
maybe you should douse the monster vines with Finale, a non-residual weed
killer that’s made of a naturally occurring compound. (It would have no effect
on your pecan trees.)
I know one way you don’t want to get rid of it — by burning. My dad, who
breaks out in hives if he just whispers “poison ivy,” made that mistake many
years ago and the smoke turned him inside out. He was a mess. Still, I think he
fared better than a friend of mine — an ivy-innocent Yankee — who chose a
patch of the weed for a romantic tryst… an intimately painful blunder.
From the Shameless Self-Promotion Department: I’m doing my first public
reading of a “work in progress” at Java Jive on Lake Austin Blvd., February 22,
7-9pm. (Don’t worry; I won’t fill the two hours alone. Spike, among others,
will also read.)
I’m here at Suzebe@aol.com or PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.
This article appears in February 16 • 1996 and February 16 • 1996 (Cover).