When it comes to poison ivy exposure, what better way to prevent exposure than to be familiar with the plant so you can avoid it? It may be tough at first to recognize poison ivy since it can grow almost anywhere.
This plant usually grows as shrubs or as vines climbing on any support like tree trunks and branches.
There are three easily identifiable parts of theplant: the leaves, the vines/stem and the flowers and berries.
To recognize poison ivy, its leaves are usually trifoliate with three almond shape leaflets.
They have shiny, bright green leaves.
Since they are usually trifoliate, the leaves occur in threes with one leaf at the end and two leaves opposite each other at the stem.
The leaves may be orange in color while in the fall leaves may turn red.
The stems of this plant are woody while the vines have aerial roots.
This enable to vines to cling to anything that will support it.
The aerial roots also make the stem appear hairy which has become a common way of recognizing this plant.
Depending on the season, it may have yellowish-green flowers or greenish -white berries.
Some animals can eat these berries and excrete the seeds causing the plant to multiply and grow almost anywhere.
Once you have recognized poison ivy or need to be in a location where it may be present, make sure you do the following: • Wear protective clothing.
The lesser skin you expose, the lesser the chance that you will be exposed to poison ivy.
• Apply any preventive medicine, cream or ointment for poison ivy.
• Do not touch your face and eyes with gloves or any other piece of clothing that may have come on contact with the plant.
• Control the plant with herbicides designed specifically for this type of plant.
In the end, proper prevention of poison ivy exposure comes down to you.
Make sure you remember the descriptions above to recognize the plants and you should be able to avoid them without any problems.
Also ensure that you take all precautionary measures when entering areas where the existence of the plant has been confirmed or there is any possibility of them being there.
Take time to educate relatives and friends on how to identify the plant, especially kids, who are more prone to going out exploring in the woods.