By Suellen May, Prevention
Nothing takes the fun out of being outdoors faster than an encounter
with poison ivy. It's the cockroach of the plant world: it regenerates
readily, it's everywhere, and people loathe it. At least one member of
the poison ivy clan (Toxicodendron, formerly Rhus) grows in every state
in the continental US.
Each region has its own varieties of poison ivy
or poison oak, but all are perennials in the cashew family, and all
cause a rash, blisters, and itchiness.Both poison ivy and poison oak
climb trees, sending out thick, hairy, aerial roots. Poison oak's
leaflets are rounded.
[post_ads]It grows as a vine or shrub. In spring, poison ivy
can grow as a ground cover, a shrub, or a vine. Emerging leaves have a
red tint to their edges, while in summer "Leaves of three, let them be"
is still the best way to identify poison ivy and poison oak. Poison
ivy's leaves are pointed. During fall both poison ivy and poison oak
grow in sun or shade, in wet or dry places, and turn vivid colors in
fall. In early the plant's white berries are a good identifier once the
leaves have fallen off.
How to avoid the plant:
Wear long sleeves, pants, closed shoes, thick gloves, and even a mask
when removing poison ivy and poison oak. Wash all clothes, even
shoelaces (without touching them with your bare hands), after working
near poison ivy and poison oak. Use hot water, detergent, and two wash
cycles.
Wipe down any surface that has come in contact with the oil,
including tool handles, doorknobs, and shoes. Your pets aren't sensitive
to urushiol, but if it gets on their fur and you pet them, you can get a
rash, so you should also give them a bath if they've come into contact
with the plant.
How to treat the rash:
Wash it away. Do not wipe the area with water—urushiol is an oil, so
it does not dissolve in water, and wiping spreads the oil. Instead,
rinse the affected skin with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, then with cold
water. Over-the-counter topicals such as Tecnu, Ivy Complete, Zanfel,
or Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap and Res-Q Ointment are also incredibly
useful as they both remove the oil and relieve the itching.
Without
treatment, the infected area will blister within a few hours to three
days. The fluid in the blisters will not spread the rash, but any
clothing that has come into contact with the oil will. Oral
antihistamines can also help, if needed.
Stock your medicine cabinet with these:
All Terrain Natural Poison Ivy Oak Bar Soap ($7, amazon.com)
Marie's Original Poison Ivy All Natural Relief Soap ($15, amazon.com)
Burt's Bees Res-Q Ointment ($12, amazon.com)
Tecnu Rash Relief Anti-Itch Scar Prevention ($12, amazon.com)
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How to get rid of poison ivy:
Poison ivy and poison oak spread by seed and by their vigorous root
systems. They arrive in your yard by birds eating the berries and
depositing the seeds, and, less frequently, in loads of mulch. If you
have wooded or neglected areas surrounding your property, you probably
have poison ivy as a neighbor, and given time, it will creep into your
yard. Here's how to get rid of poison ivy in your yard without using
chemicals in order to beat the rash even before it strikes:
Don't make space for it.
Prevent poison ivy or poison oak from taking hold in the first place.
If you are landscaping or tilling soil for a new bed or garden, don't
leave the ground bare for long.
Target seedlings.
Small infestations are more easily controlled than larger ones,
because they have less-developed root systems, fewer stored food
reserves in roots and rhizomes, and a smaller seed bank in the soil.
Poison ivy can be readily pulled in early spring if only a few plants
are involved. Look for those leaves of three, and, wearing long sleeves,
long pants, and thick gloves, pull out the entire root system.
Starve it out.
As with all perennials, you must completely remove the root or the
plant will re-sprout. Unfortunately, poison ivy roots can run
underground for many feet before the plant reappears above ground. If
endless digging is not appealing or an option, repeatedly cutting the
plant to the ground eventually starves the root system and causes the
plant to die.
Plants climbing trees should be severed at the base.
"Don't bother removing the vines from the tree; they don't do any harm,"
says Ray Samulis, county agricultural agent at Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension. The weed is just using the tree for anchorage. It's not a parasitic relationship, says Samulis.
Smother it.
[post_ads]Cover the infested area with thick black plastic sheeting, and plan
to leave it there for at least a year, possibly longer. Make sure the
plastic isn't the type that degrades in the sun, and cover the edges
with dirt to exclude all light.
Let animals chew it up.
Grazing animals, especially goats, are not bothered by urushiol and
can clean up an infested area. They won't take out the root system but
will get rid of the top growth, weakening the plant overall.
Dispose of it.
You can dispose of poison ivy and poison oak in plastic bags and put
them out with the trash. The easiest way to do this is to put the
plastic bags over your gloved hands, pull the plants into the bags, and
then pull the bags inside out off your gloved hands, encasing the poison
ivy inside the bag.
Be nice to your garbage man and put the
poison-ivy-filled bags into a larger, uncontaminated bag. Don't ever put
poison ivy in the compost pile: the
urushiol in poison ivy remains potent for years—even, in dry climates,
decades. And never burn it: Breathing in smoke or soot from the plants
may cause serious inflammation of respiratory mucous membranes.
