Plant ID Help... Poison Ivy?

Dsnow9

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
3,598
Location
Colorado
So full disclaimer, I grew up in the mountains of colorado and knew about poison ivy but never crossed paths with it, that I know of until I set up my turkey blind this spring. When I set up my turkey blind it looked like this...

B62E694A-45B8-4E66-831B-B31938A3A0E3.jpeg

I cut out all of the undergrowth, what I thought were a bunch of small saplings. And sure enough, a few days later I was covered in poison ivy. I wasn’t sure where I picked it up but knew it was around.

And now for the reveal, my FIL pulled the blinds today when he was on the property and said he thought he found the culprit....

E6212214-0201-4C64-93B5-611ED5DC33A3.jpegFB1BB755-A800-4017-82A3-9458D5F02BE2.jpegA1CDB14B-BC10-4F16-9400-7D58825D6689.jpeg

No wonder the turkeys wouldn’t get close to my blind this year. That is a learning experience I won’t forget. Now for the task of cleaning the blind so I don’t get another round of it.
 
Last edited:
I can't say for sure. I are up around poison ivy/poison oak/poison sumac in the Midwest. Your pictures show something I would avoid. If get a rash, do to touch eyes or the jewels then wash the irritated area with soap and water because the oil residue is what allows ivy to "spread" on your body. Steroid shot can help if a bad reaction.

 
yep that’s definitely the good stuff. Just remember “leaves of 3, leave it be”. I get poison ivy so bad that i have mostly given up turkey and mushroom hunting. its not fun when ur whole body gets a rash.
 
Yep, all those nice little straight vertical sticks in a bunch before they've leafed out, sorry for your misfortune. I grew up in the thick of poison oak country but am not allergic to it while my brothers and buddies had it all the time, it was hard to be humble and not laugh at them. I keep daring myself to rub a little poison ivy on my arm to see if my good luck holds, just can't bring myself to do it though...
 
That first picture of the blind with all the greenery in the foreground makes my skin crawl to look at it.
 
Yep, all those nice little straight vertical sticks in a bunch before they leaf out, sorry for your misfortune. I grew up in the thick of poison oak country but am not allergic to it while my brothers and buddies had it all the time, it was hard to be humble and not laugh at them. I keep daring myself to rub a little poison ivy on my arm to see if my good luck holds, just can't bring myself to do it though...
Worst I ever got it was camping at El Cap, in your old stomping grounds. It was everywhere. We were camped over Labor Day weekend and I had to start my first week of sixth grade going to school with my right eye swollen shut. There was this girl in my class that I’d lined over all summer, and after that week she called me Quasimodo for the rest of the year.

I hate poison oak.
 
Yep, all those nice little straight vertical sticks in a bunch before they've leafed out, sorry for your misfortune. I grew up in the thick of poison oak country but am not allergic to it while my brothers and buddies had it all the time, it was hard to be humble and not laugh at them. I keep daring myself to rub a little poison ivy on my arm to see if my good luck holds, just can't bring myself to do it though...
I can bring you some sticks! Setting up the blind I cut a hundred or so out to ground level and cleared them all out without gloves on. Nothing like high concentrations of oil straight to bare skin. I set that blind on 4/25 and can still see remains of the worst areas even though it stopped itching a few weeks ago.
 
Worst I ever got it was camping at El Cap, in your old stomping grounds. It was everywhere. We were camped over Labor Day weekend and I had to start my first week of sixth grade going to school with my right eye swollen shut. There was this girl in my class that I’d lined over all summer, and after that week she called me Quasimodo for the rest of the year.

I hate poison oak.

In grade school my buddy David insisted to everyone he was immune, and to prove it he made a bouquet of poison oak and rubbed it all over his arms and legs, and naturally since it was on his hands it also got applied to more sensitive areas. The rash he got was so bad he missed a week of school and had permanent scars on his arms...guess he either had the allergy and had never really been exposed, or his immunity ran out
 
In grade school my buddy David insisted to everyone he was immune, and to prove it he made a bouquet of poison oak and rubbed it all over his arms and legs, and naturally since it was on his hands it also got applied to more sensitive areas. The rash he got was so bad he missed a week of school and had permanent scars on his arms...guess he either had the allergy and had never really been exposed, or his immunity ran out
I’d going to assume that, prior to making/becoming intimate with his Satan Bouquet, he demanded someone hold his beer?
 
I used to work with a guy that would get it if he saw it And never came in contact with it. I thought he was lying until I witnessed it for myself.
 
So full disclaimer, I grew up in the mountains of colorado and new about poison ivy but never crossed paths with it, that I know of until I set up my turkey blind this spring. When I set up my turkey blind it looked like this...

View attachment 142723

I cut out all of the undergrowth, what I thought were a bunch of small saplings. And sure enough, a few days later I was covered in poison ivy. I wasn’t sure where I picked it up but knew it was around.

And now for the reveal, my FIL pulled the blinds today when he was on the property and said he thought he found the culprit....

View attachment 142724View attachment 142725View attachment 142726

No wonder the turkeys wouldn’t get close to my blind this year. That is a learning experience I won’t forget. Now for the task of cleaning the blind so I don’t get another round of it.
Yep, that's it for sure. Keep in mind that poison ivy can also grow as a vine on a tree trunk. My cousin learned about that after he shinneyed up just such a tree.
 
Yep, all those nice little straight vertical sticks in a bunch before they've leafed out, sorry for your misfortune. I grew up in the thick of poison oak country but am not allergic to it while my brothers and buddies had it all the time, it was hard to be humble and not laugh at them. I keep daring myself to rub a little poison ivy on my arm to see if my good luck holds, just can't bring myself to do it though...
Don't do, I have a buddy that got it for the first time at the age of 62. We had the perfect tree for a tree stand but you couldn't go anywhere near it because the tree and ground was completely covered in it. He said no problem I'm not allergic. Yep he wound up at the docs a few days later all swollen up like one giant rash.
 
I get exposed almost every year. It grows like a carpet many places I bowhunt in IA. A hot shower with dishsoap helps get it off my skin, then deep water hot cycle washing machine with Tide for any clothes, bedsheets and seat covers exposed.
 
Back
Top