It seems everyone has a story about poison ivy. Greg and Bob share some of their favorite stories. They discuss the often overlooked benefits of poison ivy. They will also cover how to identify it and how to remove it from areas where you would likely encounter the plant.
Our sources for this episode include:
- Poison Ivy Leaf Gall Mite by Joe Boggs
- Poison Ivy Rash
- Interesting Facts about Poison Ivy
- 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Poison Ivy
Greg:
I just listened to your podcast as I am in the middle of a poison Ivy breakout. Did not realize that grape vine looking thing I was cutting over the weekend was the dreaded poison Ivy. Believe me I won’t make that mistake again! So far the ugly patches on my face have done nothing to “build my character” Also loved the reference to the Poison Ivy song as I am “needing an ocean of calamine lotion”
You are quite knowledgeable and I feel proud so say “hey that’s my nephew!”
Keep up the great work.
I have an unfortunate amount of experience with poison ivy! LOL! Starting in college when I worked at a camp and we were playing counselor hunt. I was laying in a poison ivy patch. I had it all up the side of my face and under my arm. Then I used a cream that I reacted to and made everything worse. After 2 trips to the Doctor, steroid shots and doubled up allergy medicine and time it healed. My favorite to use after exposure is dawn dish soap. Works like a charm to get the oils off. I have also found 120gr vinegar to work at helping to cut the itch and dry it out. I take a week off almost every year to teach nature at a camp and one of my goals is to teach the kids (and adults) how to identify poison ivy. The one plant I struggle to differentiate from poison ivy is the box elder seedlings and I did not know about the opposite and alternate branching with that so THANKS! I also have NEVER seen the flowers on them! probably because I’m not going to lift the leaves to look underneath. I will be looking this spring. Thanks for a great podcast and take care!
What a great comment Jenny! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I am also looking forward to taking a closer look at this plant year round.
I was in the middle of writing a post on Poison Ivy for my new blog, Footpathsblog.com, when I heard your podcast on it while working in my garden one morning. As a family physician I had seen numerous terrible cases and repeat offenders and was convinced that very few people really know how to identify it to avoid it. You and your guest did a really good job and touch on many of the points that I stressed to patients. Here is a link to my post and you will see I included a link to the Nature Guys podcast on the same topic.
https://footpathsblog.com/2021/09/28/poison-ivy-leaves-of-three-let-it-be/
Thanks for adding a little nature to my gardening mornings.
Thanks for the link to your blog. You did a wonderful job with poison ivy! -Bob