A Hoe Lot of Trouble (28 page)

Sound like too much work? Try cutting the vine back with a pair of clippers at its base. Any branches or leaves left behind need to be gathered up (again, appropriately arm yourself) and thrown away—to the curb, not the compost pile. Continue to cut it back as new sprouts, well, sprout.

If such close contact with the plant gives you the heebies, bring in the big guns—herbicides. Best used in the spring and fall, a few doses of glyphosate or triclopyr, either sprayed or brushed onto the leaves and stem of the poison ivy, will usually kill the vine—and any other shrubs or brush around it, so be careful what you're aiming for.

Or, you can mix and match. Cut the vine back and blast any new sprouts with the herbicide. You might need to repeat the treatment once or twice, but it is highly effective. Please never use salt as an herbicide—it's highly toxic for years after use to all vegetation later planted in that spot, and it can leach into groundwater.

If you're out and out lazy and don't mind a little unsightliness, a tarp thrown over the poison ivy growth will smother it over time. To pretty things up, you can add a nice layer of mulch and a birdbath on top of the covering.

If the poison ivy is in a little-used area, out of danger of accidental brushing up against, and isn't causing any problems, I suggest you leave it be. Honest to goodness, it's actually quite valuable to our wildlife. Its pretty berries and the creepy-crawlies hiding on its vines are a great source of food for birds, and its leaves provide a 24-hour buffet for various forms of four-legged critters, such as deer and goats. Yes, goats—should you have any wandering by.

Above all,
never b
urn poison ivy! The urushiol oil that causes the rash can become airborne and might be inhaled, causing a rash on your lungs that can be deadly. Mowing the vines isn't a good idea either. It just spreads what you're trying to avoid.

Again, be sure not to touch anything after dealing with poison ivy. The allergenic oil can stay present for years on many surfaces, including shoes and garden tools. Always, always, always wash everything, including yourself and your clothes, that comes in contact with poison ivy.

If all else fails, call in the professionals. It's what we're here for. Until then, be careful when you're playing (or spying) in the bushes.

Best wishes for happy gardening,

Nina Quinn

Acknowledgments

My many, many thanks to my writing buddies, Shelley Galloway, Cathy Liggett, Hilda Lindner Knepp, and my long distance buddy Laura Bradford, for their keen eyes and amazing ability to decipher my ramblings.

Thanks as well to my agent Jacky Sach of BookEnds LLC for believing in me, and to Sarah Durand for making me a part of the Avon family.

About the Author

HEATHER WEBBER
writes mysteries in
between running her three children to and from
various sporting and school events, actively
avoiding housework, and wishing someone would
give her backyard a Taken by Surprise makeover.
This native of Massachusetts was uprooted and
transplanted to a little cranny of southwest Ohio
shortly after marrying her high school sweetheart.
She loves her small town and can usually be found
somewhere in the midst of a soccer field or hard at
work on her next Nina Quinn novel.

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This book is a work of fiction. The characters,
incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's
imagination and are not to be construed as real.
Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A HOE LOT OF TROUBLE. Copyright © 2004 by
Heather Webber. All rights reserved under
International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you
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HarperCollins e-books.

eBook Reader October 2007
ISBN 978-0-06-155540-4

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