That Pesky Poison Ivy!

We've always had poison ivy and poison oak around our property. But, until this year, I could almost tell you the places to stay away from in order not to get into poison ivy around here. But, not this year! Almost everywhere you look or step, you are going to find that pesky little varmint!

I'm one to just go pull up weeds in my flower beds, money grass, or anywhere I see one growing that it shouldn't be, without gloves. But, my husband came in one day and said, "stay away from the front walk in the monkey grass; it's covered with poison ivy. It's also in the flowers containers on the front steps". Well, it's not only there, but in the shrubbery that I occasionally trim, as well as in our flower beds. I've seen it just growing out in the yard! If you don't look close, you'll think it's the small box elder tree plant, which is also very prevalant around our house, since we have a number of those large trees.

Well, I just came across an article today from Associated Press that says global warming is probably the cause of this poison ivy this year. They say the poison ivy grows larger and quicker when the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase.

Duke and Harvard Universities have put out a study on this in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

“The fertilization effect of rising CO2 on poison ivy ... and the shift toward a more allergenic form of urushiol have important implications for the future health of both humans and forests,” the study concludes.

So, be careful, if you are working in your flowers, or trimming shrubbery. Also, campers, bikers, and hikers in the woods need to be especially careful this year. It is said this year's poison ivy is itchier than ever before!

Linked at Conservative Cat
Common Folk Using Common Sense

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