Poison Ivy Control: Identification, Herbicides, and Manual Removal

My neighbor and I acted as if surrounded by rattlesnakes: "Ease your foot down slowly... now quick step right and hop onto that cinderblock!" We'd struck out through woods to investigate land clearing, only to find ourselves in a poison ivy thicket, gingerly directing each other to safety.

We returned unharmed, but others haven't been so lucky. The potency of this itchy vine was first reported in the 1600s. We can only guess the anguish of the first settler who brushed a leaf and earned a week of misery.

POISON IVY

The familiar "leaves of three" occur almost anywhere. Birds eat seeds each autumn, distributing them widely. Poison ivy snakes along the ground until finding an upright surface to ascend. After several years, the vine becomes extremely hairy with three-foot branches emerging.

The irritating oil, urushiol, is on every plant part. Only one billionth of a gram can cause a reaction. My brother Alan noted 500 people could itch from the amount on a pinhead.

VIRGINIA CREEPER

This vine's "leaves of five" and love for the same habitat often cause false accusations. Virginia creeper is harmless, though too sparsely leafed for arbors. It sports attractive crimson fall leaves.

BOXELDER, BRAMBLES

Poison ivy is a vine; boxelder maple is a tree. When a boxelder seedling emerges, leaves look similar. I distinguish them by leaf edges: poison ivy's side leaflets are typically smooth on the upper edge; boxelder leaves are toothed on both edges. Reddish boxelder leaf stems mimic poison ivy's purple-red stems. Observe plant habit (tree vs. vine) and that many tree leaves have five leaflets.

Wild brambles have three leaves but thorns immediately identify them as not poison ivy.

KILLING IT

I've had good results with glyphosate and triclopyr. Both are fast-acting and kill several feet back from spray point. For a big vine on a tree, carefully clip with loppers and spray the stump.

Master Gardener Carolyn K. uses no sprays: she puts her arm in a plastic newspaper wrapper, pulls vines by hand, then discards the plastic. Poison ivy seeds spread by birds; vines sprout all summer. Constant vigilance avoids calamine skin makeup.

Steven Stinchcomb, garden artist in Fayetteville, admits birds like seeds and fall color is nice, but "for the rest of the year, poison ivy is the sorriest, most misbegotten vine I can think of!"

My son learned to count ("One, two, THREE!") helping me identify poison ivy leaves. While similar plants exist, you can count on a week of woe if you accidentally brush this infernal supplejack.

MORE INFORMATION:
Poison Ivy

Virginia creeper (lt) vs poison ivy (rt)

poison ivy seed