I recently moved into a new house (new for me at least) and on one side of the yard I have a massive outbreak of poison ivy in my St Augustine. It starts under a tree where the St Augustine is sparse and the P.I. spreads out and eventually becomes sparse itself as the St Augustine becomes thicker but it is still there.

Now I figure that I could feed the grass and nurture it so it becomes thick and eventually smothers the ivy but that will be hard to do under this low hanging tree. The ivy covers a total of about 150 square feet.

I really want this stuff gone ASAP because this area is near my pool, people will be playing in and around this grass all summer and I especially don't want my 2 year old to get into the P.I. at all. I'm highly allergic to it and I'd assume my son is too.

I'm seriously thinking about using Trimec and just making a one time exception to my otherwise organic program. I know all the toxic things that this stuff has but it appears to do its job fast and fast is what I need.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Cary

MowMowMow! If you can use long gloves & long-handled cutters, cut as far down to the ground as you can. If it EVER stops raining, spray it after cutting w/vinegar- 10%!

This will take more than once, I'm pretty sure.

If you can find the root or stem where it's coming up, jam a soup can over it, into the ground.

I would worry more about the 2 yr old & the effects of the poison sprayed than I would about the poison ivy rash.

Patty

well, I started thinking about it and these weeds are way too abundant and allover my lawn to be poison ivy, and the leaves are smaller and jagged anyway, don't know what I was thinking, but I do have P.I. somewhere because I broke out in a rash. However, the stuff that is all in my lawn is something different. I started noticing it all over my lawn today and some of it has small yellow flowers.

Anyway, I'll just drown it out for now and try to find the real culprit and deal with it when I get to it.

You think it's Virginia Creeper? If it's not poison ivy, just try the mow & vinegar approach anyway. It's soooo wet-don't know when you'd get a break from the rain to spray the vinegar!

Patty

here is a picture with a berry, I know it's not virginia creeper

The plant in the picture is wild blackberry.
Tony M

Tony,

thanks for the reply, but I don't think they are wild blackberries. The leaves are in groups of three (like Poison Ivy) not five, and there are no thorns. There are berries though. Would like to try one but don't want to get sick....

also here is a better picture:

Thanks for the updated picture, now my thought is wild strawberry. It should look and taste like strawberry but be prepared to spit.
Tony M

Tony, thanks for the starting point, you were close. After some research I found that this is actually Duchesnea indica, the Indian Strawberry, or Mock Strawberry.

I forgot to mention the yellow flowers I think.

Thanks...

Poison Ivy (leaves of 3...let them be)

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=210

Virginia Creeper

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1627

Other Poison Ivy and Virginia Creeper pics

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/img/pictures/pi-pics-may/index.php

Stephanie