Poison ivy

with a recent score of a bit more than a cord of wood, I now realize that there are poison Ivy vines on some of it. Don't want to burn poison ivy so I think I will go the route of debarking. It's white ash that I plan to burn during the 18-19 season. Do you think debarking as I am splitting is best or should I wait for the bark to separate naturally during drying over next 2 yrs? Looking for what is most effective in riding the poison ivy followed by what would be easiest.

 

I usually pull it off with a pair of pliers before I cut it.

The urushiol oils supposedly dry up after a year so if it is two or three years to season ...

 

I'm allergic, so I stay away. I would just leave it for a few years out in the weather to decompose and then burn the wood after the vines and bark are gone. Whatever you do, don't burn the vines as putting the oil in the air can cause a reaction in the respiratory system of those who are allergic. Additionally, if it's in a tree that I intend to cut down, I treat the poison ivy first and let it naturally degrade and fall from the tree before felling the tree. Doesn't exactly work in your situation.

 

The bark will separate from the wood at some point. The problem is that if you stack without removing the bark first, it will be very inconvenient to remove the bark later. I find the pieces on top, exposed to sun and rain, lose their bark more quickly than protected pieces.

 

I was wondering when I'd see a PI post . You don't about it much in the winter.
I'm with Dennis, remove it from the tree itself.

 

Want a sure fire way to find poison ivy? Find some black locust. I swear they go hand in hand.

 

I personally do not know but in the past year, I read something that said the problem oil lasts for five to seven years. I hope you are right!

I kill poison oak/ivy whenever it is convenient to whack it in two with a hatchet or machete, being careful not to get it on me, as I am allergic to it. As a young boy, it was horrible, now, it's not as bad but bad enough. I have seen some poison oak vines that are big around as my wrist!

 

Thanks for the input everyone. Fortunately I have not split much of it yet, so I will go the route of debarking as I split. I think the OCD will kick in too much if I try to pull it all off. Rather not have the thought of " did I get it all".

 

By the grace of the Great Creator I'm not allergic to P.I. When I was a kid at Camp Greenbrier I used to win money from the other campers by betting I wouldn't get PI. I'd pick hands fill of it and rub it all over myself. Two days later 'Bomber Blanton' the keeper of the bets, and I were the richest kids in camp! That trick worked for 2 or 3 summers before the word got around that the fix was in!

There's a lotion, Ivy Block, you can apply to prevent you from getting the stuff. Use it and then just rip it off, but carefully.

 

Best thing I have found, pull the vines off the tree before you cut it up, I get poison ivy easy, never got it doing it that way, throw the gloves away after.
Occasionally when I bring in Wood I see some of the fine vines on the wood, I handle it, burn it in the stove, don't see a problem with it, just don't want any of the bigger stuff

 

Let me know if you all think that I am overthinking this one. Here goes- So, I will be removing the bark from all the wood I scored recently. I used work gloves to remove vines from some of the rounds that had poison ivy on them already then, not thinking, I kept those same gloves on while handling other wood. Would that other wood I touched with those gloves now carry the urishiol oil in enough quantity to make it unsafe to burn. The wood in question won't be burned until fall of 2017 and later. I am guessing most of you guys would feel it's not a big deal, but wanted to ask anyway.

 

Na, I wouldn't worry about it.
Take your gloves off before you go pee pee
I didn't have gloves on when I did that but, I didn't know I was handling poison ivy, It was not much fun in the hot summer having PI there

 

Debarking all that wood? No thanks. I'll wear some cheap gloves and toss them after.

 

Along with my last thought, the town bucked up the wood with the poison ivy on it. Any realistic concern with burning the wood related to any urishiol oil that would have been smeared on the wood itself while they were bucking? I am thinking mostly of exhaust out of chimney and if that would be dangerous.

 

The primary concern burning poison ivy is standing around a brush pile burn and contact with the oils in the smoke. A farmer's brush pile at the edge of a field . A back yard clean-up. Etc. Burning (recently) live, fresh poison ivy.
As your firewood seasons so does the poison ivy vines. If you're on a three year plan 1/2 the bark will likely have fallen off, the remaining urushiol will be mostly broken down and inert. No guarantees on completely. You're not likely to burn this in a back yard pit or on open ground exposing people to direct contact with the smoke. Even in a wood stove your neighbors are more than likely in their houses not being exposed to your nasty wood stove smoke. Personally I would just pull the vines off with pliers and toss them in the woods someplace where pets and kids won't roll in them. To biodegrade. Now and/or three years from now.
You could also put that wood aside and don't burn it until the bark does fall off.

Seems to me the debarking process itself has risks to exposing one to urushiol.

 

I am one of those folks who doesn't really have a reaction to poison ivy anymore. Now, when I was a kid I was oftentimes covered in pink calomine lotion on a significant portion of my body. I have read that reactions are supposed to get worse with each exposure, but somehow I have gained immunity from repeated exposures?

As far as vines on the wood goes, I usually use a machete or something to get the vine off. I still use caution when doing so, but if the vine or leaves brush my arm or something, it's no big deal.