Stay on marked trails at all times. Damage to plant life can be caused be leaving marked trails. Do not pick, remove or eat any flowers, mushrooms or plants. Do not release plants or animals into the environment. Respect animal habitats by keeping your distance.
Poison Ivy is a versatile plant, and usually grows as a vine on trees, rock walls, or buildings. If there is no such support nearby, poison ivy will grow as a small bush or  shrub. Poison ivy has a number of relatives which can cause an identical rash on sensitive persons. This group includes poison oak, poison sumac, the cashew tree, the mango (mango fruit, not the green pepper), and the fruit of the Ginkgo tree.
A typical poison ivy leaf is made up of three leaflets, all joined together to a common stalk. The leaflet stems at the point where they join are often colored slightly reddish (but not always). The leaflets may have toothed edges (as in poison oak) or may be smooth. Grape-like clumps of greenish, then white berries appear in mid-summer, and in fall the leaves turn an attractive orange-yellow or red.
Be able to identify poison ivy and Wear a long-sleeved shirt, button your collar and stuff your trouser cuffs into the tops of your socks to prevent contact. Avoiding the plant all together is the best strategy.
See our "Leaves of 3 Let It Be!" page for additional details on poison ivy.
 Use insect repellent to help ward off mosquitos and other insects. Be sure to protect yourself from wood ticks, carriers of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and deer ticks, carriers of Lyme disease. Deer ticks thrive in woods and fields with tall, dense grass. Apply insect repellent, suited for warding off deer ticks, as directed. Wear a long-sleeved shirt, button your collar and stuff your trouser cuffs into the tops of your socks. Wear light-colored clothing to better see if any ticks have attached to your clothes. Examine your clothing and skin frequently for ticks and also check your pets. Ticks prefer warm, moist areas, so pay particular attention to inspecting your groin, armpits and scalp. Carefully remove any attached tick immediately with tweezers. You may also want to preserve it in a small bottle of alcohol should symptoms appear later. Symptoms can be flu-like and some victims suffer a red, bull's-eyelike rash with a clear center around the site of a tick bite. Not all deer ticks carry Lyme disease, but if you suspect you've been bitten, contact your doctor. Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics, and patients can recover fully if treated early.
|
