Four years ago the Owl noticed some three-leaved vines heading up a couple of white pines in the back yard. Being massively allergic to poison ivy and with an aversion to chemical remedies, what’s a person to do? Call Pesky Pete.

Pete Barron is the owner and operator of Pesky Pete’s Poison Ivy Removal, an organic poison ivy removal company. No chemicals are used to remove the poison ivy–his tools are a pick-ax, shovel, rake, hoe, and garden fork which loosen the dirt, and then vines and roots are removed to a plastic/paper bag. He works in two layers of clothing, goggles and a hood which can be quite startling to see working in the backyard. Pesky Pete’s Poison Ivy Removal Service also has a three times return guarantee–if the poison ivy re-grows in the same place, he will come back and get it.

The Owl caught up with Pete by email–he’s working pretty flat out these days–to ask how business was going:

 “I am thankful to be working and thankful that it is busy, I just wish I could help everyone,” said Pete. “I am currently receiving 5-10 phone call/text requests per day, 5-10 email requests, the messages are full on my phone and we are having a 4 day backlog with emails. Requests are also made through Angie’s, Yelp and now Google. “

That there is the good news–more people seem to be taking a less chemical approach to dealing with unwanted plants–poison ivy is actually a native plant, if you didn’t know, and some birds, like wild turkeys, quite like the berries in cooler weather. There is a fascinating history of poison ivy use in medicine in this article. Not that I expect anyone to change their mind about it–we all just want it gone. Poison ivy lives on the sides of many Weston trails and there are no plans to remove that. Live and let live, and wear long pants.

The bad news is that if you do want to get your poison ivy removed organically, you’ll need to wait…probably until next year.

“I’m now booking new work for spring 2022, with a couple of half days left this year to cover return visits for missed poison ivy. We have a three-month wait to stop by for an estimate and will sell out for next year before the end of the summer.”

Pete mentioned that most other organic poison ivy removal companies are finding an increase in demand. While the Owl can only recommend Pete who is entertaining as well as effective, a little search around google may find you a solution.

Support small business…and avoid those chemicals.