Do You Know What Poison Ivy Looks Like?

Sometimes when I say, "Watch out for the poison ivy!" I may get a response something along the lines of, "Okay, I'll try, but I don't really know what it looks like." Yikes! You need to know what this stuff is or you may be in for a big surprise!

It's light-colored in this pic, but comes in all shades.

Do a Google image search or use your favorite search engine to find pictures of poison ivy. Study it. See if there are different varieties of it. Then remember what it looks like and avoid it! Also show it to others and teach your siblings or kids what it looks like. Summer is upon us and getting an itchy rash can be quite a nuisance.

     If you realize that you did get into some poison ivy, wash your skin (or clothing) very well with soap. It is the oils that irritate the skin, so you want to wash off all the oils as soon as possible, before you break out in a rash. Washing off the oils, or washing "just to be on the safe side" if you are unsure you came in contact with it, can be a good preventative.

     It can also often be confused with other plants that aren't actually poison ivy.

The above is poison ivy, but the rest aren't.

Looks similar, but has 5 leaves when mature, 3 leaves when still young.

Yummy!

The plant inside the green circle is a baby raspberry plant, the leaves on the right, outside of the circle, are poison ivy. Click on this picture to see a bigger version and to be able to study it better. The raspberry's leaves are toothed, whereas the poison ivy is a bit smoother.

     What are some other plants you know of that people sometimes confuse with poison ivy? The plants will vary depending on your region.

Here are some great blogs that I'm linking up with today!