Poison Ivy Patrol in Your Neighborhood
Volume 49, Issue 9
By David Crohn

Poison Ivy ranks alongside Enterococci and distant relatives who won’t give up your couch as some of Fire Island’s peskiest pests. When buying a house, PI eradication is definitely at the top of the list when it comes to maximizing your home’s overall hospitality.

We spoke with David Burrell, a master assassin whose Islip Terrace-based company Poison Ivy Patrol offers an effective, environmentally friendly way to keep that three-leaved nasty off your beach property. And the ivy is in bloom until fall, so there’s no time like the present.

Causing an itchy, blister-filled rash, Poison Ivy can be a real vacation killer. It takes about 24 hours to set and can take up to two weeks to run its course. Poison Oak, its nastier cousin, is more rare here, but if you happen to be downwind of a burning batch of it and you inhale the fumes, it can cause serious internal damage and even death.

Scared yet? Read on.

Just how bad is this Poison Ivy we’ve heard about? Does it appear all over North America or did some evil, mad scientist with a grudge against Fire Island invent it?

Poison Ivy grows pretty much in all of the continental U.S. except for the deserts. Especially in the northeast it is EVERYWHERE. In regards to Poison Ivy and Poison Oak the two can even cross-breed, which can make it even harder to identify.

Tell us about your method: how does it work, and how is it different from other ways?

The common methodology is using a commercial [blend of chemicals], but Poison Ivy can build up a resistance to chemicals, so of course you have to use stronger and stronger concentrations.

There’s a few different ways that we do it, but ours is an age old approach. We’ve got this machine that super heats water and when it comes out in a liquid form, and when it comes out of the nozzle of the machine it’s hotter than boiling temperature. It burns the waxy coat off the leaves and the plant dehydrates and dies.

Our process takes five to twenty minutes [for an entire yard], and it kills the plants almost instantly. Then we do check-ups for up to two months to make sure it stays gone. Best of all, it’s completely safe for the environment.

Sounds pretty good. Let’s talk turkey. How much does it cost?

It depends on the size of your property and the density of the weeds, but a quarter acre property on Fire Island costs about $250-$500.

Not bad. Thanks David.

Thank you.