A couple years ago, I volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity house building project. If you’ve never been a part of a Habitat build, it’s an amazing project: in 8 weeks, volunteers gather to build new home for a family. It’s not a free home — the new homeowners pay for their home with their own “sweat equity” and a low-interest loan. Volunteers help build the homes right alongside the homeowners. I’ve volunteered at several Habitat builds over the years and it has been one of the biggest blessings of my volunteer life.
This may be an unusual preamble to learning about poison ivy, but there is a connection: it’s not uncommon to find poison ivy growing at building sites. At this particular build in an older neighborhood, I found poison ivy growing alongside its evil partner, English ivy, on the edges of the lot. While I was on site, I made sure to show the new homeowner, who had young children, how to identify poison ivy.
It’s true that not everyone is sensitive to urushiol, the resin found in poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. But if you are, you’re miserable when you’re exposed to it. Read on to discover how to identify poison ivy and how to minimize problems with poison ivy.
Leaves of Three, Let it Be
The adage “leaves of three, let it be” is key to identifying poison ivy.
Poison ivy has three leaves, with the middle leaf having a slightly longer stem. The leaves can appear shiny when they emerge in spring. In fall, the foliage turns a pretty red color. Don’t let the fall foliage fool you — poison ivy is still potent late in the season.
Poison ivy vine grows in part sun and shady areas, often on the edge of woods. The vines scramble up trees and the sides of houses. Older poison ivy vines look “hairy,” with tiny roots that extend off the vine. Note: all parts of poison ivy can contain urushiol, the substance that makes you itch. Stay away from touching the vine as well as the foliage.
Tip: You can always verify poison ivy through an app like Google Lens or Apple photo id.
Poison Ivy Lookalike: Virginia Creeper
Virginia creeper is a native plant that grows in similar conditions to poison ivy. It likes to grow on the edge of woods, climbing up trees and houses. It even grows alongside poison ivy. However, Virginia creeper’s plant parts don’t have urushiol and will not cause a skin reaction.
The easiest way to tell the difference between the two vines is that Virginia creeper has five leaves and poison ivy has three. Pretty simple, right? The confusion comes early in the season when Virginia creeper’s leaves unfurl — at first it looks like three leaves, then two smaller leaves emerge at the the base of the compound leaf for a total of 5 leaves.
In the photo above, you can see how how small those extra leaves are. It’s easy to miss them early in the season.
How to Prevent (or Lessen) Poison Ivy Exposure
The number one rule for dealing with poison ivy is to not be exposed in the first place. This means being smart when you’re outdoors in wooded areas. If you’re clearing brush, consider that you’re likely to be exposed to it. For this reason, always wear long sleeves, long pants, socks and gloves while doing this kind of work. Be mindful of touching your face with your gloved hands.
When you’re finished working, or hiking, or whatever, carefully remove your clothes and wash them in the hottest water possible. You may even want to wash them twice. Go for it. Poison ivy exposure is no joke.
Keep in mind that urushiol may stay on your work boots and leather work gloves. Clean them both with a mild solution of liquid laundry detergent and water. Use a brush to remove debris. Be sure to wear nitrile or latex gloves to protect your hands while you clean.
Identifying poison ivy plants in all seasons is the best preventive step. If you’re sensitive to urushiol, or your children are, the next best step is, after outdoors activities in wooded areas, particularly in summer, always assume that there’s been some exposure. Remove clothes, promptly and carefully. Wash hands immediately in hot water with soap. Wash clothes immediately in hot water.
And when you have the opportunity to show someone what poison ivy looks like, do it. You’ve probably saved them from a painful encounter.
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