Commentary—

Report From The Front In The War Against Poison Ivy

By Rhonda Cullens

Ever since we moved to Sandy Hook almost 17 years ago, I have been on a mission to eradicate poison ivy from our property and, as much as I could, from the woods behind us where the boys played. It has been an endless, daunting task that at times seems futile, but I have refused to give up the fight.

I’ve also done countless hours of computer research on this treacherous foe and its habits as well as innumerable hours of actual “field work.” I’ve cut, pulled, or sprayed every sign of it following my battle cry of “I’ll get you before you get me!” Unfortunately, as careful as I tried to be, the poisonous plant has fought back hard and was able to inflict considerable pain and agony in its struggle for survival.

During this 17-year-long war I’ve been waging, I’ve learned many lessons. First, and foremost, if you can talk someone else into getting rid of the poison ivy for you, do it! When that fails, here are some tips to keep in mind when dealing with this nasty plant.

1. It is the urushiol oil of these plants that cause an allergic reaction when it comes in contact with the skin. Get it off the skin as quickly as possible using lots of soap and cool water to wash it off. (Hot water opens the pores and lets more oil into the skin.) Or, better yet, use a product like Tecnu Poison Oak-N-Ivy Cleanser to cut through and remove the oil from your skin.

2. If you get it on your clothes there are a couple options. The first option is just throw the clothes away, or if you want to try to save them you can put them in a heavy-duty washing machine with bleach detergent through two cycles. Another option, which is harder yet on the clothes, is to apply rubbing alcohol on the affected spots (using latex disposable gloves to protect your hands) to remove it before washing them.

3. If you do get a skin reaction (and they can be very itchy, oozy, and miserable), I highly recommend a product called Zanfel. I once heard Paul Harvey recommend it on his radio program while I was driving and I made a U-turn to get to the closest drug store to pick some up. It is not cheap, but when you’re suffering it is worth its weight in gold!

4. After removing the poison ivy plants with shears or pruners, put the plants in plastic bags for disposal. If you can dig up the roots, do so and put them in plastic bags too. Do not put them in your compost pile or burn them! If you can’t dig them or there’s just too many, spray them with an herbicide like Round-up or Brush-B-Gon. Clean your tools with rubbing alcohol and then treat them with oil (not urushiol oil though!) to keep them from rusting. Throw away any rubber gloves worn that might have touched the poison ivy.

5. When pulling poison ivy out of the ground or off trees, do not touch it with work gloves that you intend to use again. The oil will stick to your gloves and the next time you wear them and wipe your face, guess what? If you don’t have disposable latex gloves and only have a small amount to get rid of, with work gloves on take a plastic bag and holding it at the bottom, grab and pull the poison ivy with the bag. Then pull the bag down around the ivy, tie the bag shut and throw it away! This way the plant doesn’t touch you or your gloves, just the inside of the bag.

6. When working around poison ivy, or just gardening in general because you never know when a new start has begun its invasion, always cover up. Wear gloves, long sleeves, and long pants. On hot days, lightweight hospital scrubs work great and you can slip them easily over a pair of shorts.

7. If you have bark mulch delivered, be aware there was probably poison ivy on that tree that was ground up to make that mulch. The oil could still be there, so cover up when spreading it and wash up good afterwards. I just finished spreading the rest of last year’s mulch delivery, bent down on one knee with shorts on to pull a couple weeds and ended up with a small itchy patch of poison ivy on my knee. And I knew better! Thank goodness for Zanfel!

8. Outdoor pets can also bring the oil to you. The first time I got poison ivy was after we moved here from the friendly neighbor cat that welcomed me with a good case of it all over my ankles that he rubbed affectionately up against.

9. Poison ivy does bloom and produces berries that birds eat. Then when they fly over your yard (hopefully missing you) they “deposit” these seeds from the berries complete with fertilizer to start a new crop. They can grow in your lawn or garden. Be careful when cleaning your lawn mower if you mowed any poison ivy plants because the oil can stay on the mower.

10. Finally, watch out for those hiking shoes you wore through poison ivy last time. The oil could still be waiting for you the next time you put them on. You can try cleaning them with rubbing alcohol but remember to use latex disposable gloves to protect your hands. Also, wash your hands good after you tie those laces just in case you missed any!

Don’t know what poison ivy looks like? There are great photos online.

Yes, by now you probably have realized that I am obsessed with getting rid of this horrible plant and the awful pain it has caused to so many! Hopefully these tips will save you from some of this pain. I know when I get to heaven, one of my many questions will be, “Why poison ivy?”

(Rhonda Cullens lives with her family on Founders Lane in Sandy Hook.)