Ugh! I was making great progress clearing a back garden bed. The I saw it. Poison Ivy!!!!!

[Siwsan]

I actually had contact with some yesterday and rinsed my arms with vinegar. BUT I missed a section on my wrist and now I have 3 blisters.

I refilled the 'Brush Kill' and gave the PI a good dousing. And I need to refill my spray bottle of vinegar that I keep in my gardening basket. One year I really got into a mess and had blisters all over my arms and legs. Then someone told me about the preventative vinegar spray that you just occasionally use, whether you see one of those evil 3 leaf plants or not. Because, let's face it. Sometimes they can be right in front of you but you don't pay attention. Well, that applies to me, anyway.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Also, if you have pets, they may have ran through the ivy too, make sure you are careful w/ handling

them, give them a brief washing down. I hope that you get over the ivy quickly!

[Freddie]

2. This

My grandson gets poison ivy if he goes near it, and I think he got it from their indoor/outdoor cat. Further proof that cats (except feral of course) belong inside!

[Siwsan]

3. My kidcats are indoors. Always. But I'll remember that with the ferals

I don't pick them up but some of them do brush up against me.

[usonian]

4. Poison Oak on the west coast.

[Duncanpup]

5. I'm itching reading this.

[elleng]

6. UGH!

Glad haven't run into any here, but DID when lived in DC, on our back porch.

[SWBTATTReg]

7. Another safeguard w/ the poison ivy, other irritant plants, if you burn them out (you're

in a rural area where you can burn it out), don't stand downwind from the fire/smoke, otherwise, you'll catch it since the smoke fumes do carry the ivy irritants too. I caught poison ivy that way, and the other dumb way I caught poison oak was trying to pull it off the trees when we were clearing my grandma's property (I was a teenager then). As most DUers have said, best bet is to avoid it all together.