Chiggers…I’m itching to talk about it

[jpr9954]

Ok guys..I can’t be sure how many of us Sako fans and outdoorsmen have been acquainted with these invisible little sons-a-bitches but I thought I’d ask…
I’m in full realization that once they have obtained access to areas of you body , the party begins.
What are the tricks you guys use to avoid contact with them?
I use the usual backwoods off and similar products to spray on before hand but Chiggers don’t care…they pass right through.

Anyone?

If you were a kid in the South in the 50s and 60s you remember your Mom dotting chigger bites with nail polish. It was usually red so we all looked like we had chicken pox. It was thought that chiggers had burrowed into your skin and the nail polish would suffocate them.

It was all a myth!

 

[bloorooster]

If you were a kid in the South in the 50s and 60s you remember your Mom dotting chigger bites with nail polish. It was usually red so we all looked like we had chicken pox. It was thought that chiggers had burrowed into your skin and the nail polish would suffocate them.

It was all a myth!

Oh yeah..along with that wonderful tiny bottle of mercurochrome.
That orange stain meant you had been cured of whatever injury called for it.

 

[waterwolf]

When I was a kid growing up in the rural Canadian West, I had a little book about the southeast USA...it seemed far away and very exotic, all Civil War battlefields and alligators, and I hoped someday to visit the region. In the 1980's, I went to Arlington cemetery once, but that's as far south as I got...and now hearing about these "Chiggers"...not so keen to visit.

 

[bloorooster]

When I was a kid growing up in the rural Canadian West, I had a little book about the southeast USA...it seemed far away and very exotic, all Civil War battlefields and alligators, and someday I hoped to visit the region. In the 1980's, I went to Arlington cemetery once, but that's as far south as I got...and now with the extreme heat down there and then hearing about these "Chiggers"...not so keen to visit.

You will be fine to visit!
Stay out of the tall weeds and don’t sit on stumps!

 

[douglastwo]

Bloo maybe we don't get exposed enough to develop a natural resistance. My wife's grandparents were born, raised, and lived on and worked their farm until their late eighties. The farm is located in central Texas which is well known to be infested with chiggers and ticks. When we visited them we covered ourselves with chiggerex and still came home with lots of bites. When I asked the grandparents why they didn't get bitten, they made some comment that the bugs only bite town folks. I know they didn't have any bites because at the end of the day they changed out of their coveralls into shorts and their ankles and legs were completely bite free. Other people have told me this same story about the farmers in their family.

 

[bloorooster]

Ive recently decided that you have to treat these tiny little creatures the same as any other contaminant or bug.
If you walk thru a contaminated area, of course you will pick them up. Possibly by the thousands. After that , basically you can carry them back to your vehicle, contaminate it, get home and continue to do so everywhere until the clothing is removed and washed. How ever many of the potential thousands of mites you picked up that have made it to your skin must be immediately washed away or otherwise treated, be it pine sol, kerosene or MEK. Like Spaher mentioned, a deep freeze may work with clothing as I can’t say for sure that laundry detergent and dryer temps are enough to kill them. Chiggerex is for after the damage is done. It has a certain smell that causes a placebo response, so you feel like it helps
Biggest resolve is to treat it like a contaminant and remove all contact aspects as soon as possible. Changing clothes prior to entering your vehicle or home is certainly a good idea.
I have not tried the Pine-sol bath yet, but I bought a gallon of it for future outings. Temps probably won’t drop to frost or freezing for 2 more months….

Additionally…I’ve been scratching and digging and cussing these chiggers since I was a child, I’ve been here all my life. I’m pretty sure they don’t care if you are indigenous to the area or not. My tolerance has actually decreased over time!!!

 

[shootin-blanks]

We have them back in Missouri where i'm from, havent run into any down here in Florida, but I hear they are out there.
Powdered sulfur on boots, ankles and pants.. required if you were turkey hunting or looking for Morels in the spring.. I might add, they seemed to always be in the blackberry patches in July as well.

 

[stonecreek]

You can get a little relief from the itch of the bites by taking an antihistamine (works with insect stings also). I've tried covering the entire bite area with Calamine lotion but that just makes a mess and does nothing to provide relief. I'll try to remember Spaher's Pinesol soak and try that the next time I'm attacked. Will also order some of that Chiggerex right now!

 

[bloorooster]

You can get a little relief from the itch of the bites by taking an antihistamine (works with insect stings also). I've tried covering the entire bite area with Calamine lotion but that just makes a mess and does nothing to provide relief. I'll try to remember Spaher's Pinesol soak and try that the next time I'm attacked. Will also order some of that Chiggerex right now!

Wally World has it!

 

[stonecreek]

Wally World has it!

Is it in the drug or sporting goods department?

 

[bloorooster]

Drug…with all the other itchy medicine

Buy some mittens!

 

[Spaher]

I promise the 2-3 cap of the container full measure (not cups!!!) will kill them as well as any ticks. Just stay in the tub as long as you can & will relieve much of the itch.
It’s a disinfectant after all.
BTW, a cut that won’t stop bleeding, generously sprinkle black ground pepper on the wound & coagulates quickly!

 

[stonecreek]

When I was a kid my mother always added Pinesol to the Tide in the washing machine (yes, I'm still young enough that they had washing machines when I was a kid!). Maybe that helped discourage the chiggers.

 

[tn hp]

Although this doesn't sound "manly" but, I have been told by those who are very manly that if they are going into places where chigger, ticks, fleas and other nasty biting insects are known to be, they wear pantyhose.

I prefer to use duck tape to tape the cuffs of my pants to the top of my boots, spray repellent on all exposed skin, wear a long sleeve under armor type top under a long sleeve cotton shirt and jersey gloves. I also hit the shower as soon as I get home.

 

[dustinga]

Sulphur!! That's what I remember! My grandpa had a well, that produced sulphur water, and I remember him telling those who complained, that it would keep the red bugs off ya.

 

[bloorooster]

Sulphur!! That's what I remember! My grandpa had a well, that produced sulphur water, and I remember him telling those who complained, that it would keep the red bugs off ya.

Wow
Sulphur water!
As a child, my grandparents also had a well that had a sulphuric or iron taste and smell. Chiggers didn’t seem to be an issue during my stays there.

 

[Bd471]

The best way to kill them is to rub alcohol on them.

 

[sep]

You brought back some amusing memories for me. My first field training exercise in 1984 in northern Florida had me digging and sitting in a defensive fighting position (foxhole) for three days. Chiggers tore me up on that exercise. I asked some of the other guys in my unit what to do to prevent them from tearing me up the next time out.

They told me to buy and wear a pair of women's pantyhose. I went to the BX(PX) and bought a pair of Leggs panythose. I also bought a couple flea and tick dog collars which I would wear on my legs above my boots under my pants.

The combination of the pantyhose and dog collars worked. I had no more problems. Turns out pantyhose are really quite warm to wear and the breathable cotton panel in the crotch area is quite "liberating" in the hot florida sun. ;-)

I went on to serve in the military til 2004 in other states and countries and never resorted to wearing pantyhose again but I gotta admit the combination worked for me in Florida.

 

[bloorooster]

I use under-armor Heat gear…very tightly woven and breathable. No cotton crotch tho…
The flea collar trick is interesting.

LOL..I wonder if I could use Frontline ??? Just a dab on the back of my neck where I can’t lick it?

 

[BENABE 9944]

Is it in the drug or sporting goods department?

they have it on amazon