Crap, Chiggers.

[Matlock]

Well all the rain and warm/hot temps have brought out every imaginable jumping, flying, crawling critter that at best, can be seen with the naked eye and then there's those microscopic sob's.

Having lived mostly in the freezing midwest, many of those critters keep to the warmer southern climes. Now that I'm further south, in a S&B and along a river I'm a ready meal ripe for the picking. I don't mind sharing the space with them cept when the start chewing on my flesh.

So I've narrowed the cause of my itchy red welts down to the species known as Chiggers. In the bite stage they are youngsters and best observed with a microscope which I do not own.

I am somewhat relieved I'm not experiencing this on the road but...
does anyone have a recommendation on what process to use to eliminate these invisible monsters from me and my dwelling?

 

[SheepDog]

Powdered sulfur mixed with talcum powder (Rusty memory says 50/50, but I might be off. I used it 100% last several times!) dusted on yourself will keep them off. We use to dump a cup or so into an old sock, tie the end and use it as a powder puff inside our socks and pants before going into the woods!

SD

 

[SheepDog]

Oh I’ve been told eating a bit of sulfur every day will make you undesirable to all sorts of critters, but I’ve never tried it!

SD

 

[bullfrog]

Clear finger nail polish on the welts for a few days and ointment to prevent infection after they die and rupture. Get rid of all the pretty white lace like flowers around your place and don’t play in moist sand or dirt that their favorite place to be. Just another reason I love the desert!

 

[B and C]

Don't bushwhack through tall grass either.

 

[eDJ_]

Where I live, where Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, there are plenty of chiggers in the summer.  When we go out and pick black berries the first thing we do when we get home is take a cup of epsom salt and dissolve it in a bath tub of warm water and get in for a few minutes.   This seems to be fatal to the chiggers.

If you can't do that, what Bullfrog is describing with the clear fingernail polish is effective.  

A friend of my Grand Dad's used to go up to Canada to fish & hunt and he described what Sheep Dog is talking about with eating  a little sulfur. 
A guide told him to get a small container of  "flowers of sulfur" and the week before he came to Canada to begin eating 1 teaspoon of the stuff thru the day in small amounts to total the 1 teaspoon....each day and once in Canada to do the same until he left to return home.   The man explained he didn't have any problems after that.  But that first trip was almost his last until the guide gave him that tip.....and to save his money on that Deep Woods with DEET.

 

[eDJ_]

Here is a brief youtube video addressing "chiggers".   It seems the saliva of these tiny insects and the body's reaction to it is what causes the 
itching.    Staying out of the tall grass is probably the best prevention.  

dealing with chiggers

 

[Matlock]

Thanks for the Sulfur suggestion and the chig link too.
The more I dig into it I'm fighting a losing battle until these guys feed a few times. If I can kill um fine, if not they eventually have their fill of me and go their merry way.

Suckers are invisible so two showers a day. Last night was the first night in 3 that I awoke without any new bites. Maybe I'm done washing bedding and clothes twice a day. I'm not stopping for another couple days though. Welts the size of silver dollars, Jeeze...

To kill the itching I found a suggestion for petroleum jelly and salt mix spread on the welts. It works and lasts all night! Shower and reapply in AM.

 

[maki2]

pretty easy to get rid of them although it does require a bit of labor as you have to treat yourself, your dwelling space, clothing and bedding.

wash yourself with flea soap, find it in the pet food aisle at groceries, pharmacies, pet stores, even at hardware stores too. The insecticide that kills fleas is the same stuff used to kill chiggers. While not tested for humans flea soap it is unlikely to do harm to you for a couple of wash and rinse cycles. I myself have had to do this a few times over the years when I picked up some microscopic critter while working in the garden that decided my ankles and legs were a great new home. After suffering with the itching for months I decided to try flea soap and it got rid of them that very day! Do follow the instructions on the label as you need to let it sit for a certain number of minutes before rinsing it off. That will get rid of them off your body.

Fumigate your van with a flea bomb. Be sure you prop up your mattress and first remove all the bedding off of it.

Be sure to wash all your bedding and clothes with hot water and use some Borax laundry additive to the wash. Borax is great for killing little critters such as fleas and ants so most likely it will also do the same thing to chiggers.

This is the same procedure you would use if you get a flea infestation on yourself, your pets and your dwelling space. It is a nuisance but it works well.

Before going outside you might want to treat your clothing with insect repellent spray. Be sure you treat your socks and shoes and the lower part of your pants as well as your ankles and calves.

 

[bullfrog]

One other thing we used to do was put 7 Dust we used on plants in areas where animals and small children could’ve get like on the carpet under the couches as they like dark places and contact with the insecticide killed them immediately. But I don’t imagine it is good for humans to be around.

 

[MotorVation]

I'll be dipped in shite. When I was in Ehrenberg in January, I started itching pretty badly. I wrote it off as dry skin and just dumped the moisturizer on. I did in fact have really dry skin due to the low humidity and in some areas, especially my shins my skin looked scaly. I figured, no problemo.

As time went on, the itching got worse so I just dumped on even more moisturizer. At the time my back was the worse so I couldn't see what I was dealing with.

Fast forward about 4 months from when it started. I realized although my skin was really dry, I had some kind of critter on me and it was spreading. I read, read more, then read even more. I came to the conclusion that I had scabies. Scabies are usually spread by human to human prolonged contact, none of which did I have. Before I hit the road or after. I thought maybe I picked them up at a laundromat after putting my clean clothes on a table after someone had just had dirty clothes on the same. I still don't know how it all started.

Keep in mind that I'm not a scientist nor did I have a microscope, so I'm still guessing. I didn't want to go to a Dr or clinic due to the virus receiving the priority it deserves.

I bought some stuff called Mite B Gone off Amazon (the large jar) and used that. I also took everything in the van to a laundry and washed and dried it thoroughly. Twice.  Still itchy so I ordered another jar. It's a cream with 10% sulfur but it also has tea tree oil in it and I knew from experience that it's great for itching.

At this point I'm being driven half mad, I mean it was frigging terrible itching, especially when the sun went down, (I mean scratching the outer layer of skin on my arms off terrible) so I decided to come back here to Florida to deal with it all. It's hard to tell when they and their eggs are all dead because the itching and rash can last up to 6 weeks after treatment. 10% sulfur soap would have cost a lot less money and provided the same results if left on the skin to dry for three days/nights in a row.

It's finally over. I don't know for a fact that they were scabies but I CAN tell you, I'll never let my clothes touch another surface in a laundromat after pulling them from the dryer. That be a fact Jack..

 

[VanFan]

I grieve for you!  Seriously, chiggers are... Well, they...  Yes, sulfur on the ankles and no yoga in tall grass are good advice!

 

[Weight]

Permethrin spray on shoes, socks and pant legs. I use Sawyer brand from Walmart. There is also a blend to be used on outdoor grass and scrub available in garden centers. Permethrin was invented by geraniums. Now synthesized by humans. Once bitten, don't scratch! I use 'Absorbine Jr' as a counter irritant.

 

[Doubleone]

Dang chiggers are intolerable! CIA could probably use them instead of water boarding... Those little bastards tend to occupy the taller or unmowed grass, but be forewarned they can also inhabit Spanish moss that grows on trees. Laying a tarp on the ground between you and the grass helps prevent contact, along with some DEET on your legs, pant legs, and shoes. Walmart down south sells a chigger salve with lidocaine and petroleum jelly that works pretty good to ease symptoms but needs to be applied frequently.

 

[boutdone]

to prevent the frigging chiggers, it is hard to beat "Avon Skin so Soft", guaranteed!