Although it is desirable to attack poison ivy as soon as you spot it, before it has a chance to spread and become well established, some herbicides for woody plants are most effective in the early summer when it is growing actively and has lots of leaves. Other products can be applied almost any time of the year.
By late summer a two-step approach may be necessary to penetrate the tougher mature woody poison ivy stems:
Spray at least half the foliage of the entire plant with herbicide. The plant will be set back, but the roots will probably not die.
Ten days or so later cut the woody stems about an inch above the soil and immediately paint the surface of the cut stem with the herbicide. The normal solution of the herbicide is good; the concentrated solution is even better. In about two more weeks the plant should be dead.
Bonide 274 8 oz Stump-Out Stump & Vine Killer Concentrate
- Controls woody plants and vines
- Kills stumps and prevent sprouting
- Concentrated formula
- 1 quart
For information about herbicides designed to deal with tough woody weeds, go to Synthetic Herbicides For Woody Weeds
