Chigger relief??
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From: China Grove, TX
Chigger relief??
long story short, guess what, i got nailed by chiggers the other day pouring diesl on a fencline to kill grass. by rough count, 100 bites all over my legs. ANY ideas other than scalding them with hot water, Preperation H (thanks Mil1lion, gonna try it), clear nail polish on them (haven't done it yet, gonna have to have a lot of time to do 100 bites), or salt (mom's idea earlier).....i'm dyin here folks, ANYTHING
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Murphysboro, IL
My mom use to do this to me and i hae always done it, it usually itches for a little bit but then kills the things nad it is such a relief in a day or so.
Just paint the surfaces of the bites with nail polish. Color does not matter.
Just paint the surfaces of the bites with nail polish. Color does not matter.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
There are variations of a salve at many southern drug stores called "Chigger Chaser", I have a container of something called "Chiggerex".The only active ingredient I see on the label is Benzocaine 2.0%.
It also contains a blend of:
Camphor
Olive Oil
Aloe Vera Gel
Menthol
Methylparaben
Peppermint Oil and
Clove Oil
I think the aromatics in it are designed to make any buried critters abandon ship because of the smell and taste. The stuff smells a lot like Noxema - which might also work if you can't find a chigger specific remedy. The Benzocaine just knocks down the itching. Lidocaine spray is also helpful, if you scratch those bites they just get deeper.
~Wolf
PS: I've also heard of rubbing gasoline into them - I hope you don't smoke tho...
It also contains a blend of:
Camphor
Olive Oil
Aloe Vera Gel
Menthol
Methylparaben
Peppermint Oil and
Clove Oil
I think the aromatics in it are designed to make any buried critters abandon ship because of the smell and taste. The stuff smells a lot like Noxema - which might also work if you can't find a chigger specific remedy. The Benzocaine just knocks down the itching. Lidocaine spray is also helpful, if you scratch those bites they just get deeper.
~Wolf
PS: I've also heard of rubbing gasoline into them - I hope you don't smoke tho...
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
Originally Posted by ford390gashog
ok what are these things in the begining i thought that somebody caught you pouring the diesel then i realized it was insects what kind of bugs are they.
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/chiggers.html
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
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From: Lafayette, IN
Originally Posted by ford390gashog
ok what are these things in the begining i thought that somebody caught you pouring the diesel then i realized it was insects what kind of bugs are they.
Jason
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From: Central TX and Central WY
I got chiggers BAD a couple of years ago building fence down in a creek bottom. Treated them the wrong way for a while because the MD I was riding horses for thought it was poison oak and gave me prednisone...by the time I started doubting him I had chiggers all the way from my ankles to my chest and I was going absolutely nuts. The only thing that worked for me was bleach baths. It sounds nasty (and was) but if you run a bathtub full of water and add just enough bleach to where you can barely smell it, then sit it in for 15-20 minutes you'll get rid of them. Mine took about a week to get rid of, and several rounds in the tub. I also used some hydrocortisone ointment to keep the itching down a little. For a few bites the nail polish is a good cure, but when there's that many it's not really practical.
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From: China Grove, TX
so a bleach bath to soak for a while then shower off? i'm gonna swing by walgreens sometime to daya nd see if there is any of that salve stuff Greywolf was talkin about. i woke myself up scrathing at 530 this morning.....i've had them before, but never this bad. i've got a tube of benadryl cream that helps cut down on the itching some. thanks a bunch ya'll
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
Nutshell version from a link at the above link I posted:
The chigger larvea drop off in about three days, to go onto the next stage on the ground. They don't actually get settled in and feed when they first get on a person, supposedly. So a bath or shower immediately after getting into a chigger infested area can get rid of them. Clothing should also be thoroughly washed, and it might help to keep such clothes isolated and washed immediately so the chiggers don't infest your house.
FWIW
Chigger Dermatitis
The tiny, bright red larval chigger can scarcely be seen as it scurries along the skin surface seeking an attachment site. When it finds a suitable location, such as a skin pore or hair follicle, it attaches its mouthparts to the spot. On people, the chigger prefers places where clothing fits closely over the skin or where the flesh in thin or wrinkled. Contrary to common belief, it does not penetrate and burrow into the skin or suck blood. Instead, it injects a digestive fluid that disintegrates skin cells so they can be used as food. A feeding “tube” formed by the chigger secretion and skin cells of the host permits the chigger to extract food until it is engorged. After leaving the host, it undergoes further development on the ground.
Affected skin tissue becomes red and swollen. It may completely envelop the feeding chigger, making the chigger appear to be burrowing into the skin. Chigger bites have a more severe effect on some persons than others. The bite itches intensely and may continue itching for several days after the chigger is killed or drops off. The itching probably results from the digestive action of the enzymes injected by the larva into the skin.
The tiny, bright red larval chigger can scarcely be seen as it scurries along the skin surface seeking an attachment site. When it finds a suitable location, such as a skin pore or hair follicle, it attaches its mouthparts to the spot. On people, the chigger prefers places where clothing fits closely over the skin or where the flesh in thin or wrinkled. Contrary to common belief, it does not penetrate and burrow into the skin or suck blood. Instead, it injects a digestive fluid that disintegrates skin cells so they can be used as food. A feeding “tube” formed by the chigger secretion and skin cells of the host permits the chigger to extract food until it is engorged. After leaving the host, it undergoes further development on the ground.
Affected skin tissue becomes red and swollen. It may completely envelop the feeding chigger, making the chigger appear to be burrowing into the skin. Chigger bites have a more severe effect on some persons than others. The bite itches intensely and may continue itching for several days after the chigger is killed or drops off. The itching probably results from the digestive action of the enzymes injected by the larva into the skin.
FWIW
Last edited by Greywolf; Jun 26, 2005 at 06:50 PM.
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Am I missing something or am I the only one who thinks you got what you deserve. Pouring diesel on the ground to kill grass?? I think round-up would be a little more effective, not to mention cheaper since you only need a little.
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Murphysboro, IL
Actually deisel fuel is more effective than roundup and it doesn't take much fuel at all on grass to kill it. Plus it wasn't poured on the ground it was most likely sprayed on the grass just like roundup would have been applied.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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One way to reduce the number of chigger bites is to tuck your pants into your boots, tuck your shirt in your pants, and smear an over the counter chigger repellant (don't remember the name - ?chiggerex - a yellow(?sulfer) lotion, used to come in a green and black bottle) on the skin at areas of constriction, such as where the boots are bloused and at your waistline, and also smear the yellow stuff at any openings in the clothes, such as the neck and sleeves. From my experience, the stuff works (I did not have any bites, some other guys were covered with bites).
A cheap home treatment for itchy areas, such as poison ivy, chiggers, etc, is to rub the itchy area with an ice cube until the skin is numb - the numbing cold tends to break the itch-scratch cycle, at least for me.
A cheap home treatment for itchy areas, such as poison ivy, chiggers, etc, is to rub the itchy area with an ice cube until the skin is numb - the numbing cold tends to break the itch-scratch cycle, at least for me.
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From: China Grove, TX
i was using a watering can to sprinkle the diesel over the taller grass. its more just an experiment to see what works. i know roundup is good, but theres a lot of grass to kill. i'd rather use Remedy....but its a wee bit expensive....i used to work at a retail feed store, i kow whats out there that normal folk can buy. hehe, i also know the highway crews can get their hands on some stuff thats REALLY good
as for the chiggers, i've been able to keep the severe itching at bay fot the most part by putting on benadryl cream twice a day and keeping up with benadryl alergy medication. i can tell when the meds wear off thats for sure. next time i go out there i'm gonna sulpher myself. thats some interesting onfo Greywolf, makes a little more sense now how the little buggers work.
as for the chiggers, i've been able to keep the severe itching at bay fot the most part by putting on benadryl cream twice a day and keeping up with benadryl alergy medication. i can tell when the meds wear off thats for sure. next time i go out there i'm gonna sulpher myself. thats some interesting onfo Greywolf, makes a little more sense now how the little buggers work.