Galactichero vs. the poison ivy monster...

Last year I had a nasty run-in with some poison ivy in my front yard. There's this pear tree, and next to it is this huge pine that has so much poison ivy on it that it looks like it's deciduous in the summer. I didn't recognize the huge furry vines as poison ivy until I literally ended up in the hospital.

A few weeks ago I took a hack-saw, put on rubber gloves and a hat, taped my sleeves and ankles, and cut at least 12 inches off of each huge-ass vine. It was pretty funny, because I ended up stripping to my underwear and hosing off to make sure I had no poison ivy on me. It was 38 degrees. I use well-water. It was cold. My neighbors think I'm crazy.


Here is a picture after I cut one of the vines. That is my fist, directly below the vine. I have pretty big fists (particularly in the width - get your mind out of the gutter Nic), and that vine is almost TWICE the diameter of my fist. How crazy is that?
See all those branches? Those aren't branches. They're poison ivy. I'm going to find out if the dendrites on the vines can keep all that vine alive, or if my hack-job kills it. I hope it kills it. I used to be immune. Now I can tell you that poison ivy suuuuucks.