Re: poison ivey,oak and sumac

[lkinsky@silcom.com (Lynn Kinsky)]

>I just stay as far away from that stuff as I possibly can....and I don't
>cut it back, not even fully clothed from head to foot.  Anybody who
>does....to quote my brother, "Just doesn't have enough respect for it."
>
>BTW:  If you happen to be one of those people who "has no reaction to
>poison oak/ivy" well....just you wait.  It is a developed allergy so the
>more you get into it, the worse it gets when you do get into it.
>
>I have found that the safest way to get rid of this stuff is with some
>kind of weed killer, like Roundup.  And this is just the time of year it
>is most effective.
>
>kat

If there weren't some of us willing to risk our epidermis there would be a
lot fewer Rides and cleared trail in the central coast of California, where
poison oak is the dominant weed in wooded areas, and is tangled in branches
and other brush.  (It takes a lot of Roundup to clear even a few miles of
trail, even if the property owner (private or government) would let you!)
There are miles and miles of trail for both of our NATRC rides here in
Santa Ynez where I have to clip our ribbons (on clothespins) to poison oak
simply because there is nothing else to clip to (the good news is that the
ribbons are generally left alone).

I'm one of those fortunate people that is pretty non-reactive -- only if my
skin is abraded, like from a nasty piece of willow whipping across my face,
have I ever gotten poison oak -- but I still make it a point to strip all
contaminated clothing and put it in the washer when I get home, and slather
Tecnu cleanser all over any part of me that might have been exposed. I
usually will try to bathe my horse as well since he has been thrashing
through the bushes and is covered with the oil and can recontaminate me,
but the horses themselves don't seem to react to poison oak -- in fact,
they seem to find it a rather tasty treat!


-- Lynn K. (Santa Ynez, CA)
   http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky