You can also cover your hands and arms with bread bags as an extra precaution if you plan to pull the plants up by hand. For extra security, use duct tape to close any gaps between your sleeves and gloves or your pants and socks.
If possible, wash your shoes as well. If you can’t wash your shoes, be sure to cover them while you’re working near the poison ivy so the toxins don’t transfer to them. If you cannot wash the items right away, place them into a garbage bag and mark the bag clearly to indicate what’s in it. Then, wash the items separately from your other laundry when you’re able. It’s crucial to wash the items thoroughly because urushiol from the poison ivy can still cause a rash even years later.
Make sure to wear rubber gloves when handling the garden tools. Urushiol from the tools can get onto your hands and cause a reaction.
Keep in mind that the plant is still covered in urushiol even after it dies, so it’s important to use caution when you remove it. Don’t let any part of the plant come into contact with your skin. If at all possible, remove the roots as well. The more you get rid, the less it will come back. If you want to also take care of the environment, use a compostable paper bag instead of a garbage bag. That said, make sure to have somewhere you can put it that’s not going to touch anything else.
Use the same precautions when digging up the roots as you do for the rest of the plant. The roots also have urushiol on them.
Never burn poison ivy plants! The smoke is toxic. Do not add poison ivy plants to compost.
You can also transfer the liquid into a bucket and paint it onto the leaves with a paintbrush if you don’t want to accidentally kill other plants.
Follow the herbicide manufacturer’s instructions carefully to ensure safe and effective use of the product. If you want to protect nearby plants, use a paintbrush to apply the herbicide to each leaf individually. Throw away the paintbrush after you finish using it.
You can also use newspaper, plastic, cardboard, and hay to cover the area if preferred. Keep in mind that covering the area with mulch or something else will likely kill any grass and other plants that are growing there.
Make sure to use the same precautions when handling poison ivy seedlings as a mature plant, such as wearing long-sleeves, gloves, and closed-toed shoes.
A vine with groups of three pointy leaves, one of which is longer than the two beside it. The leaves are green during the summer and red, yellow, or orange during the fall. No thorns on the stem. Berries, if present, are a greyish-white or cream color. Growing as a vine, ground cover, or large shrub. The prominent characteristics of poison ivy are its coarsely-toothed shiny leaves have three leaflets. The two side leaflets are attached to the midrib by very short stalks. The middle leaflet has a longer stalk. Its leaves can be reddish when young. Poison ivy’s mature vines appear hairy. It has clusters of hard white fruits.
