Another Poison Ivy Thread

[daveswoodhauler]

Was reading through another thread, and didn't want to hijack it.
Anyway, this spring 2 large oaks came down at a relatives house, and they had a vine wrapped all the way up each. In april, I bucked the trees up in about 16" rounds, and removed all the vines. Rounds have been stacked in a sunny part of the yard...Wasn't sure if it was poison ivy, but based on the rash I had 2 days later it was.
Anyway, I was planning on splitting it, and burning it perhaps 2010/2011 or the following year.
I have heard so much about the oils from this stuff, I am now afraid to burn it....its about a cord of oak.
Burn it or just leave it?

 

[Got Wood]

My take burn is burn it. If your worried, trim the bark off, which may come easily now when splitting.

 

[smokinj]

I'll get rid of it for you

 

[wendell]

I'll get rid of it for you

I think you've got more than enough. Why don't you leave some for the rest of us?

To, the OP, I would just wear gloves, don't go to the bathroom with the gloves still on (or a black widow, either. I wonder what happened to that guy?) and enjoy the warmth!

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Thanks Wendell....like I said, all the vines are off it now, but some were pretty large...like a real thick rope.
On another note, have you had good luck with your F150 FX4? Been looking at picking up a 2005-2007 F150 crew cab...mainly for hauling a camper and some wood scrounges I haven;t been able to capitalize on

 

[wendell]

Very happy except when I go to fill it up. :bug: I think the newer ones get better mileage so that would be a good call. If I was to do it over, I would've tried to find one with 4 doors instead of the double doors. If you park next to someone it can be pretty tough to get stuff out of the back and my son is 12 and it is already getting to be a rather tight fit.

 

[wendell]

Thanks Wendell....like I said, all the vines are off it now, but some were pretty large...like a real thick rope.

I am no expert on PI and hope to never become one but from a previous thread, i believe the oil can still be on the bark, even if the vine is gone.

 

[blades]

Yes the oil from the vine will stay on the wood, it is actualy more potent in the vines and stems than the leaves. Simple solution Get some heavy duty cleaner degreaser, fantastic , 409 etc, a pressure washer or hose end sprayer to apply it liberally to the wood and stack. This will reduce your exposure by at least 75%. That oil is so nasty that archeologists have uncovered stuff with traces of it on them and still get skin reactions according to an article I read a while back. That stuff gets into my blood stream and I am in pure misery from head to toe for about 3 weeks. Also if you know you got into it wash your affected area with the same items within 30 minutes as it takes about that long for the oil to bond to the skin use hot water. same for clothes. It is your immune system reacting to the oil that causes the rash. Burning the wood in an efficient stove will not cause a problem.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We've burned lots of logs that had poison ivy on and have never had a problem. For washing, we like the special soap you can buy. Here is one link for it:

Poison Ivy Soap

 

[Nonprophet]

I think I'd burn it, but I'd be very, very careful in handling it!!

I'd get a pair of inexpensive leather gloves, and I'd ONLY touch the wood with the gloves, nothing else! Not the door knob, not the wood box, not the wood stove door, not the handle of your splitting maul--nothing but the wood off the pile and straight into the fire!! I'd mark the gloves with paint or a marker so I never made the mistake of picking them up by accident.

I don't think the urushiol oil will harm the stove while it's burning, and, assuming your chimney/stove pipe is tall enough I doubt that you'd have any problems with the smoke--but do bear in mind that the smoke DOES carry the oil, and you can get a rash IN YOUR LUNGS from breathing it--woodland firefighters have to deal with this all the time.......

In my understanding of urushiol oil, there's nothing cost-effective that you can use to wash the wood that will neutralize the oil (i.e a 55 gallon drum of Technu.....) but you could try peeling the bark and throwing it away.

NP

 

[bsa0021]

I've run into this several times (again this year) when scrounging for wood. I always stack it in an area where the rain will get to it. Maybe it's just me, but I've handled wood that had PI vines after drying for 1-2 years in the open and never got a breakout. Of course, everyone is different. I never got PI as a kid despite running through it all the time but now that I'm older I get it whenever it's fresh. After it's sits in the weather it doesn't bother me.

 

[JeffRey30747]

I'm only mildly allergic to PI/PO and I usually just strip the vines off with a gloved hand and have never had any problems (yet? knock on wood). ;-)

 

[Nonprophet]

Yeah, what kills me is that as a kid in Ohio, I could roll in poison ivy and it jut didn't bother me at all, whereas my friends would get it all the time. Moved out West and had my first run in with poison oak--not good! I've got a couple blisters right now on my left arm from pulling down some poison oak vines last week--even though I washed right away with Fels Naptha and Technu, I must have missed a little because there it is.........Apparently, even though both plants contain urushiol oil, some people are immune to one or the other whiles most people are not.

NP

I've run into this several times (again this year) when scrounging for wood. I always stack it in an area where the rain will get to it. Maybe it's just me, but I've handled wood that had PI vines after drying for 1-2 years in the open and never got a breakout. Of course, everyone is different. I never got PI as a kid despite running through it all the time but now that I'm older I get it whenever it's fresh. After it's sits in the weather it doesn't bother me.

 

[XX78]

The poison ivy oil is a neutral molecule, therefore detergents such as soap are not that effective in washing it away. Furthermore the oil's neutrality also aids it absorption into the skin. If you mix simple baking soda with dish soap, then wash the area you will wash the oil away. The baking soda either takes away or gives an electron, I can't remember (my biochemistry class was 10 years ago), thus changing the charge on the oil molecule and allowing the soap to remove it.

I was skeptical, but I did put myself thru college working for my best friend's tree service. We came across our fair share of PI while I was there. Always had BS and Dawn in the trucks. People would look at me like I was crazy but it is just simple science.

 

[savageactor7]

Yeah just burn it ...you should always use gloves when handling wood anyway. Tecnu is also a good poison ivy product your supposed to wash with it after cutting. I use it as a hand lotion and rub it over all exposed skin and leave it. Since I started using it about 5 years ago I haven't had any PI...but I used to get it every year.

 

[billb3]

If it's like the Poison Ivy that grows up the trees here,the vine grows roots which anchor into the bark.
I've pulled them off with screwdriver and pliers before putting aside and cutting into rounds up to a year later without problems. I wouldn't wear shorts while cutting, though.

The bark should be beginning to fall off or at lleast loosen when that oak is ready anyway.


Just don't hermeticaly seal your oakstacks for future archaeologists. Season and burn them.

The oils should season at about the same rate as sap.

 

[Tony H]

Just make sure you don't burn it where anyone could breath in the fumes / smoke and use gloves when handling it .

 

[wingsfan]

Don't want to hijack your thread. But me and the wife was clearing a small area at the end of the property. We were both doing the same things right next to each other, well a couple of days later Ihad ivy around my eye, (would swell shut at nigh). All over my left arm , a little on my right arm , and got a little in the private area. I do not understand why yhe wife never got any , but she sure made fun of my episode with it.

 

[wendell]

So, would this be poison ivy?

 

[Captain Hornet]

Wendell, That's it, poison ivy. Be careful with that stuff, David.

 

[wendell]

I wonder if I might have some immunity to it as others have described as I was wearing gloves when processing but I know that I rubbed my face, etc. with my gloves on and had no reaction. I'm not burning this until 2012, I'm going to have to remember that it's there.

 

[wingsfan]

I wonder if I might have some immunity to it as others have described as I was wearing gloves when processing but I know that I rubbed my face, etc. with my gloves on and had no reaction. I'm not burning this until 2012, I'm going to have to remember that it's there.

Some people do have an immunity to it, you probably do also.

 

[Bootlegger]

I'm immune but I've never rubbed it on myself intentionally to see if I'm totally immune.
Cure the wood until the bark falls off and handle with care.

 

[snowman49820]

So, would this be poison ivy?

There are a lot of vines that look alike. http://www.gpnc.org/poison.htm

 

[blades]

looks like it, hairy vine.