[P-Train]

Since my forman and other laborer have left me within the last few months I’ve been using temp help.

I started just using anyone but that wasn’t working very well so I went to a Hispanic temp business. Production is way up.

These guys didn’t know what poison ivy was. One Hispanic guy that worked for me for a few months got so bad he had blisters on top of blisters. I’ve never seen it so bad.

The office manager at the temp business said it didn’t grow in Mexico and that their immune systems are not ready for it.

I can’t believe it doesn’t grow there.

So, I’ve been educating the workers on what it looks like and what it does. Hopefully it will save someone a hard time.

[Bill Schwab]

P train:

It grows in Baja, and it grows here. Maybe just not around the state they came from in Mexico. Keep a box of baking soda in your truck glove box and if they get into it just wet it down and rub it over the area. Works well.

[Stonehenge]

"Leaves of three, let it be." Not sure what that'd be in Spanish - maybe Aztlan can help with the translation.

[VoodooChile]

Horticopia gives Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans ) a range from Canada to Guatemala, zone 5A to 9A, which gets you well into Mexico.

The best product we've found to remove and soothe is Ivy Off, details here. It is even effective after exposure. We give every new hire a bottle, and keep one in the first aid kit for on-site cleanup. The faster you scrub off the oil, the better.

There is a very good chance your help is being re-exposed by their boots, the truck steering wheel, shovel handles...any surface that could have come in contact with the plant could have and retain the oil for weeks. P-train, you'll need to wash down all your equipment that was used at the suspected site to prevent continued exposure. Your help should scrub their boots and belts, toss their leather gloves, etcetera.

The only problem with the "leaves of three, let it be" maxim is that loads of plants have three leaflets, like Boxelder, Bindweed, and Clematis.

Oddly enough, I used to take, but haven't for years. I still manage to give it to my woman though, a one way ticket to a week on the couch!

[jwholden]

If you see virginia creeper in the woods poison ivy isn't too far behind!