Do NOT scratch! It can be really easy to get those suckers infected, and boy, I do not wish that upon my worst enemy.
Along the same idea of the lacquer hair spray, clear (or any color, but how many of us want red specks all over) nail polish painted over any chigger bites will suffocate them and you will be just fine. Unfortunately I don’t know how to avoid them or keep them from congregating. Good luck!
Fastest thing have found that works is Absorbine Vet Liniment Gel or for people Absorbine JR both work and in days you have relief and not 6 weeks of itching. I keep it handy now for the horses or my self. My vet swears it is the Alcohol in it 53 percent in this Gel form. Best thing have found even better then Chigex.
ML
[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;5825711]
One more reason I never leave the PNW!:eek: Holy Moly people! I’ll put up with earthquakes, volcanoes and unending wet to avoid all ya’lls snakes, ticks and chiggers…oh, and tornadoes and hurricanes:)[/QUOTE]
Don’t be so sure they don’t exist there because they surely do. At least they did in Kitsap County when we lived there in the early 90s.
After years of trying everything I could think of, to stop the digestive enzyme left by chiggers, I think I may have finally hit on a winner. The losers were alcohol, ammonia, bleach, tea tree oil, turpentine, Listerine mouth wash, and more I can’t remember. This year I tried a pinch of citric acid crystals in a few drops of water, applied with a Q-tip. It burns for a couple seconds, if I had scratched the bite raw, but relief started in less than a minute, and lasts. Brand new bites I haven’t scratched open are treated less effectively, but it still helps a lot but may take a second or third application a day later. Lemon juice should do the same thing. If anyone tries this, I would like to hear your feedback.
Permethrin spray for you and spray the property. Keep it mowed.
We have terrible mites in the state parks. Can’t tell if they are mites or chiggers but they cause the horses to get swollen legs and oozing sores. Nasty stuff. Permethrin soaks before and after riding from the elbow down keeps them off the horses.
A long time ago I was told that flowers of sulphur sprinkled on one’s skin is a good deterrent. I just googled that and found an article that the powder is good for fighting infection from the bites. Don’t know about deterrence, but it’s healthier for the environment than bug spray…
Another thing that I’ve found helps is giving my lower legs (and just my whole legs if I’ve been out in a known chigger area for awhile) a good scrub (downward!) in the shower, or with a washcloth well rinsed between scrubs.
The idea is to get them off before you get bitten/they find a snuggly nook to settle into for biting.
If I’ve been out in long grass or brush, or somewhere the chiggers are I’ll do that as soon as I get inside, otherwise I just do it before bed.
It doesn’t take long at all, and I don’t get nearly as many bites as I used to!
There is a common weed that you can rub the leaves on itchy bites and it works instantly. Can’t remember the name of it though.
I didn’t think chiggers have nests? They just like the tall grass. My brother was new to Texas and sat in a beautiful grassy field to read one day. He regretted that decision a few hours later!!
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