Question:
Harrrgh, harrrgh! Think I’ve got the answer, they must be the fifth lesser cousin removed from the Gran daddy of them all, namely the Scottish Midge. <Leaves stage left in screaming terror, to fetch garlic and paraffin (kerosene) dip, big mallet, two sweaters, waders, long woolly ears flaps and a can of "Grans Homebrewed Patent Fart Gas">. Please kindly don’t ban this contributor until you’ve heard the rest of his – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> At the risk of sounding like a total idiot, what are chiggers and how do > you know if you have them. I live in Michigan and have heard of them all > my life but I don’t know what they are. If someone would be so kind as > to enlighten me It will be greatly appreciated. But please, don’t try to > tell me a snipe hunting story!<G> > Thanks > ALadyolafs…Tammy > …and miles to go before I sleep. > —Robert Frost > I am sure you don’t want to meet any. I live in the U.P. of Michigan > and have never run in to any in Michigan but I remember a trip to > Arkansas mainly from the chigger experience. I have never seen one > because they are so small they are all but invisible to the naked eye > but there results are quite obvious. They burrow into your skin and > live there leaving itching irritated bumps that sometime become > infected. They itch more than any bug we have in Michigan that I know > of and are much more persistent. I don’t want to say more about what > part of the anatomy they prefer other than to say they love warm damp > areas ick. > — > http://members.tripod.com/~MichaelMiller/http_Wilderness_Furnishings_
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> At the risk of sounding like a total idiot, what are chiggers and how do > you know if you have them. I live in Michigan and have heard of them all > my life but I don’t know what they are. If someone would be so kind as > to enlighten me It will be greatly appreciated. But please, don’t try to > tell me a snipe hunting story!<G> > Thanks > ALadyolafs…Tammy > …and miles to go before I sleep. > —Robert Frost
I am sure you don’t want to meet any. I live in the U.P. of Michigan and have never run in to any in Michigan but I remember a trip to Arkansas mainly from the chigger experience. I have never seen one because they are so small they are all but invisible to the naked eye but there results are quite obvious. They burrow into your skin and live there leaving itching irritated bumps that sometime become infected. They itch more than any bug we have in Michigan that I know of and are much more persistent. I don’t want to say more about what part of the anatomy they prefer other than to say they love warm damp areas ick. — http://members.tripod.com/~MichaelMiller/http_Wilderness_Furnishings_
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Sorry T-man…there’s not much you can do ’bout chiggerzzz! They are >sometimes put off by insect repellants, but more often than not don’t >care what you smell like. They do love tight warm places though, so >the elastic bands, waistbands, leg holes, socks, bra straps, etc. seem >to be the worst hit (and the worst to endure later!). The only thing >I’ve ever been able to do about them is to keep my clothing as loose >as possible, make sure I don’t sit on any "really really old" logs, >not climb trees without that bottle of DEET, and I try to get immersed >in water at least once a day. It won’t help for any that have already >burrowed, but other "hangers on" might move on to warmer places. One >thing, DON’T SCRATCH! They’ll move on over a half inch and bite you >again. I’ve tried the topicals they sell to "suffocate" the chiggers >in their welts, but they don’t seem to work on me (though my friends >swear by them). Just think of them as a reminder that, even if the >cockroaches get wiped out in the next worldwide disaster, there will >always be some insect around to give all the other creatures the >willies! >Hello fellow campers! >Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast >iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a >billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to >do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the >itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information >(preferrably helpful) that you could give me. >Thanks >t-man
Bad time to go camping this is chigger weather. Not much you can do to keep them off. Physical barriers seem to work best. Painting the wound with clear nail polish (any color works) seems to be best treatment I,ve found. Consumption of alcohol will help you sleep at night.
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|> >> > |> >> > Try chlorax diluted with water 3 to 1. A soak bath with calgon water softener |> >> > and chlorox is said to help. Never tried it myself. Just heard about it. |> >> > |> >> > |> |> I used Chlorox many years ago for chigger butes. I added a small amount – like half a cup of water – to a short bath (maybe three inches deep) and splashed it on the bites. Seems I remember it worked.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Try chlorax diluted with water 3 to 1. A soak bath with calgon water softener > and chlorox is said to help. Never tried it myself. Just heard about it. > I just recieved the September/October issue of Organic Gardening > magazine- One of the feedback letters concerns chiggers- Myrtle Slikard > of Jackson, MO soaks in saltwater (1/2 cup to a tub(?) of water) whenever > she comes inside. 5-10 minutes should do it. I havn’t tried it- no > chiggers for a few years now! Perhaps wiping with a bandana soaked in > salty water would kill the little buggers?! Oops- I meant to say > encourage the diminutive gentle creatures to seek a different source of > enrichment!
I’ve heard that you can mix a shot of whiskey with some sand and rub it on the affected parts. The chiggers get drunk and throw the sand at each other knocking each other unconcious!
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> > Consumption of alcohol will help you sleep at night.
And when you wake up in the morning and still find your body covered with them, I found that you can go home, get naked and bathe your WHOLE self, or your camp mate together, in rubbing alcohol using a wash cloth. It seems to kill them and it’s fun trying to find them all. You’ll be surprised to see where they hide. And too, in the hot and muggy southern summers it feels pretty darn cool to be covered with rubbing alcohol, especially when you do it from of an airconditioner with it blow right on you.. For everything but that reason is why I’m now a forester in WA and not east TX anymore. Jim
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Chiggers are not fun… try listerine it worked for me . – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man
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> The thing that I’ve always done was put a dab of nail polish on the bite. > This will cut off the air supply of the chigger. Try not to scratch the > itchy bite because you’ll only make it worse. When you go out into the > woods, a good liberal amount of DEET will help to keep most bugs off of > you. However, when hiking you need to decide your path a few yards before > you actually walk it. You can’t just go tramping through thick brush and > handling branches. These things are filled with bugs and they will > happily jump on you. I think that tics literally wait on overhanging tree > limbs ans the minute they see a movement below them, they jump hoping to > land on a host underneath.
Cool suggestion about the nail polish. I had heard that before but forgotten it. Thanks for the reminder. However, concerning ticks… from where they jump on you depends on where you are! Here I am in Southern California… large field by the ocean… my dog and I hike there a lot. LOTS of ticks in the GRASS!!! I find them mostly on my pants legs and yet rarely on my dog! I stick to the paths… the dog goes traipsing wherever her heart leads. GO FIGURE! Part of that MAY be that she’s on Frontline (anti-flea/tick drops) which, btw I heartily recommend! that seemed to prefer hiding out in trees. Didn’t have a dog then so I can’t offer that example. However, every time I ever had a tick on me in those areas… I would find them on my shoulders, neck or head.
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> Try chlorax diluted with water 3 to 1. A soak bath with calgon water softener > and chlorox is said to help. Never tried it myself. Just heard about it. > I just recieved the September/October issue of Organic Gardening
magazine- One of the feedback letters concerns chiggers- Myrtle Slikard of Jackson, MO soaks in saltwater (1/2 cup to a tub(?) of water) whenever she comes inside. 5-10 minutes should do it. I havn’t tried it- no chiggers for a few years now! Perhaps wiping with a bandana soaked in salty water would kill the little buggers?! Oops- I meant to say encourage the diminutive gentle creatures to seek a different source of enrichment!
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Try chlorax diluted with water 3 to 1. A soak bath with calgon water softener and chlorox is said to help. Never tried it myself. Just heard about it.
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: Hello fellow campers! : Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast : iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a : billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to : do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the : itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information : (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. The thing that I’ve always done was put a dab of nail polish on the bite. This will cut off the air supply of the chigger. Try not to scratch the itchy bite because you’ll only make it worse. When you go out into the woods, a good liberal amount of DEET will help to keep most bugs off of you. However, when hiking you need to decide your path a few yards before you actually walk it. You can’t just go tramping through thick brush and handling branches. These things are filled with bugs and they will happily jump on you. I think that tics literally wait on overhanging tree limbs ans the minute they see a movement below them, they jump hoping to land on a host underneath.
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THIS does work! use nail polish they can not breath and it kills them and the bite .. I love the CONSUMPTION of ALcohol will help you sleep HAHAHA Sue – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Bad time to go camping this is chigger weather. Not much you can do to > keep them off. Physical barriers seem to work best. Painting the wound > with clear nail polish (any color works) seems to be best treatment I,ve > found. Consumption of alcohol will help you sleep at night.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man >Cover the welt with nail polish. (That sounds really stupid, eh?) I >guess it suffocates them; whatever it does, it works. No idea on how to >beat them before they bite, however.
we use Absorbine jr. liniment. apply generously and allow to dry. it only smells bad for a little while. 
melvalena
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> Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man
Sorry about your woes.Ummm, down here in South Alabama,these li’l buggers are known as redbugs,and yes the cure of choice is clear fingernail polish. Sting kill swabs may help, as will any anti-itch medication sold cross the counter. Try not to scratch! The cycle just keeps on, and etc… Remember these redbugs also abide in trees and shrubs.You REALLY want to get wrapped up? Grab a hand full of Spanish Moss in the late summer! My grandmother(remember Foxfire?)used to swear by Sulphur(from the druggist at the old Rexall).She would mix a quarter teaspoon or so with molasses. As we began to sweat the sulphur,redbugs,ticks mosquitos,gnats,nothing seemed to bother us…Then again,the dogs, cats, cows, neighbors,even grandma, wouldn’t let us come around either…What a smell,but it worked, no bugs! (NOT to try if you’re allergic to Sulfa drugs)…:-)
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The only thing I know to prevent them is sulpher in your socks. I only use that when picking berrys. I normally don’t get them otherwise. When I do. I use fingernail polish to kill them. It works I swear. P.S. the sulpher trick was learned from my 92 year old granny ( she is never wrong – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Oh yeah, another friend of mine swears that super-chlorinated hot tubs > work really well. I don’t have access to one, but I have a sneaking > suspicion it’s that bottle of wine beside her doing all the work. If > you’ve got one, you might give it a whirl though…can’t hurt. >Hello fellow campers! >Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast >iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a >billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to >do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the >itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information >(preferrably helpful) that you could give me. >Thanks >t-man
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>Hello fellow campers! >Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast >iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a >billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to >do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the >itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information >(preferrably helpful) that you could give me.
An ounce of prevention… There’s a liquid preparation called CHIGG AWAY that my wife and I use. It’s marketed by Pierson Laboratories PO Box 157 Saluda, NC 28773 telephone 704-749-9813 fax 704-749-9249 It’s a small company, and they don’t have a web site or e-mail. If you want to send them a message, e-mail me, and I’ll forward it via their fax line. (It’s a local call for me.)
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Try tea tree oil, it will cure anything. Use it on fungus (athelete’s foot), works like a dream., will stop the itching, too. Diane
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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit It helps to prevent chigger infestation if you can. It may sound stupid (and look that way) but, wearing flea and tick collars around your ankles will help keep them off while walking through grass. I have also had people who fish a lot of farm ponds tell me that the tags that they use to keep insects off of livestock will work when clipped on your boot or pant leg. I have a family member who visits from Arizona every summer who gets ate up by chiggers every year because he will not try to do anything to prevent getting them in the first place. > Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><head></head><BODY bgcolor=3D"#FFFFFF"><p><font size=3D2 = color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Arial">It helps to prevent chigger infestation = if you can. It may sound stupid (and look that way) but, wearing = flea and tick collars around your ankles will help keep them off while = walking through grass. I have also had people who fish a lot of = farm ponds tell me that the tags that they use to keep insects off of = livestock will work when clipped on your boot or pant leg. I have = a family member who visits from Arizona every summer who gets ate up by = chiggers every year because he will not try to do anything to prevent = getting them in the first place.<br><br><br><br>T-Man <<font = wrote in article <<font = t color=3D"#000000">>…<br>> Hello fellow campers!<br>> = Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned = cast<br>> iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also = returned with about a<br>> billon-thousand chigger bites. Can = anyone give me information on what to<br>> do about these nasty = little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the<br>> itching welts = they leave behind. I would appreciate any information<br>> = (preferrably helpful) that you could give me.<br>> <br>> = Thanks<br>> <br>> t-man<br>> </p> </font></font></font></font></font></body></html>
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I have found that Chiggerex(SP?) works the best. It comes in a small screw top can,~size of a film cannister, and is a lotion. This can be found at walmart. Stops the itching very well. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man
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Hello fellow campers! Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. Thanks t-man
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Oh yeah, another friend of mine swears that super-chlorinated hot tubs work really well. I don’t have access to one, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s that bottle of wine beside her doing all the work. If you’ve got one, you might give it a whirl though…can’t hurt. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hello fellow campers! >Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast >iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a >billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to >do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the >itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information >(preferrably helpful) that you could give me. >Thanks >t-man
Response:
Sorry T-man…there’s not much you can do ’bout chiggerzzz! They are sometimes put off by insect repellants, but more often than not don’t care what you smell like. They do love tight warm places though, so the elastic bands, waistbands, leg holes, socks, bra straps, etc. seem to be the worst hit (and the worst to endure later!). The only thing I’ve ever been able to do about them is to keep my clothing as loose as possible, make sure I don’t sit on any "really really old" logs, not climb trees without that bottle of DEET, and I try to get immersed in water at least once a day. It won’t help for any that have already burrowed, but other "hangers on" might move on to warmer places. One thing, DON’T SCRATCH! They’ll move on over a half inch and bite you again. I’ve tried the topicals they sell to "suffocate" the chiggers in their welts, but they don’t seem to work on me (though my friends swear by them). Just think of them as a reminder that, even if the cockroaches get wiped out in the next worldwide disaster, there will always be some insect around to give all the other creatures the willies! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hello fellow campers! >Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast >iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a >billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to >do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the >itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information >(preferrably helpful) that you could give me. >Thanks >t-man
Response:
I’ve heard that putting clear nail polish directly on the welt will kill them right away but the itching continues. Two thoughts to control itching: Benadryl or Calamine lotion, Also if you can’t stop scratching put a piece of Scotch tape over the welt to prevent the redness from scratching. Good luck!
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> Hello fellow campers! > Returned from our first official camping trip with our newly seasoned cast > iron skillet. (thanks for the info everyone) I also returned with about a > billon-thousand chigger bites. Can anyone give me information on what to > do about these nasty little creatures (that I didn’t even see) and the > itching welts they leave behind. I would appreciate any information > (preferrably helpful) that you could give me. > Thanks > t-man
Cover the welt with nail polish. (That sounds really stupid, eh?) I guess it suffocates them; whatever it does, it works. No idea on how to beat them before they bite, however.
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