We get a ton of PI at our house. Two neighbors let it go rampant in their yards. They are seniors, that yard work is just out of their wheelhouse. I suspect some of theirs are left to berry up and the birds eat the berries and drop them in our yard. It also creeps under the fence.

We don't have any allergies to PI, and my DH carefully with gloves and long sleeves, etc, etc. pulls it all up in one PI round up once or twice a year. But if we had allergies, I wouldn't go near it. Unless you have someone you know that would pull it out for you. Or hire someone to do that.

Unless my neighbors take care of theirs, it's unlikely we are going to prevent getting it back. Every year we pull it all out, and the next year it's back again. Our approach is to keep on top of it and not to let it get out of control but we just add it to the list of things we have to do annually. Again, if we had an allergy we would want to get every last piece out of the yard and have an eagle eye out for any more.

I've read articles about the science of Poison Ivy's explosion in recent years, that explain that PI seems to thrive on Carbon Dioxoide which is increasing in our atmosphere.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poison Ivy Growing Faster, More Virulent

Preen is a pre-emergent, so it will only prevent seeds from sprouting, but it won't do anything to established plants.

I am extremely allergic to PI, though I had never gotten it before we moved to our current home. Our cat would go out into the back field which was full of PI when we moved in and then come in and sit on the furniture, and it took me a while to figure out that I was I getting PI on the back of my legs from the furniture via the cat depositing the oil when she sat on it. It was a difficult summer . . .

I paint or spray PI with glysophate (generic Round-up). About once a month I go around and touch up what has regrown since the last time I did it. There are other brush killers that might kill it quicker, but they remain in the soil longer and are more toxic overall, so I only use glysophate. I set the sprayer for larger droplets so I don't have drift and if it is in areas with valuable plants I use a long-handled paintbrush (brush zip-tied to a long stick) or a narrow foam paint roller to get it on the leaves. You have to get Glysophate concentrate and mix it up so that it is strong.

If you do have contact with PI, I find that if I wash with rubbing alcohol, soap, and then rubbing alcohol ASAP to be sure to get rid of the oil, I don't get the rash. Shoes and clothes are wiped down with rubbing alcohol, and then I soak clothes in Biz (I found it at Target) before washing a couple of times. That keeps me from getting it from handling clothing.

I have managed to get the PI under control where I tend to go frequently, but since we are near a river and we don't control the PI along the bank and where we don't go in the woods, birds do eat the berries and replant, which is why I continue to patrol and remove new starts as they appear.

Babs, when you use something like Round Up, it kills the plant, but the plant doesn't just disappear does it? Don't you still have a dead plant sticking out of the ground that you have to dispose of?

Yes, but mine is mostly in mown areas, and if I am careful for a year to avoid the areas it has been, it is no longer an issue. I can see that this might be more difficult for BBP since the oil is still in the dead plants, but at least they won't be getting bigger.

Babs, if I go the Round Up route, once it's dead will it still cause the rash? I would clearly still wear gloves, but was just wondering. So Preen may help the spread, but would need to be used in conjunction with Round Up and/or pulling?

Prarie, thank you. Will read the article. Having the allergy is awful. I can get it from breathing I swear. Typically my entire limb will swell up. I've had to be on Prednisone a few times to get rid of it. Honestly it doesn't exactly help my professional life either. I've had it on my face more than once. Yikes.

More opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

There's no need to introduce toxins (like Preen) into the soil to eradicate PI--just pour vinegar on the sprouted plants and they'll die. Yes, they'll likely return the following year but vinegar isn't toxic and will kill the plants year after year with repeated applications.

Another option is to take a plastic shopping bag and shove your hand inside, invert the bag and use it to yank out & dispose of the PI plant/seedling.

I never saw any PI when I first moved here but in recent years it's been rampant. I'm guessing it loves the beds I've created on my little green acre but it won't win the fight for supremacy until I'm old and gray.

Pooh... Well, that's it then since I'm already old and gray.

BBPeony, it is well known that some people are so allergic that they can get it from breathing, IF someone has done something that caused the plant to release oils into the air, like burning it.

I've pulled PI using the method gardenweed suggests with a plastic bag and inverting the bag over the plant so it doesn't come in contact with my skin. BUT I also wear gloves, just in case.

BBPeony, if something like PI caused my whole arm to swell and I had to take Prednisone, which I hate, I would pay someone to pull it all out to start with, because it sounds like you have a lot of it right now, then in following years, you can keep up with it when there is just a little, by asking a friend or spouse or family member to come over once a season and do PI patrol for you. That's what family and friends love to do, have an opportunity to be a hero for you. :-) They do know you have this allergy, right? I think you will rest easier, to not go near it at all. And I would get it out of there as soon as you can, because it is really difficult to avoid it all together if you are a gardener. And it must be a constant source of anxiety. Here is an article on all the different ways you can catch it just as a reminder. And you might want to google, 'living with a Poison Ivy allergy' and see if there are any more helpful tips from other people who have the same thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 Ways to Get Poison Ivy

Prairie, thanks so much! And thank you others also.

My husband has been helping dutifully and he is covered in the stuff. He is not incredibly sensitive to it fortunately, but he's still being tortured. Sigh.

How likely is it to return year after year? Is it a perennial in cold zones?

Yep, it's definitely perennial as well as persistent--it came up this year in the same spots I found it coming up last year, even in beds with 3-4 inches of bark mulch layered over corrugated cardboard.

Keep in mind that folk who aren't susceptible to it may suddenly get the rash from it without warning--for more than 55 years I didn't have a problem with PI until a half-dozen years ago when I got the rash for the first time in my life. Since I've always been a gardener as well as a hiker, it came as a surprise to suddenly be driven half-insane by the itching rash. I keep lots of vinegar on hand to kill it.

I got PI this year probably from attempting to dig out some horse manure from a nearby stable. It wasn't as bad as it could have been since I happen to already be on prednsone.

I also used Technu - that stuff is a fortune but worth every penny. It really works to stop the rash.