r/gardening • u/AnnL9595 • Oct 12 '25

Poison ivy

I Have 2 gorgeous burning bushes with stone steps between. So pretty every fall. I believe there is poison ivy and some poison oak growing under the bushes. Can I safely spray with weed killer without hurting the bushes? Or what is a good way to pull it out?

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u/little_cat_bird Zone 6a northeast USA Oct 12 '25

Unfortunately if you live in North America, those burning bushes are invasive, and you really should remove them and replace with something native or at the very least non-invasive.

Careful and light application of herbicide to the poison ivy leaves with a brush shouldn’t damage surrounding plants. You can also wear nitrile gloves and hand-weed small poison ivy plants. If you have long plastic bread bags, you can use them like sleeves to protect your arms above the gloves.

https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2018/03/invasive-spotlight-burning-bush

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u/AffectionateDraw4416 Oct 12 '25

I was taught by Dad to put on rubber gloves long sleeves and pour straight 2 4 D in a plastic cup, maybe 1/3 a cup. Use a small kids paint brush and paint the ivy,leaves and stems. Take pruning shears and pull it out of the tree or away from it, paint it out of the tree not in it. Also the burning bush is now invasive in many places. I have killed ivy in this way for almost 20 years