# what eats poison ivy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653 "2004-12-13T20:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/1 "2004-12-13T20:40:49Z")
What eats poison ivy? I was walking along a trail where I saw a sign warning of poison ivy, and it just got me thinking what it was in nature that prevents the stuff from completely growing everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Boopsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Boopsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boopsie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/2 "2004-12-13T20:42:36Z")
If I remember correctly from the first part of my biology class, deer LOVE it. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/3 "2004-12-13T20:45:45Z")
I also recall that birds like to eat the berries, and then spread that nasty crap around via their droppings. Stupid birds! - Shibb, who is annoyingly allergic to poison ivy and will one day probably no longer have functioning kidneys because of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/4 "2004-12-13T20:46:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Unlike humans, many animals don’t have adverse reactions to poison ivy, according to an expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “In fact, for woodpeckers, warblers, vireos and many other birds, poison ivy’s berries are a preferred food,” says Jim Finley, professor of forest resources. “Deer, black bears, muskrats and rabbits eat the fruit, stems and leaves. For these animals, poison ivy’s eye-catching early-fall color will act as a food marker rather than a poison warning.” [http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/october03/poisonivy.html](http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/october03/poisonivy.html) Even if nothing ate it, it could still be checked by competition with other plants. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/5 "2004-12-13T20:49:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Deer, black bears, muskrats and **rabbits** eat the fruit, stems and leaves. Have yourself a salad … ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/6 "2004-12-13T20:52:22Z")
From [this site](http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/poison_ivy.htm): > [@](#): > > …The flowers will give way to berry-like fruits which are whitish-gray. These fruits are eaten by many birds, raccoons, and other animals. > > Some birds, such as the Northern Cardinal and American Goldfinch, also use thread-like hairs from the Poison Ivy vine to build their nests. screech “who is also very allergic to the nasty stuff and does not eat nor sh!t the berries, and certainly would NOT use it as bedding for the young’uns” -owl ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/7 "2004-12-13T21:03:03Z")
Goats eat poison ivy, poison oak, thistles, stinging nettles, berry vines, and all sorts of other seemingly unpalatable stuff. Keep this in mind, though: **Don’t handle the goats** after they’ve been eating poison ivy. If you stake the goats out in a poison ivy patch, be careful when you move them to their next site. I don’t know if they excrete that nasty oil through their pores, or if they just get it in their fur from brushing against the plants. Either way, though, it’s a good idea not to touch them. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/8 "2004-12-13T21:46:30Z")
I am so fortunately not allergic to poison ivy. I’ve come back from the field and all other 11 guys on my team would be broken out to various degrees. We had obviously walked or slept in tons of the stuff. Me? I wouldn’t have a single hive or rash anywhere on my person. This has happened several times. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/9 "2004-12-13T21:54:06Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > I am so fortunately not allergic to poison ivy. I’ve come back from the field and all other 11 guys on my team would be broken out to various degrees. We had obviously walked or slept in tons of the stuff. Me? I wouldn’t have a single hive or rash anywhere on my person. This has happened several times. :wally I bet you have allergies, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/10 "2004-12-13T22:23:27Z")
Well, duh…little lambs eat ivy. Although the mares and goats apparently eat oats… _runs_ ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/11 "2004-12-14T05:13:49Z")
I vaguely remember there was some thought that the oils on poison oak & ivy might be an adaptation to irritate the stomachs of birds that eat it. Anyone know more about this? If so many birds eat them, it might not be such a great adaptation… ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/12 "2004-12-14T05:28:47Z")
> [@](#): > > yabob: > Have yourself a salad … Thanks all the same, but I’m on a diet. Strictly forbids highly irritant vegetation. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/13 "2004-12-14T11:44:15Z")
> [@rabbit](#): > > What eats poison ivy? [This guy, evidently.](http://www.wwmag.net/pivy.htm) I’m not trying _that_! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/14 "2004-12-14T15:10:01Z")
The only species that seem to be allergic to poison ivy are humans and some of the higher primates. The allergic reaction appears to be an evolutionary accident. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/15 "2004-12-14T15:29:49Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I bet you have allergies, though, right? PI doesn’t cause a rash and I have allergies. What’s the deal? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/16 "2004-12-14T15:32:23Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > **Don’t handle the goats** I actually read this as “Don’t handle the goatse” and had a momentary reaction of “EWWWWWWWWW!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/17 "2004-12-14T16:24:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, duh…little lambs eat ivy. > > Although the mares and goats apparently eat oats… > > _runs_ You are doomed to the depths of Hell, you pervert! No, not for your sexuality – for perpetrating this outrage _before I could_! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/18 "2004-12-14T16:41:46Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > You are doomed to the depths of Hell, you pervert! No, not for your sexuality – for perpetrating this outrage _before I could_! 😛 You know, it’s a singular honor, I think, to be probably the only person **Polycarp** has ever condemned to hell on this message board! I need to start using a sig line again… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/19 "2004-12-15T12:30:28Z")
Poison oak was used among native tribes in California for: - curing warts (the wart was incised and then the resin rubbed in), ringworm, and other skin conditions - stems used to weave baskets - Karok indians used the leaves to wrap soap lily bulbs (Chlorogalum, which are themselves poisonous until cooked) for baking and then eating. - Other tribes would wrap acorn meal in the leaves and bake the loaves. - The sap was often used to dye weaving materials black ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653/20 "2004-12-15T15:50:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > PI doesn’t cause a rash and I have allergies. What’s the deal? I just remember reading somewhere (don’t know how reliable a cite, probably from a doctor or medical thing, so that’s so-so) that if you don’t react to poison ivy then you will have hayfever (pollen allergies), although the reverse is not true (not all people with hayfever don’t react to poison ivy). It’s generally held true with everyone I’ve ever know that isn’t affected by poison ivy (Mrs. Shibb is an example), although that in itself doesn’t make it true. Now I’ll have to see if I can find something to support this. Curse you, **Carnivorousplant**!! Oh, and curse you, **Jayjay** as well, for the song thing. I was actually humming that to myself when I first saw the thread title but didn’t think to write it here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-eats-poison-ivy/279653.md?page=2)