Chiggers!!!!

[Drake]

Well it's time to get outdoors again, and in doing so, to encounter all that nature offers...the good and the bad. One of the "bad" is that infernal little mite that burrows into our pores (in the most inconvenient places) and raises some seriously itchy welts. Sitting on a picnic table bench is a real risk without a barrier between the wood and your derriere. Leaning against any outdoor surface that is the least bit porous can also take you to "itch city".
I'm just wondering if any of you folks have some foolproof...: A. remedies for those of us who are chigger magnets; and/or, B. methods to prevent the little buggers from making their memorable entrance into our pores?
The age old remedies that I have tried with varied success are:

Prevention:
1. Don't sit down on the ground or on wood, or on anything porous that is located -permanently outdoors.
2. If you must sit on, or come in contact with, outdoor porous materials, have a non-porous barrier between them and your uh....point of contact.
3. Bring your own seating to all outdoor gatherings.
4. Eat your fried chicken standing up.
5. Bring two plastic table cloths for the picnic...one for the table and one for the bench.

Remedies:
1. Some folks swear by baby oil...they say it suffocates the little buggers...if so..BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Take that you little buggers! I haven't found that it does much in terms of the itch.
2. Calamyn lotion...probably also suffocates them...relieves some of the itch...and it looks so stylish...all pink and blotchy!
3. You could try going in the pores after the little buggers with a pointed instrument...but nah...probably not.

[EMD_Driver]

Originally Posted by Drake

Remedies:
1. Some folks swear by baby oil...they say it suffocates the little buggers...if so..BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Take that you little buggers! I haven't found that it does much in terms of the itch.
2. Calamyn lotion...probably also suffocates them...relieves some of the itch...and it looks so stylish...all pink and blotchy!
3. You could try going in the pores after the little buggers with a pointed instrument...but nah...probably not.

4. Buy a MityVac and suck them out!

[Drake]

EMD is this a case of the cure being more painful than the disease??? What do I do with him after I get him in the chamber? Wait...there's this guy that always takes my favorite parking space...hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[EMD_Driver]

Originally Posted by Drake

EMD is this a case of the cure being more painful than the disease??? What do I do with him after I get him in the chamber? Wait...there's this guy that always takes my favorite parking space...hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Hmmm... Maybe save them up and give him the gift that keeps on giving!

[Drake]

Sort of a "catch and release" program....yeah....that's it....

[kanyonkitty]

Years ago in South Jersey a friend of mine got riddled with chiggers ever year. Her best cure was to put "ammonia" on them. Seemed to work for her, smell is a little awful, but who knows now days, they way they keep "watering-down" all the good ole remedies.

Kitty

[MACK C-85]

Clear NAIL Polish...just paint it over the welt. Same suffocation theory as above. My son just came home from Boy Scout Camp with a bad case two weekends ago and it cleared them up pretty much overnight. (Credit to the old farmboy, my dad!!!!)

and it looks so stylish

Of course, nobody says it has to be CLEAR.......

Unfortunately, the possible Lyme Disease is not clearing up as quickly.

Mack

[Drake]

Wow...sorry about the Lyme disease possibility for your son, Mack! Here's hoping that that prognosis is incorrect. Could that have been contracted through the chiggers or would he have had to have also been bitten by a tick?
Okay...so here's the deal...If I get them...by the way if you get them they generally announce their presence by pimple sized red bumps sometimes with a whitish center that itches like the very devil...here's what I'm going to do... douse them with ammonia, then, after that dries, paint them with clear nail polish. If you have sensitive skin...you might want to go with the baby oil or Calamine lotion, or E MD's MityVac....I mean why not: they are "mites" aren't they?

[MACK C-85]

He came home from that Boy Scout trip looking like he had fought WWIII!!! They were camping at a gun range along the Patuxent River, in a scrub pine forrested area. Prime bug area!!!

He had chigger welts all around both ankles, welts on his side, back and chin from some yet undertermined critters, and a bite on his upper arm that we thought might have been from a spider, but that was the one that developed the circular rash characteristic of Lyme.

Tests were boarderline, so he's been on high doses of antibiotics since (it will be a total of three weeks) and seems to be doing OK, except for that little fracture of his wrist he obtained in gym two weeks ago!!!

Mack

[Gene]

Originally Posted by MACK C-85

... except for that little fracture of his wrist he obtained in gym two weeks ago...

No more broken bones, your family has already used up their lifetime allotment.

[Viking]

Mack,
All that antibiotics will also kill off the good bacteria in his intestine.
Make sure he gets a lot of bacteria replacement. Load him up with probiotics, yoghurt, e.t.c.
Roar

[MACK C-85]

No more broken bones, your family has already used up their lifetime allotment.

Yeah, we've had a few!! The fun part is dealing with an Autistic kid that feels virtually no pain. He actually broke the same arm when he was 5. His only complaint was that his arm was "wiggly" as he shook both wrists. Dad got real "wiggly" when he saw the x-rays...a buckle fracture of his radius (think pushing down on the top of a soda can and the side "buckling" out. OUCH!!!, Dad, the hard @..ed Paramedic, almost passes out and his reaction to shaking his arm....."it's wiggly"

This time it's a barely noticeable crack in the growth plate and his reaction? "It feels prickly"

We figure if he happens to break his arm when he's 18 we might actually get an "ouch"

All that antibiotics will also kill off the good bacteria in his intestine. Make sure he gets a lot of bacteria replacement. Load him up with probiotics, yoghurt, e.t.c.

We've been doing that, fortunately he loves yogurt. But unfortunately, it's not really helping with the intestinal issues.

[Poppy & Nana]

Let's face it - "we" can deal with strangers all day long and not get "queasy" but put a family member or friend in front of us and we watch the floor come to our face real fast! LOL!!!!