All city trails are completely open although poison ivy has been found a little too close for comfort to some of them.
"If you stay on the trail you will be totally safe," said Dave Beaton, the city's supervisor of trails and natural area stewardship.
So far the city has treated poison ivy that was either on or getting too close to trails in three city parks: Mitchell Woods, Kortright Hills and Norm Jary.
None of the trails in Guelph are closed. One, Mitchell Woods, has a portion of the trail narrowed by protective fencing where poison ivy was found on the trail. It is still passable.
Trails are closed briefly before, during and after spraying, Beaton said.
Poison ivy has always existed off the trail, Beaton said, but when it gets too close to the trails the city treats it with a pesticide. They are being a little more proactive about publicizing their efforts this year to help encourage people to use the trails.
"It does seem to have spread more vigorously than in previous years," said Beaton, referring to existing patches of poison ivy the city already knew about.
He said the goal isn't to eliminate poison ivy in its natural habitat, just to protect those using the trails by dealing with it if it spreads too close.
Beaton urged people to familiarize themselves with what poison ivy looks like ("leaves of three, leave it be") and to be cautious of pets wandering off the trail.
"It's very advantageous for people to be able to identify it on their own," Beaton said.
It is the oil off the poison ivy leaf that causes the rash and pets can transfer that oil via their fur.
The type of poison ivy common around Guelph's trails tends to be the low-spreading shrub variety, Beaton said, although they did come across a homemade bench near the Mitchell Woods trail that was covered in poison ivy.
For more information or to report poison ivy at a city park call 519-837-5626 or email [email protected].
