# identifying poison ivy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736 "2011-08-23T02:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/1 "2011-08-23T02:14:18Z")
I apparently have poison ivy in my yard. I pulled a bunch of weeds and plants from in between my bushes. It was late, so I piled them up to bag up the next day. My wife came out and bagged them for the trash pickup. She got creamed by poison ivy. She went to the doctor and he gave her a series of pills and a lotion to rub on. I have been looking to find the poison ivy and pull it out. But I am not exactly sure I can tell what it looks like. I am aware of the leaves of 3 let it be thing, but I am not sure. The plant i think is PI does not look special. How can I be sure. The info on the net does not make me confident I have the right plant. We have ivy on the brick exterior of the house. PI can look like that too. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/2 "2011-08-23T02:18:09Z")
[Here’s a site.](http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view) They’ve got a page of pics of PI and PI look-alikes. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/3 "2011-08-23T02:25:05Z")
Around here, the leaves are usually shinier than other similar plants. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/4 "2011-08-23T02:45:39Z")
The leaves of 3 are “handed”. by that I mean 2 of the leaves are not symmetrical and have an offset like a left and right hand. The middle leaf is symmetrical. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/5 "2011-08-23T03:08:28Z")
Sometimes they are “handed”, sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they are shiney, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are light green, sometimes they are dark green. Identifying poison ivy is very much an experience thing. The center leaf is always an extension of the branch. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/6 "2011-08-23T03:26:41Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Sometimes they are “handed”, sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they are shiney, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are light green, sometimes they are dark green. Identifying poison ivy is very much an experience thing. > > The center leaf is always an extension of the branch. That is what is throwing me. I see the pictures and after awhile, I think everything growing around our house is going to kill us. We have ivy and now I am convinced it is growing in the ivy. There is one plant that looks like classic pictures. I will pull that up tomorrow. that should take care of it forever. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/7 "2011-08-23T03:30:59Z")
Poison ivy doesn’t have tendrils like grapes that hold it up as it grows up stuff. It has hair-like rootlets that grow into the surface it’s growing up. Its vines can get huge and leafless near the ground if they’re old enough. I’ve seen vine three inches in diameter growing up trees with no leaves on the vine except in the canopy of the tree. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/8 "2011-08-23T03:31:52Z")
For God’s sake, don’t burn it. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/9 "2011-08-23T03:47:44Z")
I am immune. My wife is real touchy . She can not go near it. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/10 "2011-08-23T03:50:05Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > For God’s sake, don’t burn it. Amen. I’ve been hit by poison ivy smoke twice, and both times I was in bed for a week with excruciating itching. We have a related plant, poison oak, out here in California. Basically, I’d rip out anything that looks vaguely like PI or PO, or put up a fence so it’s on the _outside_. Good luck ripping it out, though. It’s tough stuff. The vines grow to be very woody, and of course they’re as dangerous as the leaves. To protect yourself further, lay in a supply of Tecnu (you can find it in most drug stores). Bundle yourself head to foot while you’re working in the PI or PO patches, then wash your face and hands with Tecnu immediately afterwards, using **cold** water. AFAIK, Tecnu is alcohol-based. The active ingredient in PI/PO is urushiol, a combination of organic compounds. This stuff is not water soluble, so washing with water won’t get rid of it. The alcohol in Tecnu does dissolve it, though. In a pinch, isopropyl alcohol wipes are effective, too. The Wikipedia article is a good reference. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/11 "2011-08-23T03:56:53Z")
Does it look the same across the country or the world? I am in Michigan, until this year a northern climate, now a hot and humid extension of Florida. I don’t think we get Poison Oak. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/12 "2011-08-23T04:00:51Z")
This time of year a lot of the leaves will start having some red … Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-poison-ivy/593736/13 "2011-08-23T04:43:10Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > This time of year a lot of the leaves will start having some red … Does that help? The suspect I have is all green now, The ivy suspect looks like the ivy except 3 pointed leaves.