I don't like weed killers and don't usually recommend them, but in your case it may be your only option. If you try to mow it, you could come in contact with the poison ivy. Of course, even if you spray it and try to pull up the dead vines, you could still get the oil on your skin. I hope someone can give you better advice. I'm not allergic to poison ivy, but I still hate the stuff because others are.

Put on gloves and a long sleeve shirt. Pull a vine up as much as you can, cut the end and put in full strength poison ivy killer. Let soak, and then remove. Wait and it should kill it. If not repeat.

Mowing should get rid of new poison ivy volunteers. It's less likely to be successful on poison ivy with a large root system. If you mow regularly, it might work, but I find mowing on a slope is tough and you are going to have to be careful with where the mown weeds go.

Before working on the slope, invest in some soap designed for poison ivy.

I used rubber gloves and had bags handy. I'd put a plastic bag (ones that come on newspapers are great) over the poison ivy before pulling.

Cover your skin and pull the vines out of the rhododendrons, bag and destroy. Then spray the slope with poison ivy killer or, better still, hire someone to do it for you if you can. Then, learn to recognize poison ivy in the seedling stage and keep a sharp eye out for any regrowth. The young plants are easy to kill with a quick spray.

I do the same as Sigrid - use a newspaper bag (if you can find one anymore lol) or a bag from a loaf of bread. Put it up over your arm, pull the vine out by the root, pull the bag back down over your arm and the vine.

My neighbor and I have been very successful in using vinegar to get rid of poison. I use apple cider vinegar with a splash of dish liquid to help with adhesion. He told me he used salt as well, which I couldn't use. Every single spray apparatus, whether its an old repurposed, hand pump spray bottle, a brand new one, or any level of quality pump tank sprayer, works about three times for me and dies. The salt was clogging it up to boot. Then someone told me maybe to use epsom salt.... ohhhhhh. The light dawned but I still don't use it because I never seem to have it handy. But the vinegar seems to work without any kind of salt.

Anyway, my neighbor got rid of a huge swath of poison ivy in the wooded patch between our yards, and I have successfully taken out smaller areas. It may need a reapplication or two but I think it's better than using chemicals.

It will of course kill anything else there too, so that may not be an option for you.

Can't speak to the mowing

:)

Dee

To be clear, I would not be doing the mowing myself. I have someone mow who uses a riding mower. I am also fine to douse the whole patch with weedkiller if necessary… once done, though, isnt this a problem to have a steep slope and nothing growing on it?

I am quite sure that you have far more pachysandra than vines, which sprawl visibly on top of it. Hire someone to pull the vines out WITH their roots. The pachysandra is your friend in discouraging PI and other weeds.

Between the blue plastic bags and the thick newspapers for laying under chips, I do miss my old hard copy subscription to the great New York Times!!

That is why I said to target the pi vines.

I should also add that the poison ivy is not the vining type. It’s just growing intermixed with the pachysandra. Separately, I’m blessed with vining weeds in the same area.

Since you say it's a steep slope... don't do mass mowing or killing unless you have a plan in mind and materials at hand to implement erosion control. It does suck to have not wanted plants in your wanted plants, but in total they are anchoring your slope in place.

If vines are eating your rho's, I would clean up that area. Pull the vines back and off. If you can mow or weed whack space between the wild and rho's withough compromising your slope, do it. One mower pass wide kept up on the regular often can curtail most creepers. Make sure to blow the mow to the slope side so you don't accidentally "seed" in your rho side.

If you have to wade into PI to do that. Do it. Or hire someone to do it. I would imagine that at one time there was clear space between the rho's and the wild. And likely cleaning that up will help you expose a better edge to your slope.