poison ivy & fire ants

[Bayou Chet]

I'm newly transplanted here in NE Louisiana. My question for y'all is what to do about 2 problems: poison ivy & fireants. It appears that poison ivy's favorite place to grow is around the base of trees & climb the trunk. I'm highly allergic to poison oak in California & I understand that this eastern cousin is just as nasty. How do you do a root collar exam on a tree that's tangled in this stuff? Do you just hire someone who's not allergic & have them clear it out & wash it down ahead of you? Talk to me! Next, I have a client who selectively cleared 26 acres of mostly hardwood regrowth. I'm guessing the oldest trees on the site are about 25-30 years. Many of the trees have extenssive fire ant nests at their bases. I'm guessing they're not to good for the trees. Secondly, this also makes root collar examination virtually impossible until the ants are gone. He told the maintance guy to pound a pipe down into the nest and pour in diesel! I told the maintenance guy to hold off until I put the question up to you guys. Treating 26 acres for this kind of infestation with the standard Home Depot granuals at $18 a bag would be really expensive. Especially since it takes repeated applications. HELP! Thanks, Bayou Chet

 

[treeseer]

Use an air tool and watch the ants fly! As for the PI, just cover your skin and do not worry. Most severe allergies are exacerbated by excessive anticipation.

 

[Bayou Chet]

Thanks for responding 'treeseer'. I don't have or have access to an air tool. But, what happens to the displaced ants? Do they all die? My experience with fire ants is that when disturbed they set their nasty little mandibles (sp?) into any flesh they land on. Maybe I'm just not as tough as I used to be. (I've spent many days in live oaks in California with carpenter ants biting me. But my experience with fire ants thus far is that they are degrees worse than carpenter ants, and are to be avoided as much as possible.) Are there any other ecconomical suggestions out there? Thanks!

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Thanks for responding 'treeseer'. I don't have or have access to an air tool. But, what happens to the displaced ants? Do they all die? My experience with fire ants is that when disturbed they set their nasty little mandibles (sp?) into any flesh they land on. Maybe I'm just not as tough as I used to be. (I've spent many days in live oaks in California with carpenter ants biting me. But my experience with fire ants thus far is that they are degrees worse than carpenter ants, and are to be avoided as much as possible.) Are there any other ecconomical suggestions out there? Thanks!

Do you think you will be driven-back to the Pacific like I was?

We might have stayed in Georgia longer had it not been for the fire ants, chiggers, sand gnats and humidity. I bailed-out in 8 months, coming back to the Pacific NW quickly before my "ties" became severed.

Southern California, up to southern British Columbia is probably the ultimate region in the world for doing landscaping and arborist work: including agriculture. And it's still either a secret, or a yet-unattained dream by many.

 

[smokechase II]

Wd40

May I suggest the use of WD40, in its widely known combustion phase, for a partial and mostly satisfying solution to fire ants.

May I also suggest the use of fire period in the control of ivy. Caveat; do like Clinton did, don't inhale that smoke.

 

[StrictlyPalms]

Hey all, I'm new to the site but I do have a bit of experience in both fire ants and poison Ivy. I live in Florida so fireants are a daily occurence here.

http://www.diatect.com/fire-ant-killer.php?gclid=CKO15-jMrZACFR0EsgodiSP4Hg

Is a good product and one bottle will take care of quite a few trees/mounds. Just dust 10 or so and by the time you're done you can go back and inspect the first one, even if the whole nest isn't dead, the top (defenders) are. Also, the reason they hurt so much more is that they aren't biting you, they're STINGING you. They have a venom much like a bee only there's many many more of them to sting you.

As for poison Ivy, I help my uncle clear his lane up in Michigan and it's dripping with the stuff. Being highly allergic to the oils that poison ivy secretes I got sick of weeks of itchy sores that would accompany the clearing. So I talked to the pharmacist at Wallgreens and he recommended

http://www.sumactin.com/?gclid=CImXw9LOrZACFRQfsgodTBiALw if you already have the sores.

and I found this on a website:
"There is unfortunately no 100% effective preventative treatment; simply avoiding exposure is the best advice. Washing the skin with soap inactivates and removes all surface oleoresin; it is most effective if done within 15 minutes of exposure, so if you think you or your child has been exposed, thoroughly scrub with soap and water as soon as possible and change clothes. Use a grease-cutting dishwashing detergent or even better a harsh soap like Fels Naptha. Standard body soap is not effective in removing the resin from the skin, and may even spread it around.

Long protective clothing lessens the odds of a rash, but the oil can penetrate the clothing. Also, contaminated clothing items pose a risk of rash to whoever handles them in the laundry room."

Not sure if this stuff works but it would probably be worth a try.

http://www.ivyblock.com/faq.php

Hope this helps

 

[joesawer]

That much desiel and you wont have to worry about the trees any more. Fire ants are a plague of the south. A good insect repelent and pants tucked into the boots helps a lot.
Mechanics handcleaner works good for cleaning after poison ivy exposure. Gold Bond exta strength lotion gives me more relief for the rash than anything except prescription steriod creams.