Avoid These Common House Plants to Avoid Checking into An Animal Hospital in Alexandria

by | Mar 9, 2017 | Animal Hospital

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A simple way to enhance any room in a house is to add a house plant. House plants are common because they are great decorations, certain plants can help with air quality, and they make fantastic gifts for any occasion. Most people often think of plants as being relatively harmless because they are a natural enhancement to a room or landscape, but certain ones are dangerous to pets. Here are a few common house plants to keep away from pets to avoid an unnecessary trip to an animal hospital in Alexandria.

One very common house plant that is dangerous to pets is the aloe vera plant. This is a type of succulent plant that has many health benefits to humans. The leaves can be used as a lotion on the skin to relieve pain from sunburns and other burns. People often cut the leaves directly off the plant and apply the gel that is stored in the leaves onto the skin. Even though this house plant is beneficial to humans, it can cause diarrhea and vomiting when pets eat the leaves.

Another common house plant to be aware of is the lucky bamboo plant. This plant is often found in flower shops and gifts shops and is commonly given as a house warming gift to new homeowners. What surprises most people is that this plant is called bamboo, but is not really bamboo. Real bamboo is not toxic to animals, but the lucky bamboo plant is actually a lily plant and all varieties of lily plants are toxic to animals.

While those two plants are common all year round, the holiday season is a time to be extra vigilant about toxic plants. A few common plants to watch out for are holly found on wreaths, mistletoe plants, poinsettias and even the branches of Christmas trees.

It is unreasonable to expect pet owners to eliminate their house of all toxic house plants. Pet owners simply need to either do plenty of research to make sure certain plants won’t be toxic to their animals or keep the potentially toxic plants out of the reach of their pets. Being mindful of these potential hazards to pets can really help pet owners avoid unnecessary trips to an animal hospital in Alexandria.

Browse our website for more information on toxic house plants.