Multi Purpose Woody Brush Killer that doesn't Neutralize the Soil.
Written: Oct 24 '02 (Updated Nov 18 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Kills Poison Ivy, Sumac, does not neutralize the soil.
Cons: If sprayed on desirable shrubs/bushes it could harm/kill them too.
The Bottom Line: Very effective and Works.
Following the instructions exactly as stated, for the type of intended removal desired,whether poisonous plants, vines and or wooded growths.
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| Didra4760's Full Review: Ortho Brush-B-Gon Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Brush... |
The home I purchased in June must have been planted on a poison ivy field.
I had first experimented with several products, most killed wide spreads of lawn, and neutralized the soil where I couldn't replant grass for up to one year later.
I didn't want to wait a year to replant grass again, so I tried Ortho Brush B Gone because the product stated, that it not only took care of the weeds but was strong enough for Poison Ivy/Sumac/Oak woody vines and other Wooded Brush and even Tree Stumps.
Best of all, it doesn't neutralize the soil where I would have to wait several months to a year to put down grass seed.
Ortho Brush B Gone can be purchased in two forms, premixed or concentrate.
A premixed spray bottle, (approx. retail $4-$5.00), which is a ready to use formula is great for doing small areas.
The concentrate form comes in bottled form (approx. retail $19-$20.00) and must mix with certain proportions of water, this form is usually used with a pump sprayer.
(Approx. retail $19-$20), and makes about 8 gal. of the Brush B
Gone formula)
If your looking to get rid large amounts of brush and poisonous plants I would go with the concentrate form, as it is cost effective and can be mixed with water to kill poisonous plants and vines or can be used in concentrate form to remove woody stumps and other nuisant woody things growing.
In my case I had a 1/2 acre of Poison Ivy and Poison Oak plants and vines, along with tough, deeply rooted, "who knows what they were" woody plants ripping thru my chain link fence.
Start out using this product on a day when no rain is expected for more than 24 hrs. (too much water will make the solution less effective).
Once the solution is applied with in a day I saw the leaves of the plants wither.
(Note: With Poison Ivy, Sumac or Poison Oak depending on what season it is you might see leaves, flowers and/ or berries)
The solution can be applied really at anytime of the year, but it's best to apply in the Spring, Summer or Fall.
The winter the ground is usually frozen and access to the roots isn't that great, (depending on the region in which you live).
In the Spring it is good to use, because the Poison Plants are actively growing.
Summer is also good because it is hot and the effect is greater in drying them out, not to mention their thirsty and will suck the solution up more readily.
The Fall season is also good to spray the Poisonous plants because they are trying to Germinate new off springs to pop up in the Spring. Depending on the season of use is basically up to the individual sprayer.
If you don't see the three leaves (some even have up to 5) look for the vines.
Usually the vines will have spots of black residue, (that's the poison on them) spray as close to the soil as you can get, or aim for the base of the vine/plant located at the base of the soil (without touching the plant or parts of it) (poison ivy and it's species are deeply rooted).
The product states that it may take up to 6 weeks to see results and that re application could be needed.
In my case the solution went to work immediately.
A sure way to know that the solution is working is when you do not see the leaves and/or when you see the the vines are turning gray and are getting brittle.
Once the vines are dead the poison on them can be still reactive in some people.
The Ortho Brush B Gone will kill down to the roots, but does not take away the skins reaction to the poison on them, so be careful if
handing dead vines.
Try to wear gloves that are elbo length and long pants
if you intend to handling them.
Vines that are completely dead will look gray/ brittle and come right out of the ground.
To Test: Use a metal rake over the area, they should come right out of the dirt, effortlessly.
Always wear gloves when applying any herbicide solution as it may cause skin reactions, I didn't wear gloves while applying, but did not suffer a skin reaction to this
solution, but it is wise to wear them anyway.
On the Ortho Brush B Gone label it is stated
that is is harmful to birds and other wildlife, but when using any product with such a statement, common sense and using the product for what it was intended to be used for should not effect any wildlife. If you are concerned with the safety of pets, wildlife and children and intend to use this product here are some tips I used in conjunction with using this product.
Don't spray poisonous
plants if you see berries on them, as birds eat the berries.
If you usually feed birds stop, and if you have trees that have berries or acorns, while spraying pick up the berries and acorns with gloves and throw them in a trash bag.
If you have small children and pets they should be kept away from any areas that have poison ivy anyway, as pets can brush up against a plant and carry the poison in the house on their fur.
I myself completely sprayed my entire yard with the product.
I used several applications, spraying every wooded vine and three leave plant I saw. I tore away alot of my grass, on my own decision, as many of the vines were embedded under the grass.
I used two bottles of concentrate within 2 months, spraying every 2 weeks.
In the end the solution killed all the poison ivy and poison oak in my yard and it removed thick woody stump plants.
I did not effect my neighbor's surrounding lawns, nor did it have any effect on my neighbor's vegetable garden or well water.
It had no effect on any roaming animals or birds in the area, nor did it effect my small 8 lb. dog. I lost very minimal amounts of grass from the solution itself, and the solution had no effect on my trees. The product only works on the area in which the solution sprayed and falls on and goes for the root, and does not effect the soil and surrounding soils.
The product to me and my family is excellent, when viewing the property now, 2 months later I see nothing but dead brittle vines, which I am cleaning up in effort to have only a green plush lawn.
The tough woody plants that were growing along my fence, were dead and brittle within 3 weeks, which came right out of the ground with ease and can no longer can destroy my fence. I have been planting grass seed with a weed and feed fertilizer which has since grown in, and looks great. I thought I would never be able to get rid of the the amount of poison ivy and poison oak vines which covered my yard, but as of Oct. the only thing I am seeing is the green grass that I planted.
This Product's label also states it can get rid of Tree Stumps, I did have one tree stump I tried this on, the directions say to pour or brush the concentrated solution on and around the base of the stump, I used two whole bottle of concentrate, after several weeks it didn't kill the stump, maybe it would have worked better if I drilled holes in the stump first? My thought on this is, it would probably require several bottles of the concentrate solution to get rid of the tree stump, as they take so long to decay. I ended up having it stump grinded. Works excellent for Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and other small woody bush stumps,and rids the lawn of other weeds in the process. I don't think it's cost effective for removing tree stumps (especially hard wood trees) or larger shrub stumps, as it is cheaper and faster to have them stump grinded.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Didra4760
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Location: NJ,USA
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 2 members
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