chiggers

[bustedknuckleinc]

What is a good way to prevent getting eatin other than staying home.

[billrquimby]

What is a good way to prevent getting eatin other than staying home.

 

I hunted the Texas Hill Country for more than 15 consecutive years many years ago, and during the wet years chiggers were a major problem. DEET did not work for us. What we did was apply clear nail polish to the red welts that appeared where our socks and belt gave them places to hide. It seemed to suffocate a chigger, and the itching stopped. After a week or so, we peeled off the nail polish and the wounds had healed.

 

Bill Quimby

 

[krp]

Deet, the 100% stuff.

 

2006 we had a wet July and Aug, new grass everywhere. Hiked into the Matazals scouting for coues and water sources the end of aug. Layed down in some soft grass in the shade for a nap and a day latter was scratching on my sock and belt line, miserable. Never knew we had chiggers in Az. New vegetation = noseeums. Deet took care of the problem.

 

Of course I had to research a cure and what I read from a university research report is that the chiggers don't burrow in you, it's the hatchling's and they sucreat an acid in your skin and then eat the byproduct and it's the acid that causes the sores. Putting something like polish on it covers it from the air and helps the itching. Which I did also and that worked. I like hot pink.

 

Kent

[Diamondbackaz]

There is a cream or an ointment that you can get at the drug store that takes care of them when you get them. Many of the pharmacists don't know what they are so you will need to have them look it up. I got them real bad when I was with the Forest Service working in Madera Canyon. Got them real bad around the ankles and belt line. You scratch and scratch till you bleed. Whats real bad is when they get on your scrotum, Oh Son!! Spray Off around the ankles to keep them off.

[deserthntr]

i got nailed by them when i was at th sunrise shoot, i literlly have probably a couple hundred, i will take pics if you dont beleive me

[krp]

Last summer my brother said he must have gotten in poison ivy or something. I asked him if it was around his sock line and he said yes, chiggers. He bought something at the store called 'chigger rid' said it worked.

 

Kent

[soazarcher]

Deet, the 100% stuff.

 

2006 we had a wet July and Aug, new grass everywhere. Hiked into the Matazals scouting for coues and water sources the end of aug. Layed down in some soft grass in the shade for a nap and a day latter was scratching on my sock and belt line, miserable. Never knew we had chiggers in Az. New vegetation = noseeums. Deet took care of the problem.

 

Of course I had to research a cure and what I read from a university research report is that the chiggers don't burrow in you, it's the hatchling's and they sucreat an acid in your skin and then eat the byproduct and it's the acid that causes the sores. Putting something like polish on it covers it from the air and helps the itching. Which I did also and that worked. I like hot pink.

 

Kent

 

+1

 

Lots of wives tales out there. Check it out on Wikepedia.

 

I always thought they burrowed into your skin. I spent a week in Kansas last month, and learned ALL I ever wanted to know about them. Still bleeding from 20+ spots. Get some anti-itch ointment.

[Guest RutNHard]

I am reading this when I realize this soreness in my legs that has been bothering since this weekend. I wasnt at the 3D shoot but I was about 5 miles north of there at Greens Peak and I have a big sore right at the sock line. CRAZY!!

[krp]

Now I'm itching just thinking about it, THANKS!

 

Kent

[elkaholic]

hello - here's what the experts say !

 

Unlike many other parasitic bugs, chiggers don't have needlelike, piercing mouthparts. Instead, they use an interesting accomplice -- the host's own skin. The same salivary secretions that break down cells also cause the surrounding tissue to harden. This creates a strawlike tube called a stylostome. The longer the chigger feeds, the longer the stylostome becomes, and the deeper it penetrates into the skin.

 

The intense itching that chigger bites cause comes from two sources. One is an allergic reaction to the chiggers' saliva. In some people, this reaction is extreme, leading to large sores or hives. In most, it simply causes a small, red, itchy bump. The other source of itching is the stylostome itself. It causes irritation and discomfort until the body's immune and lymphatic systems dissolve it and carry it away. If the chigger fed for a long time and the stylostome extends deep into the skin, this process can take quite a while.

 

Many home remedies for chigger bites, like painting the bite with nail polish, involve the idea of smothering an embedded chigger. But by the time you notice the bite, you've often brushed or scratched away the chigger already. The reason nail polish makes some people's bites feel better is that it seals the bite from air. Over-the-counter creams that relieve itching often do a better job of making the bites feel better. It's also a good idea to apply an antiseptic, especially if you've scratched the bite extensively -- too much scratching can lead to a secondary infection. If you're bitten, don't be tempted to try home remedies involving toxic substances, and don't try to remove the stylostome -- either could cause secondary infections or other injuries.

 

 

[NRS]

calamine lotion with benadryl (caladryl) works great to take the itch out.

[DesertBull]

Knob Creek

[25-06]

Knob Creek

Amen brother

[Red Rabbit]

Knob Creek

 

Just what we need is a bunch of drunk chiggers But they'd be merry chiggers.

[DesertBull]

I don't share with chiggers. They don't drink much, but still....get your own. That stuff is expensive.