is there a way to neutralize poison ivy?

im trying to build this lean to for lumber storage and there is poison ivy in the way. ive gotten pretty good at stunting growth and even killing it with vinegar, soap, water and salt solution. ive tried covering it with pieces of old roofing tin. and plywood but the vines eventually find a bit of sun and start growing like crazy. it seems I can break out in rash just by a light touch or brush up against the live or dead vines or leaves. its much too hot out to even wear an old baggy goodwill long sleeve white dress shirt for protection.
is there a concoction or potion that the plant matter can be treated with to neutralize the evil effects of the oils that cause skin irritation and rash.?

Hi Bruce,
That is rough. Long term, obviously it is best if you can get rid of it. I hear goats eat it pretty well :)

But for right now, is there anyone who is not so reactive to poison ivy that could help? I don't know of anything specifically, except options that would probably be as bad or worse than wearing long clothes. How long is it between touching it and getting a rash? I know vigorous scrubbing has been very effective for cleaning it off, but it sounds like you might react before you would get a chance to clean it up?

after coming in contact if not washed off usually by the next day for me anyway itching and rash begins. I have in the past washed it off with clean rags or paper towels drenched in alcohol.
I had an encounter with the dreaded vine about ten years ago that I will not forget. took shower after coming in serious contact and I think bar of soap spread it and suffered for weeks
anyway ive stayed as far away as possible but in building this structure  its right there and mowing will only spread the leaves and vines.
I know there are lots of herbalist here and was wondering if there might be a potion to neutralize the oils right on the leaves and vines that are the cause of  skin irritation

Some people are really sensitive to urushiol. I can rip the stuff out barehanded, one of my neighbors would end up in the ER for steroid shots if she pet her dog after it brushed by some poison ivy. If you're like my neighbor, bring in goats or bribe someone else to remove the stuff.

If it is fresh on you, wiping it off with some rubbing alcohol and or soapy water can help. Garb up, remove the plant as best you can, shower with all the soap and launder your garb.

Everything about the plant comes with urushiol. The roots, the leaves, the stems, the berries, even the smoke if you make the mistake of burning it. If you drain the roots enough they can't regrow, birds will sooner or later fling some seeds around and replant it. Once you do have it gone, check for seedlings regularly. It's a lot easier to get rid of before it gets the big roots.

Maybe growing Jewelweed is the solution for you:

https://permies.com/t/15264/Growing-Jewelweed

Anne's solution is just what I was coming here to recommend.
My go-to plant guy, James Duke, has referenced jewelweed often as an excellent remedy if you happen to touch it. I am one of those people who can touch it and nothing happens, and now i live in a place without poison ivy (or jewelweed!), but when I'm visiting my mother who lives in Poison Ivy Central, I always keep an eye out just in case. Often jewelweed is growing nearby the poison ivy, which can be convenient.

Sadly, I know of no kind, gentle, friendly method of getting rid of it. Hope someone chimes in.

Standard for preventing rash is to wash thoroughly in Dawn dishwashing detergent, several times. Why Dawn I don't know, but it works.

Why Dawn? Probably because it is a grease/oil cutter.

Personally, I prefer fast orange, with the scrubbies in it. It's marketed to auto mechanics. Perhaps it has  micro beads? Ugh. Maybe get the regular kind and add tiny grains of sand?

Jewelweed soap works incredibly well for me - I'm one of those who can/ has become covered in rashes from extremely light, second hand contact. The trick (if you can't find jewelweed soap) is a strong grease-cutting soap. The other one that works well for me is a homemade 0% superfat coconut oil/lye soap, with a small amount of borax. It's too harsh for regular bathing, but I make it for heavy-duty household scrubbing, and it works like a charm, on p.i.

As far as treating the plant, itself... it's part of the plant's genetic makeup, as a self defense against critters that would otherwise eat it to extinction, so I see no way to permanently divest it of the urushiol. My goats eat it down to the ground, which seems great, until it grows back, on an even thicker vine, because they don't eat the roots. If you can't find someone else to do it, I'd recommend enveloping yourself in what essentially amounts to a full-on hazmat suit, pulling it up by the roots, bag it (preferably black plastic), and send it off to the dump.

I am an experienced gardener, yet l still find poison ivy every year while gardening.
Unfortunately  l react 100% and every year l need medication, or l would itch myself  uncontrollably.
My doctor has always prescribed a 5 /7 day regime of high dosage prednisone,  which thankfully works almost overnight, giving me much needed relief.
Incidentally, just for your FYI. I have over the years tried all the over the counter ointments, salves, and other concoctions, and none of them worked for me..

Tough plant is poison ivy. Not only regrows from any length of root left behind after pulling it up, it sprouts new plants from seeds prolifically, spread by birds. Any place a bird can leave droppings, you may find new baby p. i. plants. Mid-summer now I am seeing lots of sprouting new plants under the trees, maybe from last years crop of berries.

I am only slightly sensitive, so if I mow some plants, and handle the clippings for the compost pile or for mulch, I am likely to have some small rash and blisters. But if I wash my hands after handling the clippings I never have any problems.

To control it, I cut any vines growing up into the trees, those make abundant berries the birds will find and spread. I have a dedicated pair of good leather gloves only for poison ivy, which I wash with soap while still on my hands, wear long sleeves and long pants, laundered seperately. I pull up any new plants and any small vines growing along fences. This is rarely effective in eradicating the plants, but preventing uncontrolled growth and especially fruiting is enough to limit the risk to tolerable levels. Persistence eventually pays off. Its like fighting a long war that you know you will eventually lose. In the long run we are all dead, after all, but keeping it contained until its time to join the garden 6 feet under is a worthy fight.

The easy way to get rid of the ivy,  would be to invite me to dinner.  Provide the proper tool (digging hoe) and let me have a go at it.  I don't have a reaction to the nasty stuff!

Of course someone will most likely have to help me up from the ground once I'm done with pulling the roots out.

Best of luck.

Peace

Maybe a better dinner guest would be a goat!  Leigh Tate will tell you that the best ivy control she knows of are her goats!!!

Peace

Fels-Naptha bar soap was my grandmothers treatment for poison oak rash.  It really does reduce the itching. But the best way to treat poison oak exposure is to imidiately wash the clothes and shower scrubing with a wash cloth.  

15 years ago I got into a batch of poison oak and used the last of Fels-Naptha and then went every local store looking to restock.  No one carried it anymore but there are special poison ivy / oak soaps now for 2x the price. I have never used any of them becouse the Fels-Naptha works.  

Fels-Naptha https://www.amazon.com/Fels-Naptha-Laundry-Soap-Bar/dp/B01N1ZHU12

This video was a game changer for me, basicly scrub with soap and a wash cloth with in 2hrs of exposure. Treat clothes as contaminated, they go in the washer before i go in the shower.  i have been succesful at evading a rash for years now.