On Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:52:43 -0500, Brooklyn1 wrote:

I'd not apply defolient with a pressure washer, that would be very
wasteful, most would end up on the ground... apply with a hand
operated squirt bottle to the cut stems only... I have a battery
operated spray bottle (two AA cells) that works very well,

This is very useful information, which, coupled with the suggestion by
others to spray in the first five minutes after cutting, is a good
one:two punch.

I had never realized there are battery-operated sprayers.

Mine is the classic hand pump operated as shown in this pictu
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11945136.jpg

The great part about the idea of spraying after cutting as opposed to
spraying without cutting, is that the poison oak covers an area far
greater than can be covered with spray - but- cutting it - by necessity -
is such that the cut plants are ALWAYS within spraying distance!

So, oddly, from a practical standpoint, hand spraying can't work without
cutting - yet - it works great if done within 5 minutes of cutting.

One 'problem' I just found out about with cutting though is that the
urushiol in the roots and vines is ten to 100 times as potent as that in
the leaves, so, cutting is inherently more dangerous overall.

However, the other side of this 'problem', is that spraying leaves the
dead vines where they are, which is still a potent hazard for 5 years
(wet environment) to ten years (dry environment) as the soil bacteria and
elements break down the catechols in the sap.

It's very interesting to learn about thine enemy!