country living... bug bites

[Cocre]

Of course. Chiggers burrow in and a spot of nail polish cut off the air to the chigger and it suffocated. Or at least that was the theory, so my mother used that method, too. You hoped she had some clear nail polish 'cause it could be embarrassing to go to school with little red spots showing.

Another home remedy was a bath in a tub of water with some bleach in it, but I don't recall the ratio; i.e., how much bleach.

Used to use nail polish or a product called Chigger Rid. Never worked. The Internet will tell you that chiggers do not burrow in, at least not long term.

Smimming in a clorinated pool always quickened the return to normal for me, but it always took a few days to ease the itch no matter what.

The chiggers is SC are many, but the bites are small and they typically stay low. The ones in VA will leave a large welt and aim for the crotch.

 

[dmccarty]

I agree dmccarty , I dont go along with some of the info as well. I,ve never had them above My knees . I,ve allways sat on the edge of the tub when I came in & applied bleach with a wash rag ( Which They said is a myth ) . It seemed to take care of them rather quicklly & not much itch after the fact. But you have to catch it Pretty quick from coming in from out doors .

Also keep You clothes seperate untill there washed real good . I also spray My jeans & socks with deet & eat plenty of garlic. . I haven,t had a problem in quite sometimes . Bob

Its interesting that people use bleach. I talked to a man that runs a backhoe service and he will sit in a tub with water and bleach to remove the chiggers.

My work clothes get taken off outside and left there for a few days to let any ticks/chiggers move on. Then they get washed by them selves.

The first time I was a chigger victim we tried the nail polish. Did not do squat.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Dan, either your chiggers are much larger than ours or your eyesight is much better than mine, because I can not see our chiggers without a magnifying glass.

If I wear my almost white work pants I can sorta easily see the chiggers. They look like very fine ground black pepper.

When we were looking for land we found out about a place that was for sale. At the time property went under contract FAST. If you did not get a contract on the place in the first few days after the place went on the market you had no chance. I was at work and heard about this land. So after work I drove out to check the place out. I was wearing shorts and no socks. The land was 10-20 acres sorta in a subdivision. A lot next to the land for sale had been clear cut to put in pasture. I walked the clear cut to get a view of the land. There was an old dirt road the obviously went into the land for sale. But it was full of vetch which I call Tick Weed. If you walk through that stuff you will be covered in ticks and chiggers...

I talked to the owners of the clear cut and then another neighbor showed up and we had a chat. I was strongly encouraged to go see what was "down the road" So I went. The man selling but who did not legally own the land, yes you read that right, had lived on the place in a shack and and old school bus. The bus was still on the land along with 55 gallon drums, old batteries, old cars, old boats, dozens of chicken cages, garbage, etc.

The guy was using the chicken gages to raise rabbits to eat and sell. So we called him Rabbit Man.

Back to chiggers. After meeting a third neighbor and seeing a new expensive fence that was in the middle of the woods and did not enclose anything I left. About 15 miles down the road I looked down at my very white legs and saw the chigger swarms. Little bits of black pepper.

I stopped at first gas station and spent $5 on the last can of Off which I promptly emptied on my legs. Too late. It was the worse chigger attack I have ever had. They had already tore me up.

They ain't easy to see but if you have white legs or light colored clothes they can be seen. If I am wearing my denim overalls I can't see them.

Later,
Dan