It runs all the way down, flanking both sides. I pretend it’s a moat for protection. So lush in some places it’s difficult to not touch with your car as you drive along.

  • reddig33@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In Austin, they hired a team of goats to clear out the poison ivy in the park. Evidently they love to eat it.

    • Nepenthe@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      White-tailed deer go apeshit for that stuff, too. We used to carefully pull up clumps of it and hand feed it to this semi-domesticated deer that used to hang out by the local park.

  • dingus@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My dumb ass wouldn’t have known that was poison ivy and would definitely have brushed up against it. You wouldn’t think poison ivy would be so close and abundant next to a road.

    • Nepenthe@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      “Leaves of three, let them be.” But I’m much more used to seeing poison oak than ivy, so my stupid ass stands a chance as well. The worst in my opinion is poison sumac, because I’d never seen it in my life before moving 5 whole hours north and it looked to me like a regular old fern-like plant.

      It was not. What it was was all over my whole face.

      • dingus@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Oh nooo!! Rip you.

        I don’t know anything about plants tbh lol I guess it’s good I don’t go outside

      • Slagathor@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That sucks. Usually poison sumac only grows in very wet areas. I had a dendrology professor who said (paraphrasing) “you’ll know if it’s poison sumac if your feet are wet”. Biology never follows rules though, so who knows.

  • Zelda Goats @lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Did you perhaps intend to post this to Seriously Horrifying? I’d be scurrying down the center of the street, holding my breath for fear of inhaling the plant oils. Yikes.

    • derpo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Man, I just weed whacked some poison ivy last week and some aerosolized plant bits stuck to any exposed flesh on me.

      I’ve learned a powerful lesson. And a lot of self-discipline trying not to scratch

      • zzzz@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Pro-tip, switch to left-handed whacking when there’s poison Ivy. It then flings the noxious juice away from you instead of at your legs. Long-pants also help. And, if you know for sure you screwed up and got some on you, immediately go inside, take a shower, and wash it off with soap.

    • itadakimasu@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Unfortunately it’s just something we have to live with. It has been like this forever, and not only on our street but many adjacent streets. We live in semi-rural Massachusetts. We try to not let it scare us from never going outside. So we walk our streets… carefully. Hasn’t been an issue walking along the streets… yet.

      Can’t say the same thing about yard work though… I’ve gotten bit several times by PI just taking care of the lawn. Yes, I do mow over the PI that’s along our lawns edge. I’m OK 99 times out of 100; but occasionally something goes wrong, lol.

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    1 year ago

    A year ago a bird dropped some poison ivy into my suburban yard. I had no idea what it was, so I bare hand pulled it all up. I ended up at the doctors with it all over my face and body. Amazing all the places you touch on yourself. Luckily none in my eyes or on my sensitive regions… But I now know what poison ivy looks like!

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    1 year ago

    1 gallon of vinegar mixed with a cup of salt and a tablespoon of dish soap. Spray the hell out of all those.

  • ritswd@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In my area they’re alongside roads a lot, and we get the occasional post on NextDoor that shows a picture of a kid with a red and swollen face, and the parents says “OMG my kid was playing with those pretty plants by the road, beware!” It really is not fun. Thankfully, as far as I know, all symptoms eventually recede.

    They’re not just by roads though, a guy I know has a decent amount of land and there was a fairly massive poison ivy bush on it, that he burned in a controlled burn. I wasn’t there, but he showed me the video, it’s quite impressive. There’s also a satisfying feeling to it, it feels like payback against those fuckers! 😉

    • Kalkaline @lemmy.one
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      Burning poison ivy is really risky, you can inhale the burning urushiol and get severe lung problems. Definitely not the way to remove the stuff if you can help it.

      • ritswd@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’ll gladly trust you with it, I have no idea. Hopefully they knew it and found a way to do it safely. I think they contracted a professional for it, so hopeful the professional knew what he was doing.