Poison Ivy and Poison Oak: Identification, Irradication and Home Remedies

(Page 3 of 3)

March/April 1981
By Sandra Dark 
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In heavily infested locales, poison ivy and oak are almost impossible to eliminate. You'll find that birds consume the plants' white berries and — as a result of seeds spread in their droppings — additional shoots will invariably sprout every spring. However, there are several things you can do to bring an infestation under control.

First of all, never burn poison ivy or oak. Breathing the smoke of such wood can cause dangerous — and possibly lethal — inflammation of the nasal passages, throat and lungs.

Small patches of the plants can be kept under control with an aggressively wielded hoe. They'll eventually die off if not allowed to berry for several years. If you're faced with large clusters, see if you can recruit a few goats to help out. The critters love to munch on poison ivy or oak, and they have no difficulty maneuvering through the dense thickets or undergrowth where the plants usually thrive.

If the toxic leaves show up in open areas around your homestead, you can use a mower to cut back the "crop." Be sure to wear heavy pants and boots while doing so, though, because the resin exposed by the mower blade can be particularly infectious. Don't handle the outsides of your boots after performing such a chore, and be sure to wash your clothing in warm, soapy water before wearing it again.

You should know, too, that even heavy leather work gloves aren't foolproof hand protection, especially in hot weather. The irritating plant resin can be "sweated" right through the leather.

I've managed to clear poison oak from our immediate yard area and from the pathways to our garden. And, although it'd be all but impossible to remove every one of the poisonous plants from the rest of our two acres, we've learned how to coexist with our dangerous "neighbors". Since we can now identify the plants, poison oak and ivy no longer limit our outdoor activities. We merely give them the same respect accorded rattlesnakes and fiddleback spiders, and accept the fact that the notorious tri-leaf twins have become part of our simple life.

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  • robbie ellis 9/17/2009 10:12:47 PM

    jewelweed. in wv, as a raft quide of many years, we were constantly in one stage of a rash or another. growing along the banks of most any waterway, your gonna find jewelweed, sometimes referred to as touch me nots. though they aren't. the money part of the plant is the stalk. that puppy has little knee cap looking nodes that break like the stem at the top of a bananna. this is full of a clear liguid. rub it on. it's very similar to aloe. it's not stick, oily, stinky, just comfortable. hillbillies say the cure for poison ivy grows with the ivy. that's a stretch. and i'm a hillbilly. but u'll most often find the jewelweed closer to water. here's a site i spotted with a relatively decent descriptive picture. http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm

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