Poison Ivy

Hover over images for detail:
Poison ivy, English ivy and Japanese honeysuckle

Most people recognize the three leaves of poison ivy. If you need a reminder, google search the name with “images” to see hundreds of photos.

Poison ivy in winter

This picture was taken in winter. Here you’ll see root hairs that attach the vine to the tree but no leaves, since poison ivy is deciduous. English or common ivy is evergreen, and also produces root hairs as the vine matures but leaves are present yearlong. Notice that the vine is starting to encircle the foot of the tree. Carefully cut it with a limb saw, remove and dispose of this portion and extract as much of the root as possible.

Tall, Red Poison Ivy May 1, 2024

While poison ivy is native to Long Island,  with climate change poison ivy is exploding throughout the Northeast, as described in NPR’s story “Why Poison Ivy Loves Climate Change”. By May the new growth may be two to three feet tall with three small red leaflets at the top. This is the time to remove the tall vines and runners.

If allergic to the leaves of poison ivy you’ll want to protect yourself from the vines by wearing long gloves, a long sleeve shirt, long pants, and eye protection when attempting to remove any other types of vines, such as English ivy and winter creeper. Use the same methods and tools as you would for removing English ivy.
Be sure to wash off and to clean your tools when done. But first apply a skin cleaner such as TECNU to remove poison ivy urushiol oils whenever encountering any part of the plant. For those who are highly sensitive to traces of oil on clothing, Martha Stewart gives good advice on her website.