Is there a better way to remove a poison oak plant than with a chainsaw?

I had not realized this.

Thank you for the additional information!

At this point, we've confirmed that the pressure washer ONLY works from the hose in the practical sense, so I'd simply need a very long hose.

Reply to
Danny D.
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I'd not apply defolient with a pressure washer, that would be very wasteful, most would end up on the ground... apply with a hand operated squirt bottle to the cut stems only... I have a battery operated spray bottle (two AA cells) that works very well, adjusts from a spray to a stream. Most folks apply far more defoliant than necessary... in your case I would cut and spray immediately as I go. I actually bought this for spraying Japanese beetles with Sevin, did the job... I got mine from Lowe's.

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Reply to
Brooklyn1

This is very useful information, which, coupled with the suggestion by others to spray in the first five minutes after cutting, is a good one:two punch.

I had never realized there are battery-operated sprayers.

Mine is the classic hand pump operated as shown in this picture:

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The great part about the idea of spraying after cutting as opposed to spraying without cutting, is that the poison oak covers an area far greater than can be covered with spray - but- cutting it - by necessity - is such that the cut plants are ALWAYS within spraying distance!

So, oddly, from a practical standpoint, hand spraying can't work without cutting - yet - it works great if done within 5 minutes of cutting.

One 'problem' I just found out about with cutting though is that the urushiol in the roots and vines is ten to 100 times as potent as that in the leaves, so, cutting is inherently more dangerous overall.

However, the other side of this 'problem', is that spraying leaves the dead vines where they are, which is still a potent hazard for 5 years (wet environment) to ten years (dry environment) as the soil bacteria and elements break down the catechols in the sap.

It's very interesting to learn about thine enemy! :)

Reply to
Danny D.

There are battery operated sprayers that are much larger capacity than the bottle I showed, but I think for what you're doing the small bottle is more than adequate.

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Reply to
Brooklyn1

This is the plan!

Notice in this picture how the sap is ONLY on the outside ring! (Just as you said.)

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This is good advice for most people - but - for me - it won't work as well ONLY because the poison oak is so thick that I can't get roundup (glyphosate) to the plant except at the edges - but the plant is 40 to 50 feet deep in places.

So far, I'm planing on reading all the patents below, for information:

4,002,737 Prevention and/or treatment of poison ivy dermatitis 4,032,662 Method for the treatment of contact allergic dermatitis 4,199,575 Method of treating dermatitis venenata 4,259,318 Poison ivy relief composition 4,472,507 Method for detecting exposure to poison ivy and the like 4,499,086 Medication for treatment of poison oak irritation and inflammation 4,594,239 Method for neutralizing offensive chemicals 4,663,151 Aluminum chlorhydrate as a prophylatic treatment for poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac dermatitis 4,692,462 Compositions and method of controlling transdermal penetration of topical and systemic agents 4,803,047 Method for neutralizing offensive chemicals 4,834,901 Skunk odor shampoo 4,883,608 Polymeric decontamination composition 4,885,327 Swelled polymeric decontamination composition 4,902,441 Self moistening composition for deactivating toxic substances and method of use 4,949,641 Method of safely detoxifying mustard gases 4,990,334 Glycerol-chlorine matrix 5,011,689 Composition of matter and method for treating poison ivy 5,080,707 Life-prolonging agent for cut flower and method for treatment of cut flower 5,162,745 Multichannel sine synthesizer 5,192,498 Elimination of sulfide odor in thiocarbamate herbicides 5,240,699 Deodorant and filter using same, as well as method of producing the deodorant 5,369,108 Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and methods of use thereof 5,409,908 Complexing urushiols 5,443,847 Specific detoxification of urushiol with manganese salts 5,540,964 Moisture transport cast lining material for use beneath an orthopedic cast, being in the form of a fabric and consisting essentially of synthetic hydrophobic fibers or a blend of synthetic hydrophobic fibers and a second different fiber 5,620,527 Cleansing and disinfecting method 5,686,074 Poison ivy treatment composition and method of use 5,700,811 Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and method of use thereof 5,707,546 Generation and storage of chlorine dioxide in a non-aqueous medium 5,767,109 Complexing urushiols 5,811,113 Method and composition for deactivating HIV infected blood and for deactivating and decolorizing anticancer drugs 5,859,066 Method for the treatment of itching 5,888,515 Rhus dermatitis treatment composition and method 5,932,616 Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and methods of use thereof 5,985,302 Method for deactivating a contaminant 6,022,565 Rhus dermatitis treatment composition and method 6,087,367 Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and methods of use thereof 6,296,841 Odor control composition and process 6,423,746 Urushiol induced contact dermatitis and method of use 6,436,445 Antimicrobial and antiviral compositions containing an oxidizing species 6,511,990 Class of cytodifferentiating agents and histone deacetylase inhibitors, and methods of use thereof 6,534,075 Antimicrobial and antiviral compositions and treatments for food surfaces 6,584,633 Automated fragrance application apparatus and method 6,599,432 Methods for disinfecting small diameter water lines 6,613,729 Wet wipes containing cationic fatty acid surfactants 6,718,914 Method for neutralizing offensive chemical odors 6,800,305 Pharmaceutical composition that contains eucalyptus and orange oil 6,830,764 Method for denaturing allergens 6,855,328 Antimicrobial and antiviral compositions containing an oxidizing species 6,936,580 Hard surface cleaning pre-moistened wipes 6,994,890 Cleaning and multifunctional coating composition containing an organosilane quaternary compound and hydrogen peroxide 7,008,963 Urushiol induced contact dermatitis solution 7,033,511 Sustained water treatment in dental equipment 7,087,253 Pharmaceutical composition, comprising eucalyptus oil and orange oil 7,126,001 Class of cytodifferentiating agents and histone deacetylase inhibitors, and methods of use thereof 7,199,134 Hydroxamic acid compounds and methods of use thereof 7,288,527 Inhibition of allergic contact dermatitis by N-L-alpha-aspartyl- L-phenylalanine 1-methyl ester 7,345,174 Cytodifferentiating agents and histone deacetylase inhibitors, and methods of use thereof 7,351,747 Skin treatment for relief of itch 7,510,137 Dispenser for sheet material 7,589,054 Clathrates of an organosilane quaternary ammonium compound and urea and methods of use 7,618,616 Skin-protective compositions effective against vesicants and percutaneous chemical agents 7,666,829 Compositions for elastogenesis and connective tissue treatment 7,716,956 Attachment means 7,741,089 Laccases, nucleic acids encoding them and methods for making and using them 7,754,004 Thickened surfactant-free cleansing and multifunctional liquid coating compositions containing nonreactive abrasive solid particles and an organosilane quaternary compound and methods of using 7,799,803 Hydroxamic acid compounds and methods of use thereof 7,816,327 Inhibition of allergic contact dermatitis by N-L-alpha-aspartyl- L-phenylalanine 1-methyl ester 7,858,570 Compositions and methods for removing urushiol and treating the resulting skin condition 7,906,149 Method for treating allergic dermatitis 7,971,457 Devices for dispensing a laundry agent and methods for doing same 8,022,054 Liquid ganaxolone formulations and methods for use thereof 8,067,358 Triple-action remedy for removing toxic oils from skin 8,097,442 Laccases, nucleic acids encoding them and methods for making and using them 8,105,787 Applications of nucleic acid fragments 8,114,829 Elastin protective polyphenolics and methods of using the same 8,188,029 Hydrophilic polyurethane foam articles comprising an antimicrobial compound 8,257,780 Therapeutic composition containing an organosilane quaternary compound and hydrogen peroxide for treating skin disorders and methods of using RE38,506 Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and methods of use thereof

When I'm done reading, I'll summarize for all to benefit.

Reply to
Danny D.

The glycol ether is supposedly a biocide, so, it might be.

It's the most important component of the detox solution because it will do two jobs deep in the dermis at the Langerhans layer.

  1. It binds to the urushiol receptor
  2. It swaps places with urushiol already bound to the receptor

So, it behooves me to find a good source for the glycol ether.

It matters which one I choose because the shorter chain glycol ethers are known to cause testicular degeneration (whatever that is - but it doesn't sound good).

I haven't chosen which glycol ether yet, as my choice is either the nonyl phenyl ethoxylate commonly known as nonoxyl-9, or the longer-chain butyl variant (111-76-2) known as 2-Butoxyethanol.

I'm still reading up on this so that's why I haven't chosen which glycol ether to use yet.

Reply to
Danny D.

I was thinking about ajax - but that seems too abrasive. Pumice would obviously work. As would the polyethylene granules.

An abrasive is important because we're assuming the urushiol sap has been on the skin for a day or two, so we need to get deep down to the Langerhans's dendritic cell layer where the now-activated quinone is bound to the receptor.

We then need to pull that quinone OFF the receptor, and replace it with the glycol ether, along with blocking all the other receptors with glycol ether.

Then we need to wash it all away, so that it doesn't infect further.

Reply to
Danny D.

Good point!

Reply to
Danny D.

Hoses expand a bit. Might have to spray for a few seconds, and then let the pressure come back up. The pressure builds back up, and the hoses swell up a little.

I've worked at the end of 300 feet of hose, cleaning a roof top AC at a mall, and it wasn't too awful bad. I was pleasantly surprised. Larger 3/4 good quality braided nylon hose will perform a lot better than kinked 1/2 vinyl, as you'd expect.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Good point!

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I'd worry more about having the physical strength to drag 400' of garden hose about, on uneven ground 100' of hose filled with water is heavy and difficult to maneuver... and you'll end up stretching the hose causing permanent damage. I once made the mistake of buying eight 100' lengths of 5/8" garden hose because it was on sale at Lowe's, thought it a good way to water some young trees I planted around my property, NOT! Even on level ground I could barely drag two lengths. I ended up filling several 5 gallon contractor buckets and hauling them in a wagon attached to my tractor. There's good reason those hose reels only have a capacity of about 150'. A garden hose filled with water is quite heavy... empty hose is even more difficult to drag about, it twists and kinks. Those silly light weight hoses shown on TV of late are a bad idea, dragging them in more then a 25' length filled with water will ruin them immediately.

Reply to
Brooklyn1

Luckily this situation would have the pressure washer at the bottom of the ravine a few hundred fee down the hill, which is a good hundred feet or so vertically BELOW the hose bib at the house.

Reply to
Danny D.

It still might work, depending on the pressure at the bib. 100' is about 40PSI, so you should have something left at the top. It is iffy, though. The most important thing is to make sure there is enough volume that the washer doesn't dry up or overheat. I don't think that takes much water.

Reply to
krw

Move it empty if it's too hard when it's full. I always put mine away empty, for many reasons. That's one.

Any decent hose shouln't kink, unless you force it to. Don't twist it!

Reply to
krw

You can figure the pressure from elevation at .434 PSI per foot of elevation, or 2.2 feet per PSI.

Sounds like the elevation will make up for the friction loss in the hose.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Luckily this situation would have the pressure washer at the bottom of the ravine a few hundred fee down the hill, which is a good hundred feet or so vertically BELOW the hose bib at the house.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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