Don’t Burn This Plant After Pulling It From Your Yard

Pulled poison ivy should never go into a fire because burning the plant can release urushiol into smoke and create a serious breathing hazard. Handle dried vines and leaves carefully, protect exposed skin, and dispose of the plant safely – Shutterstock

Poison ivy may look like just another annoying weed once it comes out of the ground, but there is one thing it absolutely should not become: firewood. Burning poison ivy can send urushiol, the oily compound that causes its infamous rash, into the smoke and straight into the air around anyone nearby. That turns a yard cleanup job into a potentially serious breathing hazard, and the danger does not disappear simply because the plant has been yanked out of the soil.

The tricky part comes after the satisfying pull. A gardener might naturally think, “Great, now into the burn pile it goes,” especially when the plant looks wilted, dried out, or thoroughly defeated. Unfortunately, dead poison ivy still contains urushiol, so the plant can remain a problem long after it stops looking like a living green menace.