How much toxicity does poison ivy lose after you cut it?

Question

I have some trees with poison growing up them (vines), I was wondering if would help to cut them along the trunk to kill them before cutting down the trees (which have died completely).

Answer 1

They are still toxic, especially any cut leaves, so wear gloves. And for heaven's sake don't burn it. That spreads the oils with the smoke and leads to really nasty cases of the crud for people who are sensitive. The best thing is to tear them out by the roots.

Answer 2

The oils stay active for a year or more after they die so you have

to be careful not to touch them without rubber gloves on. It really

doesn't matter if you  kill it first or not. I would pull it down and bury

it in a hole. Here is a web site that tells you about it.

If you do accidentally get touched by it, I found that cleaning the area

with rubbing alcohol within 10 minutes will get rid of the oils that got

on your skin. Scrub it good, then use soap and water. I picked some

by hand without gloves accidentally and this worked great.

Hope this helps.  

Answer 3

If you have plans to eliminate the poison ivy be careful to dispose of it in the trash or other safe methods.

And you can't burn it because the smoke can get in your lungs and cause health problems.

Some people are so sensitive to the plant that they suffer after petting a dog that has been in poison ivy, inhaling smoke from burning poison ivy or handling the clothes of someone who has walked through poison ivy.

http://www.mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/03/50....