chiggers

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This has been the itchiest summer ever. First it wa poison something or other and now a good case of chiggers from my feet clear up to my shoulders. I was wearing boots/socks and long pants. How did I get them? And how on earth do I get rid of them and stop the itching? Gloria in MD BTW, how do I keep from getting them again and will/does my horse have them too?

-- Gloria in MD (mullinaxclan@webtv.net), August 18, 2001

Answers

Gloria.. I've fought this battle for years so I can sympathize. I can't go off of my back porch without spraying repellent on my ankles because they are so bad around here. Being religious about spraying repellent in the summer has been my main solution. If you think you've got 'em (that vague sort of crawly feeling) rub down vigorously with a towel immediately or hop in the shower right away.

You'll probably want to look into taking oral antihistamines ie. Benadryl since you've got such a bad batch. I tried every home remedy under the sun from bleach to cologne to finger nail polish, ad nauseum...nothing worked for me but antihistamine and time.

I don't know anything about horses getting chiggers.

Good luck...I won't tell you not to scratch, but wash your hands before you do to avoid infection.

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 18, 2001.


I heard that chiggers lay their eggs under the skin and that you shouldn't bathe or shower for three days since this allows the eggs to hatch. You can put chigger rid available at the drugstore on yourself but the cost is great and ammonia is supposed to do the same trick. I had chiggers years ago and did the no shower thing. Benadryl helps with the itching until they are gone. Have fun!

-- JoAnn in SD (jonehls@excite.com), August 18, 2001.

i got ate up the week before last so i did some research on the net. chiggers bite into the skin and inject an enzyme that liquifies skin cells which they suck up as food. when they are done feeding some of the enzyme is left in the skin, this causes an allegic reaction (swelling, itching etc.). by the time you notice the bite they have already dropped off. the main danger of the bites is infection after they have been scratched open. chiggers live primarily in moist dense growth such as deep grass and scrub. the keys are moisture and density in that order. drying an area out is most important to getting rid of chiggers.

-- Pops (cindy556@devil-dog.com), August 18, 2001.

go to the drugstore and get some CHIG-A-RID. it's sold over-the- counter. if they don't stock it, ask your pharmacist. there are other brands but this one always stays in my mind.

gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), August 18, 2001.


Gloria, what a beautiful name! If you have chiggers, just paint them with fingernail polish; it suffocates them. Or rub diesed fuel on them. The oil does the same thing. Now, go to the drug store and get some powdered sulfer. Before you go riding or walking next time, dust your legs and feet with a sock filled with the sulfer. This also repels ticks. Enjoy!!!

-- Judy in IN (whileaway3@cs.com), August 18, 2001.


Hi Gloria: Being raised in OK, we dealt with chiggers alot - especially when we went to pick blackberries - which was when we got them the worst, Mom would swab at the ankles and wrists of our clothing with a kerosene-soaked rag. Then when we got home, it was into a bathtub with just a little (maybe a teaspoon or so) of household bleach in it. That seemed to do the trick. Can't say I miss them, have had them Bad a number of times myself, even ran a fever a few days one time because I had so many chigger bites. Cynthia in MN

-- Cynthia in MN (farmsteader@gvtel.com), August 18, 2001.

Please dont use this forum to say bad things about black people. dont use the term chigger.

-- mark crawford (drill-instructor@wabcmail.com), August 19, 2001.

Eh?! At least put a smiley behind it, for a second there I thought you were serious! >;-)

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 19, 2001.

OK Mark, which term would you like us to use instead of chigger.. "cheegro"? or maybe "Insect Americans?" :)

-- Ben Dowell (kreelan@aol.com), August 19, 2001.

Gloria

Chige-R-Aid at Eckards was $3.99 a bottle. Works well. Burns though.

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), August 20, 2001.



Thanks everyone. I'm surprised at how many remedies there are. I'll be glad when fall gets here. I am so tired of bugs. It's this time of the year when I think MD has got to be the buggiest place on earth.

-- Gloria in MD (mullinaxclan@webtv.net), August 20, 2001.

to prevent them there is a product at walmart called repel by makers of off. in the hunting outdoor section. let it soak in for 5-10mins on clothes prior to going in infested areas. they live in tall grass pine trees, everywhere you can think of. if you get them in your house, they can get in everything. i had them in my couch on my bed in my truck everywhere. Bleach bath......1 cup of bleach to hot bath water and soak til it feels like you have pins and needles pokin you cause that means u killed em, usually 20-30 mins will do then shower regularly and dry off. use caladryl to apply to the bites or get clear fingernail polish and put over them that will suffocate them. if you get them in furniture or vehicle. get hartz control flea and tick spray in pet section at wal mart and follow directions on bottle use it and make sure you wash all clothes in and around the area you may have touched. if you feel them crawlin on you still i recommend the bleach bath its not fun, but it does work....

i got them a week ago today and still have bite marks and have been sleepin on floor in my computer room. tonight i should be able to move back into my room. they are not fun and its tough to find out any "good" advice but i am speakin from experience. they make a product called chigger rid you can get over the counter at drug stores but its same thing as fingernail polish........

further questions please e mail and ask away.....

-- Brian Rabenhorst (Nachocheese1414@aol.com), September 24, 2001.


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