Poison Ivy Season

GETTING RID OF POISON IVY

An article recently published in Yankee Magazine gives some great advice for identifying and removing poison ivy.You might want to have a look at it because, believe me, 'tis the season to be itchy!

Here's a summary.

Of course in order to avoid poison ivy you must know what it looks like. There is enough growing along our stone walls and rock walls hereabouts that you can get lots of practice. Basically it's a scrambling plant. Although it can be variable, it is most readily recognized  by the three shiny leaflets. Sometimes they are not so shiny but there are three. This can be confused with Aralia species that occupy the same roadside habitats, but the aralias have a long stem and do not scramble along the ground.  Poison ivy can make dense growths over the ground. Here are pictures of poison ivy. It can also climb trees and form quite an large vine. In autumn the leaves turn a beautiful red/orange; you can see them climbing up tree trunks.

It's the oil in the leaves that gets you. All you have to do is touch the leaves and you can be affected. The oil will stick to your clothes for some time, so if you have been prancing about in the stuff, get your clothes into the washing machine. That should take care of  it.

How do you get rid of poison ivy? First, think about how much trouble it is giving you in your own site. Can you coexist with poison ivy if you know what it is? If so, maybe you don't have to do anything. Contrary to a popular song a long time ago, poison ivy does not come creeping when you're sleeping. Do your kids tend to play where it grows? If so, or if as happened here when it arrived with some planting material that Patty received from a friend, you probably want to get rid of it.

The most effective way is to physically remove it. You might be able to use a glyphosate spray but glyphosate will kill everything but not necessarily the poison ivy. In Patty's case there were just a few sprigs of poison ivy so she used a plastic bag as a kind of glove and placed the plant in the garbage.

If you have to deal with a larger patch: suit up! Gloves, shirt with sleeves and long pants. Things you can throw into the washing machine. Pull out as much of the root as you can. What root you miss will re-sprout so be diligent. That's pretty much it. Put the plants into some kind of bags and put the bags in the garbage.  Don't compost it.

An important point, and one you might not think of is DO NOT BURN POISON IVY. The oil will be in the smoke. If you inhale poison ivy laced smoke it can affect your lungs. That would require medical intervention.

In the fall poison ivy can be quite lovely but it packs a kick. If you cannot coexist with it, then I suggest you read the article referenced here.