Our property has poison ivy in abundance, in both weed and vine form. I'm not allergic, but the wife is. We have a lot of ash that has vines that could be stripped off pretty easily, I'm just concerned about burning it even after it seasons. Thoughts? And thanks in advance!
If my wife even heard that I was reading about Poison Ivy, she'd break out! I know the oils can be wicked even after its long dead...
Welcome to the forum Kris_S A very small vine is nothing to be concerned with in the stove but any size to it, you are better advised to remove it before burning. For sure if anyone breaths fumes from burning poison ivy, that is worse than nasty. What we tend to do is to just use an axe or hatchet, cut it into maybe 3' sections then scrape it off the log using the axe. If you don't cut it off, just cutting through it with chain saw can give you the itches. Here is some good reading material for you. You can read it online or even download it: Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage
I was curious to find out. Did a google and went to arboristite.com. they stated that if you let it season till the bark falls off you will be fine. That makes since to me as the oil would be on the bark and not in the wood.
Welcome Kris_S to the FHC, I also am not allergic to it. But people that are when you burn it the oils become airborne and can get in their lungs and it will really cause his life threatening issues.. Better to bury it.
You could fell and buck into rounds and let it stacked up a while. Then a lot of the bark will fall off when split, leaving you nice clean wood with no bark or vines.. That being said, I've had PI more in the winter than I've had in the summer. Just had it last 2 weeks, and besides moving in firewood and running the stove, i haven't touched any firewood since June...my wood has been stacked 2-3 years
First and worst time i had PI was just 2 cuts through a (3") vine. a guy asked me if id cut it just so it'd die off. i knew what it was, but thought, i dont get PI...
There's urushiol in every part of the plant all year round. The worst time of year to get into it can be Fall and Winter as the cells are more brittle giving up the precious fluid more readily. It can persist in the plant for a long time. I usually pull the vines off with needle nose pliers I won't need to use for a while before cutting rounds as my skin isn't resistant to it at all. Sometimes I wonder if even the most toxic of Rainbow herbicides could do any more than slow down it's growth.
Welcome Kris_S ! Glad to have you aboard. I do as Backwoods Savage suggested & strip it off with an axe or hatchet. On my property I use an axe & cut out a 2 or 3' section, let it die & then peel it off. Stick a saw in it & you'll find that even a very resistant person may get a good dose of it.
I find it on a lot of my dead Ash trees, I use ther axe to cut the vine at the base of the tree. some twine will tie it off while I fell the tree. Once down I use a long handle scraper I bought to scrape ice of the garage approch to peel it off the bark. Most times I leave it lay to rot away, but some times I run it thru the chipper shredder so it rots faster. Al
Everything from skinny little vines i'm not concerned about to 4" things that are strangling some of the old apple trees on the property.... :/
