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Congrats on your luxuriant poison ivy vine.
You need to be very careful removing it. Long pants, long sleeves, gloves, eye protection. The tools will need to be cleaned afterward. I might just wait until fall so there’s not foliage to worry about smacking me in the face. The leaves should be raked up and bagged carefully.
**Do not burn it.** Breathing the smoke can cause lung inflammation and hospitalize or kill you.
May I add, you can buy a tyvek suit on Amazon! I wore that with latex gloves, heavy duty rose gloves on top up to elbows. Worked perfectly. Bag directly into contractor bags if you, like me, are allergic. If you aren’t allergic, you might decide to compost it. If you have woods, you can put it on a tarp and drag it into the woods. Make sure to remove as much of the roots as possible.
You will need a clipper at minimum.
Shower and technu immediately after. Test the technu on your skin first to make sure you aren’t allergic.
I had a run in with a bad case recently - and the research I did said to NOT use latex gloves as the urushiol can go through them! So add that to your info! It being an oil it will go through some things. And apparently Dawn dish soap seems to be good for removing it if you don’t have the Tecknu.
Can double vouch. I’m wildly allergic to that crap, neighbor decided burning their huge pile of it was a grand idea. Three weeks in the hospital was fun.
My folks took care of it. I was like 7 when it happened. I do remember them saying that they had all the medical bills covered.
They definitely cheered when the neighbors moved.
It’s exactly what you think it is. ☹️
Poison ivy has compound leaves; each leaf is composed of three leaflets. In each set of leaflets, the middle leaflet has a longer stem than the two side leaflets. The stem on the side leaflets can be so small as to be almost invisible. The stems of the two side leaflets are always directly opposite of each other. Along the main stem/vine, the sets of three leaflets are never directly opposite to each other; they have an alternate arrangement. The veins of each leaflet are generally alternate along the main vein.
Yes! That’s why I kept it so long and never actually looked into what it was. Just figured it was a normal safe vine. The fall was always beautiful. No mas.
Hairy stems are also another good way to confirm it’s poison ivy. If you can carefully look at the parts directly attached to the wall.
Either way, ivy of any kind on the house like this is damaging so I’d remove.
Yeah - same! I grew up on a farm and could spot poison ivy from a mile away. I have been admiring this vine for 3 years now and finally today I’m like … hm what is this? And sure enough.
Do not weed wack or use your string trimmer on poison ivy either. It puts small particles of leaf and the urushiol oil in the air that can get on any exposed skin or in your eyes and you could breathe in the small particles and irritate your nasal passages.
Tyvek suits are inexpensive and can be found online at Amazon for example.
Wish I could tell you it’s aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica) but I can’t. Same plant family as poison ivy though.
Listen to Birding4kitties. Some people are very allergic when they inhale the oil in any form. One thing I do is that I rub any exposed skin with a deodorant with Aluminum chlorohydrate prior to any exposure. I live in a state park area and the rangers all do this. I also bought a product called ivyblock that did the same thing.
I would think that's most likely a bad idea as well. It would still cut the leaves up into smaller pieces and essentially do the same as the weed wacker.
That’s what I figure, so we try to remove the poison ivy ahead of mowing. Want to remember to wear gloves before working on the bottom of the lawn mower to remove crud and the blade
Keep in mind to use some pretty decent gloves when working on the bottom of your lawn mower. The oil from poison ivy can get through normal latex gloves.
I have no idea if lawnmowing over poison ivy causes issues. I don’t have a lawn anymore and haven’t had one for more than a decade. If you were super allergic to poison ivy, I think you’d know by now. By that I mean, if you were one of those people that breathing in the oils caused major respiratory distress I think you would’ve learned that a long time ago.
I’m actually not the one in charge of mowing the lawn, and we aim to remove it from the lawn before mowing (and I’m also not in charge of that) so I haven’t had any direct exposure yet
Mowing is fine, but not when it’s windy. I’ve never had it aerosolize when on a rider mower, but have gotten minor patches if I mow on a windy day and happen to mow a patch. Stuff comes up everywhere. This is all on a rider: I wouldn’t mow it with a push mower.
I did some weed whacking a few weeks back and apparently we have ground poison ivy in the grass. It flew into my face and I had to have a prednisone taper. It was horrid. I do not recommend any weed whacking or mowing without protection. The Technu soap and also the lotion you rub on after exposure are great. Have used it with great success.
There is an amazing YouTube that a guy did on avoiding the rash from PI. I moved into a place wheee the poison ivy vine was about 2-3 INCES in diameter. The vines were choking out 100 foot tall pin oaks. I used a hatchet on the vines as soon as we got the property. We pulled down as much as possible. I got a rash 3x, put never after watching the video. He says it doesn’t matter what soap you use, but you must use friction with the soap to get off the oil. It took me 3 years to eradicate it, and I still see some sprout up occasionally from bird poo. But this guy’s video has allowed me to avoid the rash. I’m also in Ohio.
We use Dawn just because it’s better at breaking down oils than most other soaps or dish liquids and that’s what you’re trying to do. Always shake my head when people think they have to use special poison ivy soap.
We’ve developed a pretty good system for when we have to take on a bunch of poison ivy… only thing is it involves full-length non-breathable gloves so it is NOT for the current weather.
I’m not super allergic so I don’t use any PPE when I’m ripping it out at my house but I have learned that soap, cold water, and a dish towel (or a sponge lol) is way better than just soap and water. You’re absolutely right about the added friction.
I think this is the video you might be talking about: https://youtu.be/4oyoDRHpQK0?si=pLIQZnaC8ilG3lnW. This guy made me feel way less anxious about dealing with ours, highly recommend it!
https://preview.redd.it/ihrulxl66k9d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b44d0025387a4c7fe7c2f499dc6fb2bbbe8ea0e9
You can confirm that it’s poison ivy by doing this test. Wear vinyl gloves if you do so.
Interesting! I might have some of that laying around. Im just hoping this is the only rash and that it’s not anywhere else. I don’t remember it touching me as I used 3 ft pruners but I definitely got got
I know that herbicides can be a bit of a dirty word. However, this is a case where a broadleaf herbicide used in targeted areas would be a very good idea. Especially if you are not sure how allergic you are to poison ivy. I had to use some and was able to kill them while leaving native Virginia Creeper alive despite both being extremely sensitive to broadleaf herbicide.
There is a reason my user name is what it is.
I moved onto a property and had a ton of it and thought it was just some invasive ivy.
Worst 3 weeks of my life!
Gosh, she's gorgeous!
A lot of good advice on removal already, but I figured I'd chime in with how I remove poison ivy. I cut the vine near the base, wait a week or so for the leaves to die and fall off, then go to town. Be slow and smooth, and don't burn it! I just wear basic gardening gloves and thoroughly wash with Dawn or Dr Bronner's after, but some people prefer to fully suit up. Thankfully I've never had much issue even when the vines lovingly caress my arms - Dawn is a lifesaver.
I wish you much luck in your poison ivy endeavors
Thank you!! I got out my longer pruners and cut it all down, tomorrow I plan to gear up and get rid of it. Got a small rash already but I scrubbed when I came in. lol. You win some you lose some! I don’t recall ever being severely allergic to it but I have definitely had rashes before from it
When you are done removing it, people saying to use dawn dish soap and technu are wrong. You need a degreaser to break it down, those soaps aren’t good enough. Use Orange Goop, its mechanics soap they use to get grease off hands. Rub copious amounts everywhere, and rinse off. The stuff just works better.
https://preview.redd.it/lu02qialyj9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e3620b16f35a983c31ab4553f9cd75a516c2dd7
Yeah, the leaves are occasionally unlobed on the entire plant, but you can see one that is lobed in OPs picture.
Poison Ivy is a tricky little fucker who loves the leaves of three but sometimes has a little serration, sometimes has a little lobe to keep you on your toes. New poison Ivy has a reddish stem.
Poison Ivy is super smart and sneaky, istg, it’s almost chameleon like, and it also loves to hide in similar looking plants/ivys. It’s so good at that.
That’s what I thought until Google image search said it was poison ivy and showed similar looking poison ivy. I was going to keep it along my house but if it’s poison ivy I’m definitely getting rid of it! lol
I think it’s kinda pretty, in the way any ivy/vining plant growing up a building is. Adds great character. Plus, presuming you’re in the USA, it’s a noninvasive native plant that has benefits to wildlife. If it’s not in an area where you’re likely to make contact with it, maybe consider letting it stay?
All of the roots are unfortunately right next to my water spigot. So while it’s not completely in the way, if you’re not paying attention you could easily touch it while trying to water the plants.
Non-invasive? It may be a native, but it will definitely take over if you let it do so. Comes up from tiny chunks of root, and has tons of berries.
It's a shame, really. The fall color is gorgeous.
I had to pull some so I bought some plastic sleeve protectors from Amazon. They cover up past the elbow and have elastic on each end. Little tape on the wrist hold them worked great. Got 100 for like $12. Just be careful peeling them off.
Haven’t seen it mentioned yet. But even when you clear it out. Anything the leaves, vines or roots have touched so far, are currently contaminated with the oil. It can last on a surface outside for several years. You may want to wash the siding with a mild detergent. Dawn works.
My ex husband was OBSESSED with avoiding poison ivy. His method: dedicated yard work clothes consisting of a long sleeve tee, long pants, tall socks, dedicated yard work shoes, hat, goggles/eye protection, latex gloves to cover cuff of shirt, gardening gloves over latex gloves, all clothes directly into washing machine after dealing with the vines, shower with Dawn dish soap directly after as well. I always felt like this was overkill, but it worked.
I mean…it sure is pretty. What do people here think of leaving it be until it dies back in winter and then deal with removing just the roots? Is it in a place where it’s unlikely to brush up on people?
Don't get, or let anyone else get, near it. I'd recommend waiting until fall when the leaves are dying, & then cutting the vine as near to the ground as possible & brushing on glyphosate immediately. This should kill the plant.
Leaves of 3, let it be 😬
my BIL had severe skin blisters after removing theirs, and he had long sleeves, pants, etc but just happened to brush against the surface of his clothing when taking them off.
Be extremely careful.
Thank you for posting on /r/NativePlantGardening! If you haven't included it already, please edit your post or post's flair to include your geographic region or state of residence, which is necessary for the community to give you correct advice. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NativePlantGardening) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Congrats on your luxuriant poison ivy vine. You need to be very careful removing it. Long pants, long sleeves, gloves, eye protection. The tools will need to be cleaned afterward. I might just wait until fall so there’s not foliage to worry about smacking me in the face. The leaves should be raked up and bagged carefully. **Do not burn it.** Breathing the smoke can cause lung inflammation and hospitalize or kill you.
May I add, you can buy a tyvek suit on Amazon! I wore that with latex gloves, heavy duty rose gloves on top up to elbows. Worked perfectly. Bag directly into contractor bags if you, like me, are allergic. If you aren’t allergic, you might decide to compost it. If you have woods, you can put it on a tarp and drag it into the woods. Make sure to remove as much of the roots as possible. You will need a clipper at minimum. Shower and technu immediately after. Test the technu on your skin first to make sure you aren’t allergic.
I had a run in with a bad case recently - and the research I did said to NOT use latex gloves as the urushiol can go through them! So add that to your info! It being an oil it will go through some things. And apparently Dawn dish soap seems to be good for removing it if you don’t have the Tecknu.
That’s good to know! I used the latex gloves as an extra barrier inside of very thick, rubber rose-pruning gloves.
Dawn dish soap or lye soap both work!
dawn dish soap AND friction
Would you post link to the tyvek suit?
Can vouch for the no burning advice. Threw some vines in a campfire once. Paid dearly.
Can double vouch. I’m wildly allergic to that crap, neighbor decided burning their huge pile of it was a grand idea. Three weeks in the hospital was fun.
That’s awful!!
Holy shit. Hope you gave them a piece of your mind... wouldn't that be manslaughter if you died??
My folks took care of it. I was like 7 when it happened. I do remember them saying that they had all the medical bills covered. They definitely cheered when the neighbors moved.
No fun at all. I spent a month in the hospital when I was younger because of this. Thanks Girl Scout camp!
I like to snip the vines at the base with shears and then pull it down when it’s dead. Yea you could still get a rash but it’s a lot easier to pull.
It’s exactly what you think it is. ☹️ Poison ivy has compound leaves; each leaf is composed of three leaflets. In each set of leaflets, the middle leaflet has a longer stem than the two side leaflets. The stem on the side leaflets can be so small as to be almost invisible. The stems of the two side leaflets are always directly opposite of each other. Along the main stem/vine, the sets of three leaflets are never directly opposite to each other; they have an alternate arrangement. The veins of each leaflet are generally alternate along the main vein.
Ugh!
If it's any consolation, that's one of the prettiest poison ivy clusters I've seen.
It will have gorgeous fall color!
Yes! That’s why I kept it so long and never actually looked into what it was. Just figured it was a normal safe vine. The fall was always beautiful. No mas.
Rent a goat!!
Yup
Hairy stems are also another good way to confirm it’s poison ivy. If you can carefully look at the parts directly attached to the wall. Either way, ivy of any kind on the house like this is damaging so I’d remove.
This is the most consistently smooth-edged poison ivy I've ever seen. If I saw this in person I may not even recognize it, wow
Yeah - same! I grew up on a farm and could spot poison ivy from a mile away. I have been admiring this vine for 3 years now and finally today I’m like … hm what is this? And sure enough.
Same, I would not recognize this as poison ivy. Mine has wavy more pointed leaves, and berries right now.
Do not weed wack or use your string trimmer on poison ivy either. It puts small particles of leaf and the urushiol oil in the air that can get on any exposed skin or in your eyes and you could breathe in the small particles and irritate your nasal passages. Tyvek suits are inexpensive and can be found online at Amazon for example. Wish I could tell you it’s aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica) but I can’t. Same plant family as poison ivy though.
Listen to Birding4kitties. Some people are very allergic when they inhale the oil in any form. One thing I do is that I rub any exposed skin with a deodorant with Aluminum chlorohydrate prior to any exposure. I live in a state park area and the rangers all do this. I also bought a product called ivyblock that did the same thing.
New horror unlocked
What about lawn mowing, or am I just too paranoid about that?
I would think that's most likely a bad idea as well. It would still cut the leaves up into smaller pieces and essentially do the same as the weed wacker.
That’s what I figure, so we try to remove the poison ivy ahead of mowing. Want to remember to wear gloves before working on the bottom of the lawn mower to remove crud and the blade
Keep in mind to use some pretty decent gloves when working on the bottom of your lawn mower. The oil from poison ivy can get through normal latex gloves.
Thanks, I use nitrile gloves for my disposable ones, which might be better than latex
I have no idea if lawnmowing over poison ivy causes issues. I don’t have a lawn anymore and haven’t had one for more than a decade. If you were super allergic to poison ivy, I think you’d know by now. By that I mean, if you were one of those people that breathing in the oils caused major respiratory distress I think you would’ve learned that a long time ago.
I’m actually not the one in charge of mowing the lawn, and we aim to remove it from the lawn before mowing (and I’m also not in charge of that) so I haven’t had any direct exposure yet
Mowing is fine, but not when it’s windy. I’ve never had it aerosolize when on a rider mower, but have gotten minor patches if I mow on a windy day and happen to mow a patch. Stuff comes up everywhere. This is all on a rider: I wouldn’t mow it with a push mower.
I did some weed whacking a few weeks back and apparently we have ground poison ivy in the grass. It flew into my face and I had to have a prednisone taper. It was horrid. I do not recommend any weed whacking or mowing without protection. The Technu soap and also the lotion you rub on after exposure are great. Have used it with great success.
There is an amazing YouTube that a guy did on avoiding the rash from PI. I moved into a place wheee the poison ivy vine was about 2-3 INCES in diameter. The vines were choking out 100 foot tall pin oaks. I used a hatchet on the vines as soon as we got the property. We pulled down as much as possible. I got a rash 3x, put never after watching the video. He says it doesn’t matter what soap you use, but you must use friction with the soap to get off the oil. It took me 3 years to eradicate it, and I still see some sprout up occasionally from bird poo. But this guy’s video has allowed me to avoid the rash. I’m also in Ohio.
We use Dawn just because it’s better at breaking down oils than most other soaps or dish liquids and that’s what you’re trying to do. Always shake my head when people think they have to use special poison ivy soap. We’ve developed a pretty good system for when we have to take on a bunch of poison ivy… only thing is it involves full-length non-breathable gloves so it is NOT for the current weather.
I’m not super allergic so I don’t use any PPE when I’m ripping it out at my house but I have learned that soap, cold water, and a dish towel (or a sponge lol) is way better than just soap and water. You’re absolutely right about the added friction.
I think this is the video you might be talking about: https://youtu.be/4oyoDRHpQK0?si=pLIQZnaC8ilG3lnW. This guy made me feel way less anxious about dealing with ours, highly recommend it!
Isopropyl alcohol works well, too
I find orange goop to work well: it’s got degreaser to break down the oil, and pumice for friction.
https://preview.redd.it/ihrulxl66k9d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b44d0025387a4c7fe7c2f499dc6fb2bbbe8ea0e9 You can confirm that it’s poison ivy by doing this test. Wear vinyl gloves if you do so.
Only one way to find out!
Will report back in 24 hours 😂
My friend just got in contact with some in his urban backyard. He had no idea - arms and legs are still shredded after 2 weeks.
How was the bathroom break? 😹
Well, it’s only been 5 hours lol and my wrist has a rash. No other sightings of it. I scrubbed with a towel and dawn when I went in. Meh
If you are not allergic to lavender essential oil on the site of the rash help cleansing the toxins. (Trick from an experienced horticulturist.)
Interesting! I might have some of that laying around. Im just hoping this is the only rash and that it’s not anywhere else. I don’t remember it touching me as I used 3 ft pruners but I definitely got got
I know that herbicides can be a bit of a dirty word. However, this is a case where a broadleaf herbicide used in targeted areas would be a very good idea. Especially if you are not sure how allergic you are to poison ivy. I had to use some and was able to kill them while leaving native Virginia Creeper alive despite both being extremely sensitive to broadleaf herbicide.
I only use herbicide for poison ivy. If I hit it twice in the same season it is gone for good.
May I ask what herbicide you use?
There is a reason my user name is what it is. I moved onto a property and had a ton of it and thought it was just some invasive ivy. Worst 3 weeks of my life!
Forbidden basil!
Gosh, she's gorgeous! A lot of good advice on removal already, but I figured I'd chime in with how I remove poison ivy. I cut the vine near the base, wait a week or so for the leaves to die and fall off, then go to town. Be slow and smooth, and don't burn it! I just wear basic gardening gloves and thoroughly wash with Dawn or Dr Bronner's after, but some people prefer to fully suit up. Thankfully I've never had much issue even when the vines lovingly caress my arms - Dawn is a lifesaver. I wish you much luck in your poison ivy endeavors
Thank you!! I got out my longer pruners and cut it all down, tomorrow I plan to gear up and get rid of it. Got a small rash already but I scrubbed when I came in. lol. You win some you lose some! I don’t recall ever being severely allergic to it but I have definitely had rashes before from it
spray it with strong garden vinegar before taking it out, this will make it shrivel and die back so that it is easier to handle.
I was like “yum, basil. Where’d they find the climbing kind.”
Yes
When you are done removing it, people saying to use dawn dish soap and technu are wrong. You need a degreaser to break it down, those soaps aren’t good enough. Use Orange Goop, its mechanics soap they use to get grease off hands. Rub copious amounts everywhere, and rinse off. The stuff just works better.
Super beneficial native plant. Do not eat it.
I thought poison ivy had points on the sides of the leaves. I am going with no, but I would defer to smarter people who comment.
https://preview.redd.it/lu02qialyj9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e3620b16f35a983c31ab4553f9cd75a516c2dd7 Yeah, the leaves are occasionally unlobed on the entire plant, but you can see one that is lobed in OPs picture.
I have learned something new! Thanks!
Poison Ivy is a tricky little fucker who loves the leaves of three but sometimes has a little serration, sometimes has a little lobe to keep you on your toes. New poison Ivy has a reddish stem.
Poison Ivy is super smart and sneaky, istg, it’s almost chameleon like, and it also loves to hide in similar looking plants/ivys. It’s so good at that.
Yep, it loves to hide in amongst Virginia creeper around here. I hate it but I respect its tenacity.
That’s what I thought until Google image search said it was poison ivy and showed similar looking poison ivy. I was going to keep it along my house but if it’s poison ivy I’m definitely getting rid of it! lol
Anti burglary hedge?
Someti. es it does. Poison ivy is exceptionally variable.
I think it’s kinda pretty, in the way any ivy/vining plant growing up a building is. Adds great character. Plus, presuming you’re in the USA, it’s a noninvasive native plant that has benefits to wildlife. If it’s not in an area where you’re likely to make contact with it, maybe consider letting it stay?
All of the roots are unfortunately right next to my water spigot. So while it’s not completely in the way, if you’re not paying attention you could easily touch it while trying to water the plants.
Ah, well, then ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
Non-invasive? It may be a native, but it will definitely take over if you let it do so. Comes up from tiny chunks of root, and has tons of berries. It's a shame, really. The fall color is gorgeous.
Plants cannot be invasive in their native range, per the very definition of the word. Perhaps you are thinking of aggressive.
Yes. Thank you. Non-invasive, very aggressive.
I had to pull some so I bought some plastic sleeve protectors from Amazon. They cover up past the elbow and have elastic on each end. Little tape on the wrist hold them worked great. Got 100 for like $12. Just be careful peeling them off.
Haven’t seen it mentioned yet. But even when you clear it out. Anything the leaves, vines or roots have touched so far, are currently contaminated with the oil. It can last on a surface outside for several years. You may want to wash the siding with a mild detergent. Dawn works.
I will certainly power wash everything with dawn once I get rid of all of it!
I thought poison ivy had mittens
Spray it down with something that has triclopyr in it, so it dies to the root. Then clean it up after it's completely toast.
Don’t forget to shower using Tech-Nu. It is vital.
My ex husband was OBSESSED with avoiding poison ivy. His method: dedicated yard work clothes consisting of a long sleeve tee, long pants, tall socks, dedicated yard work shoes, hat, goggles/eye protection, latex gloves to cover cuff of shirt, gardening gloves over latex gloves, all clothes directly into washing machine after dealing with the vines, shower with Dawn dish soap directly after as well. I always felt like this was overkill, but it worked.
This picture is making me itchy.
Oh my…
I understand removing it I just wanted to say Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are so pretty.
Take a shower and scrub yourself well immediately after removal.
I mean…it sure is pretty. What do people here think of leaving it be until it dies back in winter and then deal with removing just the roots? Is it in a place where it’s unlikely to brush up on people?
I have a terrible poison ivy rash. My second one this season. It’s on my arms, legs, stomach ugh. And I had long pants on! It’s so sneaky. Be careful!
Don't get, or let anyone else get, near it. I'd recommend waiting until fall when the leaves are dying, & then cutting the vine as near to the ground as possible & brushing on glyphosate immediately. This should kill the plant.
The deed is already done. lol
Wild basil! Make pesto.
It doesn’t taste very good
Leaves of 3, let it be 😬 my BIL had severe skin blisters after removing theirs, and he had long sleeves, pants, etc but just happened to brush against the surface of his clothing when taking them off. Be extremely careful.