Let them be. Poison Ivy is green all summer and blends in with many other plants. The more shade a plant has the taller it will grow...seeking the sun in the shady woods. I saw some plants last summer that were over three feet tall. ...scary for sure.
Fall is a great time to identify poison ivy on your property because it sticks out like a sore thumb.
First it turns yellow...there are still some green/greenish yellow plants in this photo.
Then the real red flag.
Everything the pretty red is Poison Ivy in this photo! You can mark the area with a flag and spray it in the Spring. I use Round Up for Poison Ivy.
If you have endured the insane itching of poison ivy...then you will understand my personal war against it. Those of you lucky enough to escape it...good for you! ( My husband has never had it... very lucky guy!)
Far Side
I had it once when I was a teenager, and I've never forgotten it. I itched for months, it seemed.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that poison ivy turned red in the fall like that. Very pretty, but definitely something to get rid of.
ReplyDeleteMy Laura catches it easily. Thanks for this knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the fortunate ones - I don't think I've even seen it. Keep fighting the battle!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have it here on the farm, but where I grew up we did.
ReplyDeleteWe went to a visitor's center near Branson and they had a planter with poison ivy and the sign "don't touch." I wonder how many people who like to defy authority went ahead and touched it anyway. Husband is terribly allergic to it, and yes, it is one of the first things here to turn a beautiful color
ReplyDeleteSo that's what it looks like....
ReplyDeleteI've never seen poison ivy. It can continue that way!
ReplyDeletePoison Ivy sounds awful. I'm so glad it doesn't grow here!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Oregon, we had poison oak in the fence rows on the farm. No poison ivy that I knew of. Just as itchy though.
ReplyDeleteMy dad is unaffected by the stuff. I get one rash and it will slowly work itself over the rest of my body for the next couple months before it leaves me alone.
ReplyDeleteI killed two dogwood bushes while trying to kill the poison ivy. I would go on field trips with kids to the woods and they would bring it to me while I helped them with a craft project.
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful in a very wicked way. I'm more fortunate so far. But I can easily ID it green or colored!
ReplyDeleteGrandma made sure we knew what it looked like.
I haven't had it in years and hope it never comes my way again. I have a small city plot and, apparently, none of it. My husband is unaffected, or so he says. Thank you for the PSA. I knew it turned red in fall but didn't know it turned yellow first. I always look for the leaves of three.
ReplyDeleteWe have very little poison ivy here. I couldn't recognize it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great reminder about nasty poison ivy. Good pictures.
ReplyDeleteI have been lucky in my life not to suffer the poison ivy curse. I know someone who got a terrible case just petting their dog who had wandered through a patch. Awful stuff.
ReplyDeleteI am on your side when it comes to poison ivy... I had a run in with it once, and it was the worse two weeks of my life! Never again!
ReplyDeleteApparently, there are people out there who a completely immune to it!
I don't think I've ever seen any Poison Ivy and I hope if I do I'll have the sense to avoid it. I just know it would affect me in a big way. Definitely a case for Round-up.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I had to get allergy shots every week all summer because I was so allergic. I didn't even have to go near the poison ivy. If I was within 50 feet and the wind would blow so hard, that I would even catch it that way, on the wind.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the post. It brought back lots of hte knowledge of falll colors.
It keeps trying to take a hold in my yard. I've had it and had to get steroids to get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteUgh yeah, I came in contact with it by helping a neighbor in 2002... not only did I have to put up with that but I also got stung by a very angry bee. Geesh. Not to mention, two more times that same summer I was stung by wasps. By golly, I have the best luck... NOT! *rolls eyes*
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