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OT/chiggers

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Nancy Howell

Well-known Member
Got a bumper crop of chiggers in Dallas. Its so bad I have to spray from head to foot or I get chewed just walking across the back yard to go to the barn to feed my horses.

Learned the hard way, just spraying feet and legs wasn't good enough. Got chewed so bad between my hips and my neck, looked like I had the measles. Also found I had to get the sweat proof insect repellent, too.

Chiggers don't have any manners, either. Any piece of skin anywhere is fair game. They itch worse than a mosquito bite, too.

I had some Allegra 2% hydro cortisone anti-itch cream, but had never used it. Probably used 1/2 the tube, but man did it work! Started working as soon as I put it on, but took about an hour to hour & a half to work completely. Great thing is, the itch did not come back. Works better than anything I've ever tried.
 
Nancy,

We have chiggers, ticks, and lots of mosquitoes. I use Hydrocortisone cream and local anesthetic to relieve itching, but what I really like is a pill called Lortab. It's an over the counter thing that my wife buys for me.

One tablet and relief is on the way.

Good luck with your bugs. And by the way, I agree that they are indescriminate about where they bite. Embarassing sometimes.

Tom in TN
 
I bought some benadryl, but it didn't help much.

Make sure you have the 2%. It works a lot better than the 1%.
 
here it's nats, if the wind picks up it will blow em down to the neighbors, i don't like the wind, but i hate nats, they will eat your ears raw, clean inside. i run around with toilet paper in my ears when there is no escaping them.
 
If it is as bad as you are describing wouldn't it be better to spray the chiggers and not yourself? I don't know if they are like mosquitoes where spray is only marginally effective because they blow about so much but I would try it.
 
Nancy, are you a native Texas? Grow up here?

We're neighbors, just SW of you in Burleson. I rarely ever get chiggers anymore. They used to eat me alive when I was a kid. For some reason they just don't like me anymore. I've got relatives in North Carolina, when they used to come down, we'd go the same places, do the same things... They would get them bad! Me, mom, dad, not a bite!

Something with the immune system?
 
For chiggers and ticks, I spray my boots and clothes (not my skin) with a pyrethrine spray and tuck my britches inside my boots. I like ferti-lome Quick-Kill in a spray bottle. I buy DEET in spray bottles rather than aerosol cans as the concentrate is higher, it takes less and it is more economical to use. I spray DEET on my hat to ward off deer flies and skeeters and also around my ankles and belt line if I know I'll be working in weeds. Maybe a placebo, I also wipe my legs and ankles down after showering with "nurse's special miracle potion" consisting of a bottle of 100 count aspirin mixed in a 16oz. bottle of wintergreen rubbing alcohol. Instant relief from arthritis and sore muscles, too.
 
I have sprayed about everything on the grass and it doesn't seem to do any good. They just seem to keep coming back. They don't bother me, but if the wife just looks at the grass around our house they get her.
 
Nancy try sulfer powder on your pantlegs. chiggers and tics hate it. get it at a drugstore here in Kansas. Don"t need it much above the knee
 
Started off spraying my boots, socks and pants with the horse's fly spray. It works for the horses, but I think the chiggers just laughed.

I also use the pumps rather than aerosol.

We have used the alcohol remedy for years. It is effective, but is very hard on your skin. Will also turn your fingers green from holding the cotton ball when applying it.
 
Most bugs don't like me, but the chiggers sure seem to!

Interesting - we have lots of chiggers here, but not at the farm in E. Tx. The farm has a bumper crop of ticks, but almost none here.

Go figure.
 
In past years I would have treated the yard. But last year the fleas were so bad I put out beneficial nematodes and this year almost no fleas.

If I treat for chiggers, I kill the nematodes.
 
Go to your local feed store. Look for "Swat" in the equine medicine section. Be sure to get the clear. It is a topical ointment that has insect repellant in it. Its not expensive and very effective. Rub it on your ears and no more gnats.
 
oh man, you said it, bumper crop down in Ellis County too....I spray ankles, socks, jeans, arms, and all but face with Deep Woods Off...it has the right chemical and works. Regular OFF does not. I hate the feel of it but hate chigger bites even worse. Beware of local lake sandy beaches too, full of chiggers and sand fleas this year. Vinegar bath after exposure helps but is not 100%, after that I have found nothing that helps with the itch but once got a prescription cream for my little girl that did work thank goodness, she was miserable.
Sulfur dust is the best for the yard or garden.
 
I should have said - after you have chiggers, vinegar will discourage them. It won't keep them off of you, but it will lessen the discomfort after the attack, so to speak. I've got them all the time. Southern Illinois has prime conditions for a healthy chigger population. Scratch 'em 'til I bleed, and then scratch a little more.
 
My dad was in Italy WWII...they landed at Salerno and the chiggers were so bad that more soldiers were
out of action from them than enemy fire. Officers ordered DDT and sulfur but it took months to get it.
Dad said some guys were temporarily blinded from bites around the eyes cause everybody slept on the ground. Dad was from Ark and knew "coal oil" (kerosene) kept them off, but all they had was gasoline so they bathed in it basically until officers made them stop. The locals advised them to cover themselves with a local mud mix and it worked to an extent. Just one of those things you don't see mentioned in war histories.
 
Smallotwner, the coal oil or kerosene trick had been used around my area for years by loggers and surveyors. When we had a small lumber mill, the loggers showed us how to use it. I heard some of them say how much it helped, but the down side was the smell would get into the laundry and their wives didn't appreciate that atall.
 
(quoted from post at 17:24:38 06/25/14) My dad was in Italy WWII...they landed at Salerno and the chiggers were so bad that more soldiers were
out of action from them than enemy fire. Officers ordered DDT and sulfur but it took months to get it.
Dad said some guys were temporarily blinded from bites around the eyes cause everybody slept on the ground. Dad was from Ark and knew "coal oil" (kerosene) kept them off, but all they had was gasoline so they bathed in it basically until officers made them stop. The locals advised them to cover themselves with a local mud mix and it worked to an extent. Just one of those things you don't see mentioned in war histories.
Click to expand...

I went to look at a tractor last week up by Lake Lavon and they. ate. me. alive. Probably 100 bites on legs and ankles.
 
I remember Grandma used to put butter and salt on chigger bites. The butter helped the salt to stick and the you could use the salt to scratch. Felt good at the time about 65 years ago.Tommy
 
I have never researched the subject, but I am thinking like Steve@Advance, that it has something to do with the immune system or body chemistry. I used to get covered with the things, but for several years now, I have had almost no problem. Went berry picking the other day and nary a one. Maybe I'm just not as tasty as when I was younger. LOL
 
Nancy try this Basic H from Shackly mix a small amount in water then put in a spray bottle spray yourself down good it will chase Mosquitos clear out of the country you can spray the yard down and no more. Not sure about chigger we don't have those here in the NorthWest. Call your local Shackly dealer to get some.
Walt
PS it works so great on mosquitos that you think there are around you.
 

Growing up in the 60s I got chiggers on, well, let's say, where the sun don't shine, in front. I swelled up and was "man size" for awhile. Sure did itch. Can't remember what Mom put on it but it didn't help much.
 
Permithrin (spelling?) is a good chigger and mosquito repellant. There are two versions. One is for lawns and pets: Oththo Mosquito-Be-Gone & Cutter Yard Guard were two that worked well on my lawn. The other version can be sprayed on clothing and is (claimed) safe to wear after it is dried, lasts up to a month or three washings.

Other people tell me Pyrethrine also work well to repell mosqitos and chiggers.
 
I have regular OFF and it works for me.

Got chewed up when I did a partial spray (ankles, feet & legs) and when I was working outside and sweating.

Got some of the sweat-proof OFF. Put it to the test Monday mowing the yard. Sprayed everything except my neck, face and bottoms of my feet. Didn't like the scent, but it worked. No bites.

Definitely get some of the anti-itch cream. Several brands to choose from, all with the same active ingredient. I bought a brand called Allegra in the 2%. It killed the itch completely. Still had red spots, but no itch.
 
I practically bathed in hydraulic oil when I was in my 20s, hydraulic technician for transmission valve testing, power steering valves too.
Rubbing your body with Kerosene is better than burrowing insects...........
 
I'm in Baton Rouge, with lots of fire ants. Some people claim the fire ants have eradicated the ticks and chiggers. Just wondering, do you have fire ants?
 
Think I'll stick with OFF.

Worst I got chewed up was when I only used it on my ankles and legs. Then went out and sweated it off.

Now I have the sweat-proof and apply it liberally.
 
Have some at one place and none at the other place 20 minutes away. I got into them a couple weeks ago and they got me good. I was in woody and brushy area fixing fence. A few days before they got me I was in a tall grassy area and no problems.

I started wearing rubber boots with pants tucked in and spray high % Deet on pant legs. So far so good.
 
I always spray the yards and buildings with "Tempo". IT will control the bugs.

For help to not attract them. My Grand Mother took a spoon full of garlic everyday. She swore that it kept the bugs off of her. She almost never got any type of bug bite either.
 
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