Wish me luck...Poison Ivy VS Man

[brewmaster15]

Thank you Hurricane Irene for giving me the opportunity to prove my superiority over one of the plant kingdom's strongest most advanced warrior..Poison Ivy....The scourge of many a weekend warrior or skilled Gardner...Millions of years of evolution creating what can only be natures most feared and respected plant. Armed with seeds dispersed by hundreds of species of birds, Leaves resistent to chemical poisons, the ability to cling to and climb most surfaces by highly developed adventious roots, and lastly the crowning acheivement in the plant kingdom as far as defenses do...a water soluable oil called Urushiol. One can only marvel at this oil..It lasts forever, gets on everything and stays...The oil is in the leaves, the sap etc. Herbarium specimens that are hundreds of years old still have active oil.

So here we go today I go to battle...the Hurricane knocked down a large cherry tree in two piece, one on my side of the yard the other into my neighbors and its my tree.... no problem there...have chainsaw will travel...unfortunatelY theres massive 6 inch thick poison Ivy vines growing on it, literally covering it.I have been dreading dealing with this tree for years.

Going into battle I will be armed with a full body tyvek suit,face shield, old clothes and shoes to throw away, coated gloves, face mask, old hat to discard...and the pièce de ré·sis·tance...Poison Ivy Guard, which I really hope works as I am very allergic.

I am sure to be quite a sight, a literal white knight in my tyvek suit, helmet made of plastic, thick gauntlet covered hands, and the weapon of the day, the chain saw.

Wish me luck as I go into battle.

Sir Brewmaster the foolish.

[TURQ64]

Back in the old sixties, my brother-in-law heard of an 'old Indian trick' of consuming poison ivy to build resistance to it..He put a fistful in between two slices of bread, balled it up, and swallowed it..I figured he was a goner, and rightfully so, but he's still alive today, and never an outbreak..Did it work??..Got me..good luck, Al...

[pcsb23]

good luck Sir foolish

[yim11]

pics or it didn't happen! LOL

Good luck Al!

[Disgirl]

Good luck Al! If you should end up burning any of the nasty stuff, I'm sure you know not to breathe in any of the smoke! Who needs poison ivy in their lungs? That's what happens from the smoke. Any pics of you suited up?
Barb

[roclement]

Best of luck! I heard tomato juice is great for poison ivy! Be safe.

Rodrigo

[stephcps]

pics or it didn't happen! LOL

Good luck Al!

Exactly what I was thinking!! I especially want to see the tyvek suit and the helmet!! At least you thought it all out! I once went out to spray my new wooden fence with an oil based stain. Had a respirator mask which made me feel like a giant grasshopper. Covered all my exposed skin...spent all day spraying as there was a lot of fence. Came inside to discover I had forgotten to put my hat on!! It took me weeks to get oil=based stain out of my hair!!

[TURQ64]

Best of luck! I heard tomato juice is great for poison ivy! Be safe.

Rodrigo

It;s codiene..you take the codiene,pass out, and come to when it doesn't itch anymore......

[zimmjeff]

make sure to have some benadryl on hand for after the battle good luck. I am dealing with a case of the shingles right now so I know your pain.

[AKRON AWOL]

had pretty bad experiences as a kid with poison ivy...best of luck to you Al!

[foreese]

AL - I am sure you're well versed on how one gets PI. IT is the oil and it penetrates the skin causing the classic itchy, fluidy reaction.

The trick as I am also very allergic, is to wash with zanfel after you think you may have been exposed. see this site. http://www.zanfel.com/help/

It work everytime for me.

[roclement]

This place amazes me every time! Everyone is always ready to help with advice! Awesome!

Rodrigo

[brewmaster15]

Well my lords and ladies, it was a fierce battle, one compounded by an inferior weapon (buyers remorse, hated that chainsaw model from day1--never another Poulon.) The battle raged on all afternoon and I put my heart into...but being but only one lone knight I was vastly out numbered. The Battle for the day was my neighbors yard....and I was victorious...I slew that beast entirely and chopped it up so it could never return. I won the battle but the war is far from over....I need to find myself a new weapon and then take on the two headed beast thats still alive...this being the tree and IVY on the ground in my yard, and its sibling, a 60 ft tree still towering over the battle field.

I am but a humble man and am loath to show myself in full battle armer, least it put fear into your hearts and nightmares into your dreams, but I shall do so this one time. Be warned , Tis a terribly fierce sight!

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[brewmaster15]

Now that the battle is done for the day, I've had myself a prolonged bath and am enjoying a pint of Mead ...its how all knights end their days of battle don't Ye know?

-al

[AKRON AWOL]

it's texas chainsaw massacre....poison ivy style