I discovered the hard way (by finally becoming allergic to the stuff) that some of the vines growing around my compost bin are actually poison ivy. Unfortunately I discovered this after ripping most of them out and adding the remains to the compost.

Online research says everything from "it's toxic waste, landfill it" to "wait for two (or five) years". Has anyone had any experience with composting poison ivy? I'd rather not throw out my entire compost pile, but leaving it for a couple of years and just building another one wouldn't be so bad.

Probably the poison ivy:



The other type of vine (which has five leaves, but I'm not entirely sure what it is), there's much more of this.

The top one is poison ivy (at least from what I can see in of the photo), I believe the bottom one is Virginia Creeper, it's quite lovely in the fall and does not cause reactions.

Poison Ivy can be tough to get rid of. We live surrounded by woods so it's everywhere. Good thing I'm not allergic. I've read that putting the tiny plants when you first see them usually doesn't cause a reaction like the big plants do. Continual pulling is the best way to get rid of it.

I hope so, as there's much more of that spreading around the back fence (the definitely-ivy is only in one corner).

Roundup works on poison ivy but the dead leaves are still allergenic. Best to carefully pull with gloves and put in trash, then wash very thoroughly, within twenty minutes, with good detergent, like dish or laundry detergent.

Be really careful handling these vines, everyone. Even if you personally aren't affected, others can be.

I had a ranch up in the mountains, where most of the property was covered in Live Oak trees. As I had never been exposed to this type of woodland before, little did I realize that much of the ground was covered in Poison Oak, a West Coast cousin of Poison Ivy. I'm usually in shorts and barefoot, so I got a really bad case of the Rash. I had to go on steroids for weeks; my doc took a photo for his collection, as he'd never seen anything like it. Lesson learned!

Then a few years ago, after I had just moved back to the city again, I got another case of it.... all due to touching a mango! It appears that once sensitized to Urushiol, the toxic oil found in both of these plants, you are quite likely to be affected by the skin of mangoes, as well. Who knew? I didn't.

I bought every over-the-counter remedy available in drug stores, to no avail. Most only work before you develop the rash. One holistic treatment that does work is Jewelweed, which only grows on the East Coast, and perhaps internationally. Not sure about that. They make a cream or lotion out of it to treat the rash, and that gives you enough relief to stop you from spreading it.

My plans to plant another mango tree will not be halted, but now I know to be careful handling the fruit, which I can eat safely, as it poses no problem.

one moer thing. You all probably know this but just in case cause one time I saw a person burning weeds on his newly acquired gentleman farm.

Oh boy oh boy. Did I turn around and drove like mad away from the smoke. I wasn't going to take chances that he may have been burning poison oak. I got small whiff and that was all I needed.

Don't burn poison oak, poison ivy, or oleander. Oleander smoke will leave you in ER!!

not sure about how long it takes to really compost the active ingredient in the poison ivy/oak. I would like to know for future reference.

Burning releases the chemicals/oils that are in the leaves and can actually irritate your lungs and throat, oh joy!

I'd toss ivies into a separate pile or into the trash. Plain green ivy (the kind that tears into houses) is nasty and invasive and can sprout from just about any little cutting, and I know poison ivy spreads like wildfire; I wouldn't risk dropping it into a pile full of fresh compost!

If you have goats or know someone who does, I've heard they are immune to the plant and can eat the leaves and vines with no problem. You might look into that as a way to remove them from your yard and not worry about the composting!

No idea how long it takes to break down in compost, but I'd definitely start a new compost heap. Your guess of a couple of years sounds likely, but maybe your local cooperative extension could provide better info. Good luck!