Kirk wrote:

Last fall I cut some elm and unfortunately wound up with a poison ivy
rash. Looking at the logs it should have been obvious, I guess I was
caught up in the moment. You know how you get excited about a tree.
Anyway, the logs have been sitting for about 4 months. The poison ivy
vines are still firmly attached to the bark even though they appear to be
dry.

My question is, will this ivy still cause a reaction now that it is dry?

Kirk

I'm getting in on this thread about a day late, so bear with me. As others
have said, the oil, urushiol, in the plants sap causes an allergic reaction
in
people that have become sensitized to it.

Urushiol breaks down in contact with water which is why LDD and water
is effective in making items that have been contaminated safe.

Clothing that may have been contaminated should be washed as soon as
practicable. The length of time that the urushiol stays dangerous on
clothing
that hasn't been washed depends upon the humidity of the area of storage,
which is why you see varying answers about how long items stay contaminated.

As has been stated by others, the urushiol binds with the proteins of the
skin
after which, it takes special treatment to remove it. Here's one possible
cleanser: http://www.teclabsinc.com/pro_tecnu.html

As an aside: Some people never become sensitized to urushiol and because of
this they EAT poison ivy as an herb/salad green.

Urushiol is also why we don't/can't buy casews in the shell.

As to your problem, keep yourself covered, wear gloves and boots that can be
thoroughly wash/rinsed afterward.
Hose down the vines and pull them off the logs. Keeping everything wet will
reduce the chance of getting a rash to near zero.
Prepare a place ahead of time to bury the vines to let mother nature dispose
of them for you.

In my war against the poison ivy on my property, I'm worrying it to death.
I wait for a good soaking rain then cover up all skin below my collar and go
into the woods with a machete. Every vine I see on a tree trunk or anywhere
else
gets 6 to 12 inches removed from it close to the ground.
I hose myself down, wash the rubber gloves and rubber boots, then go into the

garage, close the door and strip to my skivies. The clothing goes straight
into the
washing machine and I go straight to the shower.
After six years of this,I see very little new growth of ivy and a lot of dead
vines
on the trees. I now feel a lot safer going into the rear part of my lot now.

ARM