The Poison Ivy Survey.

The survey is where the real scope becomes clear — before pulling, before pricing, before any decision.

A poison ivy survey is an on-site field assessment. I walk the property, identify the active poison ivy zones, document what I find with photos, and build a custom property map. I write a fixed-price proposal based on the documented scope.

UV tracer dye (non-toxic sodium fluorescein) is available as an optional add-on: I provide it when you request it, and only when conditions allow it to be read accurately and safely, meaning dry ground and foliage and low enough light to see the dye. If conditions don't permit it on the survey date, I'll offer to return for a UV walk when they do. Your Poison Ivy Survey remains the scope record either way.

Most homeowners underestimate the size and maturity of the problem. Young poison ivy looks familiar. Mature poison ivy doesn't. Bigger leaves. Different shape. Sometimes lobed, sometimes smooth-edged. The thick hairy ropes growing up tree trunks? Those are poison ivy too.

During the survey, I'm not just looking for three leaves. I'm confirming growth habit, leaf shape, stem structure, root behavior, and the hairy aerial vines most homeowners miss. Even in winter, the stems and vines can still carry urushiol.

What you don't see is the scope problem. What I find is.

At the end of the survey, we walk the property together. If you requested UV dye and conditions permitted, we'll use UV flashlights and specialty glasses so you see the marked zones. Afterward, I send a custom property map showing the active zones I identified and documented during the survey, along with a fixed-price proposal scoped to the actual work.

The map is yours whether or not you book the removal. Even if you don't go forward with me, you walk away knowing exactly what's on your property.

The survey fee is paid at scheduling. If you approve and sign the proposal within 7 days, the survey fee is credited in full against your final project total. If you decide not to proceed with removal work, the survey fee is non-refundable — it covers the field assessment, photo documentation, custom property map, and fixed-price proposal, all of which are delivered to you regardless of whether you engage removal work. After 7 days, poison ivy has grown enough that the property may need a fresh survey before work begins.

UV tracer dye is an optional add-on: I provide it when you request it, and only when conditions allow it to be read accurately and safely, meaning dry ground and foliage and low enough light to see the dye. If conditions don't permit it on the survey date, I'll offer to return for a UV walk when they do. The survey, property map, and fixed-price proposal are always delivered.

Survey note: The survey fee covers the field assessment, photo documentation, custom property map, and fixed-price proposal. UV tracer dye (non-toxic sodium fluorescein) is available as an optional add-on: I provide it when you request it, and only when conditions allow it to be read accurately and safely, meaning dry ground and foliage and low enough light to see the dye. If conditions don't permit it on the survey date, I'll offer to return for a UV walk when they do. Your Poison Ivy Survey remains the scope record either way.

Before I come out, send 4–6 photos. The setting tells me almost as much as the leaf.

Don't pull, cut, or weed-whack the plant for the photo, even if you think you aren't allergic. Stand back and use your phone zoom if needed.

Request a survey, or contact me directly. Service area: Weston primary; Lincoln, Wayland, Sudbury, and Wellesley case by case.

Read the full hand-pulling case →