I consider myself verrrry lucky to have never had a poison ivy rash. This may be because I’m woefully inadequate at identifying plants while I tromp around in the great Northwoods and manage to avoid the poison ivy by sheer dumb luck, or . . . I may just not be tromping around the woods enough. Poison ivy doesn’t just grow in the woods, though, and for those of you with poison ivy in your yards or gardens, it’s probably important that you get rid of the plants before you, your children, your friends, or your pets (wait, are animals allergic to poison ivy?) develop a rash. Getting rid of poison ivy requires a bit of work (you have to kill all parts of plant and remove all of the roots) and a lot of protection (cover your skin, your face, your mouth, etc.) but something tells me you’ll be glad you did it once all the poison ivy is gone for good.