I have quite a bit of poison ivy growing near my well. I was considering using an herbicide like Ortho or Roundup but I'm concerned about the chemical getting into my drinking water. Does anyone know if using this near a well should be a concern?
Thanks, Fred
Fred This is a very good question. It was once explained to me that if there may be a space around your well pipe that a chemical could go directly down.
here is a site on pesticides. The links listed may have a better answer for you. I do not get PI and maybe you could find somebody like me to pull the PI. Which reminds me I forgot to pull some at one of my clients.
Even though RoundUp breaks down quickly and is low in toxicity, find a person that is non-allergic to pull it out. Plants usually pull out easier after a soaking rain.
Besides getting in your drinking water, Round-Up et.al. won't work. Sure it will kill the leaves, but not the roots and it will grow back. Numerous sites suggest several repeat applications, so you're taking a risk without reward, except your $$$-----> Monsanto. If you must spray, horticultural vinegar will do the same as Round-Up, still won't kill the roots (repeat applications again), it's expansive and nasty stuff to breathe. Pay someone to pull it, as suggested.
Round up will kill poison ivy completely but no brand of defoliant is permanent, eventually poison ivy may invade again, it'll be different plants. If you're concerned about leaching into your well you can also use rock salt for controlling tough weeds. In any event I don't think you need to concern yourself with contamination unless your well is very shallow, like less than 20 feet. Just follow the directions.
Monsanto's Roundup Herbicide Contaminates Drinking Water
Ok, I am not a product pusher but the product "deer fence" keeps deer away. I have a client that uses it and it has worked wonders. I will get information and MSDS on the product and report back. It does work.
Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist
Water
Good information about glyphosate is also found here
Poison ivy can also be removed safely with a weed twister. A long handle of 48 or 54 inches will protect you from touching the plant. Be sure to wash off the tool after using it on poison ivy.
There is also now a 12 step herbicide detox program.
----- At peace with weeds!
Water
I would prefer not using chemicals but with poison ivy control that's not always possible. Pulling out poison ivy plants never works, if even the tinest bit of root remains it won't be too very long and the plant will grow back, stronger than ever.
One technique if you want to avoid overspray or unwanted spray onto the ground is to brush the Roundup directly onto the leaves using a cheapo foam brush. You don't have to coat every single leaf. A little bit of Roundup goes a long way. A repeat treatment is almost always required for poison ivy. This technique works particularly well when the poison ivy is running up the side of a tree and you can easily stand right next to the leaves. I'm not sure how you would handle a huge patch on the ground.
-al sung Rapid Realm Technology, Inc. Hopkinton, MA (Zone 6a)
With a thick patch on the ground not much spray will get through to the soil... only needs a quick spray, not a drenching. The new tank sprayer wand nozzles are available in multiple spray patterns (cone, flat, jet, and of various sized patterns) and are easily adjustable from a fine mist to a light spray to a shower. A light spray rather than a mist keeps the chemical from becoming airborne, for better control choose a narrow diameter cone pattern... most sprayers come with a package of various tips, the plastic tips are better than the old style brass ones, they are more accurate, don't corrode, and are color coded to match the supplied pattern chart.
Anyone who uses a sprayer for defolient needs to mark that sprayer prominently and don't use it for any thing else, like fertilizers and insecticides... no matter how well you think you've washed it out plastic tanks always hold some residual chemical. You really need separate sprayers for fertilizers and insecticides too. Tank sprayers are inexpensive, get at least two, three is better. It's a good idea to buy different brands/models so there's no chance of switching parts.
I've found a two gallon size is best for me, a three gallon tank can become very heavy lugging about on a hot day... and for spraying insecticides on trees often you'll need to climb a ladder for the spray to reach the uppermost portions, it's not easy to climb even a small step ladder with a sprayer tank, the liquid sloshes and can easily put you off balance, plus a couple of gallons can get very heavy on a ladder.
Anytime you spray anything wear goggles, not safety glasses, safety goggles. And if you do any misting wear a face mask of some sort, should really be a respirator. I don't do misting, I strongly recommend no one does. And wear sturdy protective clothing, long sleeves and no shorts. And always strip down before entering where you live and wash those clothes immediately and separately, and shower well right away... cold first, then warm and plenty of soap. Wear rubber boots, hose those off in a safe place outdoors, not where children or pets can go, not in the pond or creek. No eating or drinking when spraying, not even gum, and NO SMOKING! Smoking is bad enough, it's a million times worse when the cigarette has sprayer chemicals on it.
When working with chemicals make sure your thinker is turned full on.
I find draping in plastic and dropping stacks of newspapers onto that to hold it down usually kills them. Ingrid
Pulling out poison ivy has worked for me.
There was one major set of passes last summer, which got the big, huge roots and stems (use the leaves to follow the vines downward, keep following and dig out roots; try not to just break off vines). Some touch-up work a few times later in the summer to get what I had missed before. About 2 or 3 rounds this spring of pulling up whatever was left. But those were really minor.
Wear leather gloves and long sleves. After coming inside, all the clothes go directly in the laundry and you go directly in the shower. Even if you think you are immune this is a good precaution as I've read that sensitivity to poison ivy will increase with repeated exposure.
So maybe a total of 20 hours (wild guess) spread over a year (but mostly at the start of that time period). This was for a patch which was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet (growing up a fence, a tree, a bunch of shrubs, and a dead stump). Pruning back the general overgrowth in that area (English Ivy, Wisteria, shrubs, periwinkle) made it easier to get at the poison ivy.
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