7 Steps to Getting Rid of Poison Ivy ...

By Chelsie

Getting rid of poison ivy in your yard is important because of the serious reactions it causes. Rashes from poison ivy can be quite painful and serious. While most can be treated at home, some can become so bad that a doctor’s visit is necessary. If you have poison ivy in your yard, you need to pull it up so people don’t accidently come in contact with it and get rashes. While getting rid of poison ivy in your yard can seem like a daunting task, taking your time and following some specific steps will make the process go much more smoothly.

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1

Know How to Spot Poison Ivy

The first step to getting rid of poison ivy is knowing how to identify it. Poison ivy is a vine that has groups of three pointy leaves. The leaves are larger at the base, and the middle leaf is slightly longer. Remembering the rhyme, “leaves of three, let it be,” can be really helpful when you are trying to spot poison ivy.

2

Wear Protective Clothing

Once you spot poison ivy with its distinctive three leaves, you need be sure to wear protective clothing before you try to get rid of it. It is important to wear long sleeves, pants, socks, and tennis shoes. You also need to wear a good pair of gloves. This may seem like a lot of clothes for the summer, but you don’t want your skin coming in contact with any of the poison ivy.

3

Spray Poison Ivy with Herbicide

After you have all your protective clothing on, you should spray the plant with an herbicide that specifically kills poison ivy. Follow the instructions on the bottle for spraying, then wait an appropriate amount of time to allow the herbicide time to kill the poison ivy before you pull it up.

4

Dig out the Roots

Once the poison ivy is dead it is time to pull it up. You need to wear protective clothing again just in case some survived. To pull up the poison ivy, you should dig down and get the roots out. This will help prevent it from returning. As you are pulling up the poison ivy, be careful not to let it come in contact with your skin, as some of it could still be alive.

5

Throw Away

You may be tempted to burn the poison ivy after you are finished digging it up, but that is one thing you don’t want to do. Burning poison ivy releases the poisonous chemicals into the air, which can cause severe breathing problems. Therefore, you should put your poison ivy in heavy duty trash bags for the garbage people to collect.

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6

Cover Area Where the Poison Ivy Grew

To prevent the poison ivy from coming back, cover the ground where it grew with a cardboard box. You can also use mulch or a tarp. You just want something that will keep the area covered. Whatever you choose, make sure it is secure and won’t blow away.

7

Wash up

The final step to getting rid of poison ivy is to carefully wash up. Because there could be oil from leaves on your clothes that can cause a rash, you need to wash your clothes. After throwing your clothes in the washer, you should jump in the shower and wash up. If you happen to have gotten any poison ivy on you, the sooner you wash up, the less likely you are to have a serious problem.

While there are several steps to getting rid of poison ivy, it is important to follow all of them. Following these steps will help keep you from getting a rash as you are ridding your yard of poison ivy, and no one wants a poison ivy rash. Have you ever had poison ivy in your yard?

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