End The Tyranny Of The Lawn!!

[Dan From Smithville]

Even the poison ivy gets left alone-- it's along my back fence, and I've learned to wear long sleeves and pants when mowing-- all gets turned inside-out after the mow, and immediately washed in hot water.

I pity the fool who tries climbing over my fence...

... in any case? A friend of mine uses one of those weed torches-- wait until after a rain (not long around here) and then torch the poison ivy's roots. Let it die and dry, and it's (mostly) harmless. The active ingredient is an oil, which does evaporate after awhile.

That oil can remain efficacious on clothing up to 18 months or more if it is not washed. I do not know about dead plant matter left in the environment. I tend to agree with your conclusion and doubt it would remain very long considering the factors that would be working to degrade the plant material.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

You think farmers are careless with it...why?

My point here was that many modern homeowners look to chemicals as the first and only stop. If a little works, a lot will work much better. They often do not know nearly as much about the chemicals they are using as a farmer does. And their perceptions seem to be geared towards eradication rather than management.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

They get careless. Or unconcerned. One tried for many years to farm on land owned by my parents. A friend of mine and her dad were poisoned by herbicide being excessively sprayed by a farmer. Farmers are only human, after all.

Even with the best information and the best plans, mistakes can happen. I know of a few people that have been hit by drift due to miscommunication and somewhat poor planning. Fortunately, it was with materials that have a very low mammalian toxicity and are relatively safe.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Even the poison ivy gets left alone-- it's along my back fence, and I've learned to wear long sleeves and pants when mowing-- all gets turned inside-out after the mow, and immediately washed in hot water.

I pity the fool who tries climbing over my fence...

... in any case? A friend of mine uses one of those weed torches-- wait until after a rain (not long around here) and then torch the poison ivy's roots. Let it die and dry, and it's (mostly) harmless. The active ingredient is an oil, which does evaporate after awhile.

After all these years, I am still uncertain if I am allergic to poison ivy or not. I recognize it, watch for it when I am out and tend to avoid it. It may be that I am not allergic, but it could also be that I have been successful in my attempts to avoid it and been really lucky.

 

[Enoch07]

I've kept my yard simple. I've got 2 elephant ear plants by the driveway. A couple of silver queen plants underneath my kitchen window, and 2 more by the front porch. 2 more shrubs by the front door that I don't know what they are. Then in the back tons of kudzu which I am fighting back. I've found the crown root so whenever I can muster up the will power to wrestle it out of the ground I can put a huge dent in it. Will have to find some other plants to take it place though to control erosion as that is why the kudzu was put there to begin with. But I'll figure it out.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I've kept my yard simple. I've got 2 elephant ear plants by the driveway. A couple of silver queen plants underneath my kitchen window, and 2 more by the front porch. 2 more shrubs by the front door that I don't know what they are. Then in the back tons of kudzu which I am fighting back. I've found the crown root so whenever I can muster up the will power to wrestle it out of the ground I can put a huge dent in it. Will have to find some other plants to take it place though to control erosion as that is why the kudzu was put there to begin with. But I'll figure it out.

Crud! I have been staking out the wrong house.

 

[Thief]

in my little burb...
if you fail to keep the grass under 6inches
the city will cut it for you
and send you a bill

damn

 

[Father Heathen]

Ticks, though.

 

[Notanumber]

I spray it in a very controlled fashion.
And it shouldn't contact a lake or pond.

I'm not familiar with it.
Reading about it...terrible stuff.

I use a backpack sprayer when there is no wind and there is no lake or pond nearby but I don’t wear any protection, do you?

I believe there was a big court case recently and the manufacturers had to pay out a big claim for damages regarding cancer.

There has been talk of banning it in the UK, but I would be lost without it.

Fortunately, as far as I know I haven’t found any Japanese Knotweed yet, but I have been to places where it has become a major problem.

 

[ChristineM]

In the rural UK, they use sheep.

Only on high moorland or farms, alternating fields with cows.

We had 2 goats back in the UK, they kept the law very trim, and everything else including sweaters

 

[80s fashion girl]

Ummm... Did it look anything like this:

No, it was definitely a squirrel with hardly any tail fur.

 

[Revoltingest]

I use a backpack sprayer when there is no wind and there is no lake or pond nearby but I don’t wear any protection, do you?

I believe there was a big court case recently and the manufacturers had to pay out a big claim for damages regarding cancer.

There has been talk of banning it in the UK, but I would be lost without it.

Fortunately, as far as I know I haven’t found any Japanese Knotweed yet, but I have been to places where it has become a major problem.

I use a backpack sprayer (battery powered) & various small hand (powered) sprayers.
The court cases lack scientific validity....juries are idiots.
I wear no special protection protection, but I avoid atomizing to very small droplets which are prone to drifting.
I also use a dye to see where I've sprayed.

 

[Notanumber]

No, it was definitely a squirrel with hardly any tail fur.

Did it look like this?

 

[Notanumber]

I use a backpack sprayer (battery powered) & various small hand (powered) sprayers.
The court cases lack scientific validity....juries are idiots.
I wear no special protection protection, but I avoid atomizing to very small droplets which are prone to drifting.
I also use a dye to see where I've sprayed.

Brilliant!!!

I like the idea of the dye.

I find myself going over the same spot several times by mistake.

Is it just a vegetable dye that you use and how long does it take to disappear?

BTW, it’s not just juries. Judges are as well.

 

[Revoltingest]

Brilliant!!!

I like the idea of the dye.

I find myself going over the same spot several times by mistake.

Is it just a vegetable dye that you use and how long does it take to disappear?

BTW, it’s not just juries. Judges are as well.

Juries are idiots.
Judges are just their keepers.
I don't know if the dye is veggie based.
Turf Marker Blue is one product I've used.
It's gone from plants in a couple days.
It lasts longer on concrete.

 

[80s fashion girl]

Did it look like this?

No, no! A Red Fox squirrel like this, only with hardly any tail fluff.

 

[Notanumber]

No, no! A Red Fox squirrel like this, only with hardly any tail fluff.
View attachment 31659

We only have those pesky American invaders the Greys around here but fortunately, I have never seen one on my property. There are plenty of visiting cats and that might be the reason why.

A friend lives about a mile away as the crow flies and he is constantly trapping them.

The Greys rob birds’ nests and can do a lot of damage if they get into your loft, etc.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

That oil can remain efficacious on clothing up to 18 months or more if it is not washed. I do not know about dead plant matter left in the environment. I tend to agree with your conclusion and doubt it would remain very long considering the factors that would be working to degrade the plant material.

I have found that washing in hot water eliminates the stuff, no problem. I do not know about leaving it longer than, 'I'm finished mowing, remove clothing in the laundry room (turn inside out) and toss in washer'.

I know it can rub off onto bed sheets from your skin, but that only lasts about a day.... I know from direct experience. So I really have a problem with the 18 months figure-- I wonder where that came from.

In my experience, the active ingredient dries out within 24-48 hours, even if on clothing.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

After all these years, I am still uncertain if I am allergic to poison ivy or not. I recognize it, watch for it when I am out and tend to avoid it. It may be that I am not allergic, but it could also be that I have been successful in my attempts to avoid it and been really lucky.

There are several varieties of toxic-oil plants, poison ivy, poison oak and several others. As I recall, none are actually "ivy" in the classic sense. Most, that I've spotted, grow like low-lying ground cover, or very small bush-like shrubs. Some grows like vines, but those seem to be less common around here.

Toxicity varies, as does the reaction among humans-- some folk are deathly vulnerable, whereas others ignore it completely, not even so much as an itch.

However, again--varies from person to person-- repeated exposure can increase the vulnerability (or just the opposite can also be true).

Me? I was immune as a child, right up until adult hood, for decades, I was the "go to guy" to go pull up the poison ivy, when discovered at Camp. Yes, I'd use gloves, and yes I'd stuff them into plastic trash bags, but I never suffered so much as an itch all those years.

Then? I wasn't immune. I don't know what changed, but now, I get a 2 day rash upon exposure. Hydrocortozone cuts down the reaction, and if I know I was hit, washing with 90% alcohol, then scrubbing with concentrated Dawn dish-washing liquid (using a brush), then alcohol, then re-scrub about 5 cycles? I have no reaction at all, apart from the initial tingling.

If I miss a spot in washing, though, I'm in for a 2 day rash which seems to dry up with treatment.

Oddly enough? My hands seem entirely immune... and I have accidentally transferred exposure from one spot to another, with my fingers-- who act like Typhoid Mary. I expect it's the thickness of the skin that matters. Perhaps only skin with hairs (and their vulnerable pores) are subject to the effect? Don't know-- not going to experiment, either.

I now am quite certain where the ivy is growing, and I'm very careful along that area-- I'm currently working on a project to get my walk-behind string trimmer up and running again (new-used Kohler engine) and I'll avoid going close in the future.

 

[Revoltingest]

There are several varieties of toxic-oil plants, poison ivy, poison oak and several others. As I recall, none are actually "ivy" in the classic sense. Most, that I've spotted, grow like low-lying ground cover, or very small bush-like shrubs. Some grows like vines, but those seem to be less common around here.

Toxicity varies, as does the reaction among humans-- some folk are deathly vulnerable, whereas others ignore it completely, not even so much as an itch.

However, again--varies from person to person-- repeated exposure can increase the vulnerability (or just the opposite can also be true).

Me? I was immune as a child, right up until adult hood, for decades, I was the "go to guy" to go pull up the poison ivy, when discovered at Camp. Yes, I'd use gloves, and yes I'd stuff them into plastic trash bags, but I never suffered so much as an itch all those years.

Then? I wasn't immune. I don't know what changed, but now, I get a 2 day rash upon exposure. Hydrocortozone cuts down the reaction, and if I know I was hit, washing with 90% alcohol, then scrubbing with concentrated Dawn dish-washing liquid (using a brush), then alcohol, then re-scrub about 5 cycles? I have no reaction at all, apart from the initial tingling.

If I miss a spot in washing, though, I'm in for a 2 day rash which seems to dry up with treatment.

Oddly enough? My hands seem entirely immune... and I have accidentally transferred exposure from one spot to another, with my fingers-- who act like Typhoid Mary. I expect it's the thickness of the skin that matters. Perhaps only skin with hairs (and their vulnerable pores) are subject to the effect? Don't know-- not going to experiment, either.

I now am quite certain where the ivy is growing, and I'm very careful along that area-- I'm currently working on a project to get my walk-behind string trimmer up and running again (new-used Kohler engine) and I'll avoid going close in the future.

Poison ivy will indeed climb as a vine, like ivy.