Q: Eight months ago, I cut down a dead pine sapling that had a gigantic hairy poison ivy vine on it. I have rented a chipper to chip branches. Does the poison ivy vine still contain its poisonous oil or does it lose its toxicity?

A: Although the allergic oil in a poison ivy vine eventually decomposes, I can’t guarantee that someone who is highly reactive wouldn’t get the itchy bumps if you spread chips that contain poison ivy pieces in spots where pets or humans congregate. Life is full of choices though. If you are not very allergic and promise to keep the chips away from people and pets, I could see a situation where chipping the ivy would be okay.