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Poison Ivy Remedy
Poison Ivy hates Grass Clippings
Back in the college years, I’d do pretty much anything for a couple of bucks. So when someone offered me $300.00 to clear their yard of some poison ivy with a shovel and clippers, I didn’t hesitate. I figured the money was worth the discomfort. I said I was in college, I didn’t say I was smart. If it wasn’t for the pills the doctor prescribed after the fact, my head might still be the size of a beach ball.
Fast forward to today and I’m facing the same situation. The major differences are it’s my own yard with poison ivy, no one is paying me $300, and I like to think I’m a little smarter than I used to be. I said a little. Don’t get carried away.
Long story short, the left side of my yard goes like this: grass, rocks, mulch/weeds, stream, woods, and rock wall. (See pictures below). Poison ivy is rapidly spreading from the stream to the mulch/weeds area and reaching the rock line before the lawns begins. Not only does this look terrible and pose a threat to kids and adults alike, it stretches over a 40 yard span. I tried placing wood chips over the area but that just proved expensive and ineffective.
Then it occurred to me, everywhere that I’ve dumped a considerable amount of grass clippings has never seen even a single weed pop through. I believe the total mass of wet decomposing grass just smothers anything beneath it. So that’s when I thought – I BET POISON IVY HATES GRASS CLIPPINGS. So my very unscientific experiment began three weeks ago. Luckily, because of the massive amount of rain we’ve had on the east coast, my grass clippings are thick. So for the past three weeks I’ve spread the clippings in the mulch/weed area and nothing has popped through since.
My biggest concern was (1) would the dead grass look ridiculous as part of the side yard landscape and (2) would it become a dank and smelly mess and attracts bugs. But as you can see from the pictures, I actually think it looks ok and haven’t seen insects or dampness become an issue yet. Bottom line, it looks better than having wild and uncontrollable weeds and poison ivy. I have a long way to go. I want to apply this method across the whole side and see how it looks as a completed project. My guess is that it will look nice and will kill the poison ivy and weeds. I could even put mulch over the grass after it has enough time to settle.
I’m not ready to declare victory just yet but I am feeling good about the initial results. And, the best part is - no itching or swelling from the poison ivy.
So send me your comments and let me know what you think. Does my unscientific experiment make sense? Do you think this is a good idea or do you have a method that poison ivy hates even more?
Caldo’s here to give you a virtual hand with all of your home projects. Send him questions at caldo@davezillion.com
Reader Comments
Why do you ask?
Good inforamation on Poison Ivy Remedy.
can can fing some more info:http://www.poison-ivy-rash.org/
I hope your grass clippings truly smother the poison ivy. A problem I have is that we have a large yard, and have saved grass clippings which we use as mulch on our equally large garden. Undoubtedly, some of the grass clippings are actually poison ivy clippings. Question is: Do I dump all my precious grass clippings and stop using them as mulch? Or do I simply make sure I put on a thick layer–like 2 inches or more?
Being only slightly allergic to poison ivy, I am in the “Thick Layer of Grass Clippings as Mulch” camp.
What say you? I have read somewhere that the urushiol oil, the toxic part of the plant, remains toxic ‘indefinitely.’
Hey Mike, thanks for the comment…
I completely understand your concern.. Trying to cover up poison Ivy is not the only use of the grass clippings. I would definitely go ahead and try a two to three inch layer and see if it smothers out the ivy. So far my application has held up and I went about five to six inches thick. And yes, the oils in the poison ivy can last a long time. Believe it or not, I caught a small poison ivy rash in the middle of this winter and I could only equate it to doing some regular winter maintenance on my lawn equipment. I’m sure that some of the oils were still on the machines. Good luck, let me and the rest of the DZ community in on the outcome of your Poison Ivy endeavors….
Your theory is solid. I do the same thing for weeds in my garden. If you have time, check out this article on Davezillion’s biggest competitor.
http://amaribfishman.blogspot.com/2010/09/davezillion-competitor-potrillion-goes.html