Posted by steven on July 07, 19100 at 19:42:36:
In Reply to: Poison Ivy posted by Jamie on July 06, 19100 at 22:54:15:
: I live in the northeast and have poison ivy near a lake shore. I'm looking for a natural way too kill it? Is their such a way? I know you can purchase something over the counter but is it safe if it ends up in the lake? Is anytime of year better to get rid of it then a other? Also some one told me to spray the leaves with salt water and it burns the leaves - wilting them?? Thanks for any help. Jamie
Jamie,
Please do not use the salt to spray the leaves.
Salt will poison the water in the lake.
I don't like to use pesticides but I make an exception for noxious weeds like poison ivy.
I would suggest you use Round Up herbicide. Follow label directions exactly. Spray only the foliage, not the ground and try to avoid excess
that drips. No pesticide is safe, but sometimes we have to make some choices.
If you really must use something natural, you could try vinegar. Spray regular vinegar undiluted on the foliage. You will probably, almost certainly, have to repeat the spray every week for many weeks because the foliage will grow back from the roots. Vinegar only kills the leaves, not the roots. You can use any vinegar, white is usually cheaper. The grocery store has 5% vinegar. You may find 20% vinegar at a feed store or similar supplier.
If you go to www.dirtdoctor.com and search around you will find a weed killing recipe, click on the link for "Organic Recipes" in the menu and scroll down to the bottom of that page.
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/recipes.html
best wishes,
steven