Longslides
Member
I live in a rural area. I have chiggers real bad in the yard and surrounding woods. Can I use a pump sprayer with some sort of spray? I know I have to be careful, but can I spray?
Need to spray yard for chiggers
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Frosted Rabbits
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Don't spray-- BURN!!!!
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/chiggers
Keep your most used areas of the yard cut very short--
burn off the vegetation of the areas further out--keep tree lines clear, so that air circulation can help dry out the surfaces every day...
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/chiggers
Keep your most used areas of the yard cut very short--
burn off the vegetation of the areas further out--keep tree lines clear, so that air circulation can help dry out the surfaces every day...
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You can spray with beneficial nematodes, and you can spread field grade sulphur and then (I think) wet it down.
You can find more info about both in a search... I've been having to look into this myself, because the property we just bought has a major case of chiggers.
They love brush and high grass, and pine needles, and stuff like that. Like Terry said, keep your grass cut short, and clear out undergrowth.
You can use some of that sulphur in a sock and slap it on your shoes and legs when you need to work outside. Spread sulphur on your skin around your sock line, and around the waist and leg bands of your underwear, and behind your knees, also (sorry, I can't tell from your posts or name whether you're male or female) around your bra, and the neck and sleeves of your shirt. Tuck your pants inside your boots, or at least your socks. Wearing shorts is suicidal. Ideally, wear decent quality pantyhose, because they cannot bite through it (even the Marines do this). one of their favorite places to bite is around your underwear line between your legs, and in the folds of your skin around there, and this is horrible misery. Way worse than mosquito bites. Pantyhose will protect this area better than anything else.
The idea is to keep them off (sulphur on your shoes and pants legs). What chiggers brave that sulphur, you want to keep on the outside of your clothing (long pants, tucked in, will help keep them moving up looking for another way in). The chiggers that find a way in you want to delay biting (sulphur on your skin, especially in the places mentioned).
Once you're finished outside, before you go inside, vigorously brush off your clothes and skin, and then rub your clothes and skin. This will help get chiggers off that haven't started biting yet, and dislodge the ones that have (they cannot bite again). Once inside, put your clothes directly into the washer if you can, and immediately take a shower. Again, you want to get off of you any that are still on you before they settle down and bite. They will often wander for an hour or more before biting, so you want to get them off before they do.
Sulphur works. We used to use it at a girls' camp I went to when I was growing up. It didn't smell much, either. Even if it does, which it does apparently for some people, it's better to stink for a few hours than live in misery for two weeks. I'm finally itch-free now after 2 1/2 weeks.
Bites can be treated with benzocaine spray or Mineral Ice with varying success. I learned of the Mineral Ice when my mom got bitten 10 days ago. It really did help, usually. Other strong menthol preparations should help, too. Hydrocortizone won't touch it. Benadryl might at least help you sleep, and may help a little with the itch.
Good luck! :clover:
You can find more info about both in a search... I've been having to look into this myself, because the property we just bought has a major case of chiggers.
They love brush and high grass, and pine needles, and stuff like that. Like Terry said, keep your grass cut short, and clear out undergrowth.
You can use some of that sulphur in a sock and slap it on your shoes and legs when you need to work outside. Spread sulphur on your skin around your sock line, and around the waist and leg bands of your underwear, and behind your knees, also (sorry, I can't tell from your posts or name whether you're male or female) around your bra, and the neck and sleeves of your shirt. Tuck your pants inside your boots, or at least your socks. Wearing shorts is suicidal. Ideally, wear decent quality pantyhose, because they cannot bite through it (even the Marines do this). one of their favorite places to bite is around your underwear line between your legs, and in the folds of your skin around there, and this is horrible misery. Way worse than mosquito bites. Pantyhose will protect this area better than anything else.
The idea is to keep them off (sulphur on your shoes and pants legs). What chiggers brave that sulphur, you want to keep on the outside of your clothing (long pants, tucked in, will help keep them moving up looking for another way in). The chiggers that find a way in you want to delay biting (sulphur on your skin, especially in the places mentioned).
Once you're finished outside, before you go inside, vigorously brush off your clothes and skin, and then rub your clothes and skin. This will help get chiggers off that haven't started biting yet, and dislodge the ones that have (they cannot bite again). Once inside, put your clothes directly into the washer if you can, and immediately take a shower. Again, you want to get off of you any that are still on you before they settle down and bite. They will often wander for an hour or more before biting, so you want to get them off before they do.
Sulphur works. We used to use it at a girls' camp I went to when I was growing up. It didn't smell much, either. Even if it does, which it does apparently for some people, it's better to stink for a few hours than live in misery for two weeks. I'm finally itch-free now after 2 1/2 weeks.
Bites can be treated with benzocaine spray or Mineral Ice with varying success. I learned of the Mineral Ice when my mom got bitten 10 days ago. It really did help, usually. Other strong menthol preparations should help, too. Hydrocortizone won't touch it. Benadryl might at least help you sleep, and may help a little with the itch.
Good luck! :clover:
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Miss M":5i3lpedz said:
Miss M, that is all fantastic advivce! I would add this: to keep from getting a load of chiggers...take a hot shower and SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB! Chiggers don't just bite, they BURROW INTO your skin... :x THAT is what makes them SO itchy, they continue to live in there...if you can get them off before they burrow, you are good. Usually a good hot shower and scrub with something like a washcloth will remove them. You can also coat the bites in clear nail polish or "Chigarid" to seal the hole and they will die.
The worst case of chiggers I ever got was when I worked as a lifeguard at a children's summer camp in OK. It was a lake and I sat on a grassy hill all day watching the kids. I was so tired I dropped off to sleep with no shower, not usual for me, and by the next day I had RINGS of bites....waist, arms, panty line, bra line, sock line, between toes...etc...you get the idea....MISERY for two weeks!
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
:tease: No chiggers here in California!
Ack! Ack! :tomato: I take it back!
What absolute misery! It sounds like a lycra body suit would be a good investment, as well as lots of duct tape!
Ack! Ack! :tomato: I take it back!
What absolute misery! It sounds like a lycra body suit would be a good investment, as well as lots of duct tape!
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Ok, so I need to retract my statement...evidently that is an old wives tale...Thank you Google! Here is the "down low"...
Like ticks, fleas and mosquitoes, chiggers have specialized mouthparts that help them retrieve food from their hosts. A chigger uses two specialized mouthparts called chelicerae to make a hole in its host's skin. It then injects some of its saliva into the wound. The saliva contains digestive enzymes that break down cell walls. The partially digested cells and their contents become a slurry that the chigger ingests.
Unlike many other parasitic bugs, chiggers don't have needlelike, piercing mouthparts. Instead, they use an interesting accomplice -- the host's own skin. The same salivary secretions that break down cells also cause the surrounding tissue to harden. This creates a strawlike tube called a stylostome.
The longer the chigger feeds, the longer the stylostome becomes, and the deeper it penetrates into the skin. The intense itching that chigger bites cause comes from two sources. One is an allergic reaction to the chiggers' saliva. In some people, this reaction is extreme, leading to large sores or hives. In most, it simply causes a small, red, itchy bump. The other source of itching is the stylostome itself. It causes irritation and discomfort until the body's immune and lymphatic systems dissolve it and carry it away. If the chigger fed for a long time and the stylostome extends deep into the skin, this process can take quite a while.
Many home remedies for chigger bites, like painting the bite with nail polish, involve the idea of smothering an embedded chigger. But by the time you notice the bite, you've often brushed or scratched away the chigger already. The reason nail polish makes some people's bites feel better is that it seals the bite from air. Over-the-counter creams that relieve itching often do a better job of making the bites feel better. It's also a good idea to apply an antiseptic, especially if you've scratched the bite extensively -- too much scratching can lead to a secondary infection. If you're bitten, don't be tempted to try home remedies involving toxic substances, and don't try to remove the stylostome -- either could cause secondary infections or other injuries.
Like ticks, fleas and mosquitoes, chiggers have specialized mouthparts that help them retrieve food from their hosts. A chigger uses two specialized mouthparts called chelicerae to make a hole in its host's skin. It then injects some of its saliva into the wound. The saliva contains digestive enzymes that break down cell walls. The partially digested cells and their contents become a slurry that the chigger ingests.
Unlike many other parasitic bugs, chiggers don't have needlelike, piercing mouthparts. Instead, they use an interesting accomplice -- the host's own skin. The same salivary secretions that break down cells also cause the surrounding tissue to harden. This creates a strawlike tube called a stylostome.
The longer the chigger feeds, the longer the stylostome becomes, and the deeper it penetrates into the skin. The intense itching that chigger bites cause comes from two sources. One is an allergic reaction to the chiggers' saliva. In some people, this reaction is extreme, leading to large sores or hives. In most, it simply causes a small, red, itchy bump. The other source of itching is the stylostome itself. It causes irritation and discomfort until the body's immune and lymphatic systems dissolve it and carry it away. If the chigger fed for a long time and the stylostome extends deep into the skin, this process can take quite a while.
Many home remedies for chigger bites, like painting the bite with nail polish, involve the idea of smothering an embedded chigger. But by the time you notice the bite, you've often brushed or scratched away the chigger already. The reason nail polish makes some people's bites feel better is that it seals the bite from air. Over-the-counter creams that relieve itching often do a better job of making the bites feel better. It's also a good idea to apply an antiseptic, especially if you've scratched the bite extensively -- too much scratching can lead to a secondary infection. If you're bitten, don't be tempted to try home remedies involving toxic substances, and don't try to remove the stylostome -- either could cause secondary infections or other injuries.
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They actually do not burrow into the skin. http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro ... igger3.htm I had always been told that too, and it's only all the research I've done in the last couple of weeks that has taught me differently. They think the confusion may have originated from similar names - the chigger doesn't burrow into skin, but the chigoe/jigger flea does.
Nail polish will often work, not because it smothers the chigger (which is gone at that point), but because it seals the bite from the air. Here's a place with lots of ideas, because the same ones don't work for everybody: http://www.myhomeremedies.com/topic.cgi?topicid=232
Triamcinolone (prescription steroid cream) did help me. I snitched some from Bunny-Wan Kenobi, who needs it for eczema. It's stronger than hydrocortizone. I may try acetone next time. Don't know if I'd try the flame idea... yikes. Then again, when you're that miserable, you just might be willing to try pretty much anything.
OneAcreFarm, that sounds much worse than the case I'm just recovering from!!! I had a few dozen bites, but not as bad as you!<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:29 am __________<br /><br />Oh, I see you already found all of that, OneAcreFarm!
Nail polish will often work, not because it smothers the chigger (which is gone at that point), but because it seals the bite from the air. Here's a place with lots of ideas, because the same ones don't work for everybody: http://www.myhomeremedies.com/topic.cgi?topicid=232
Triamcinolone (prescription steroid cream) did help me. I snitched some from Bunny-Wan Kenobi, who needs it for eczema. It's stronger than hydrocortizone. I may try acetone next time. Don't know if I'd try the flame idea... yikes. Then again, when you're that miserable, you just might be willing to try pretty much anything.
OneAcreFarm, that sounds much worse than the case I'm just recovering from!!! I had a few dozen bites, but not as bad as you!
<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:29 am __________<br /><br />Oh, I see you already found all of that, OneAcreFarm!
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Glory be, I learned a new word today!
Stylostome! Now, how to insert that in everyday conversation? :hmm:
Stylostome! Now, how to insert that in everyday conversation? :hmm:
3mina
Well-known member
I think I'm glad I don't live any further south than I do, I can deal with fleas, lice are easy peasy, ticks not so much here mostly imported from elsewhere, chiggers sound like evil ticks crossed with fleas.
I haven't actually dealt with any of these at home but I've dealt with all of them at work.
Oh, wait, I had fleas at one place I moved into in northern BC almost 20 years ago in November but that was it. Yes, it's weird to have fleas in November in northern BC
I haven't actually dealt with any of these at home but I've dealt with all of them at work.
Oh, wait, I had fleas at one place I moved into in northern BC almost 20 years ago in November but that was it. Yes, it's weird to have fleas in November in northern BC
Lastfling
Well-known member
Ha, a good dose of chiggers is worse than any evil tick crossed with a flea. They're absolute misery for a couple weeks.
3mina
Well-known member
If I go south, then I'm staying on concrete. My skins crawling just thinking about that
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After three weeks, the spots are light purple and finally fading. They haven't itched for about a week, but they've still been here.
(We're buying 2 acres of raw land... so... lots of chiggers.)
I've got my sulphur powder now, and I bought pantyhose for everyone today! We're working on getting boots for everyone (thrift store!) and also I now have to look for baggy jeans. Seems the rattlesnakes are thick around there. Anything else? :wr_shrug:
(We're buying 2 acres of raw land... so... lots of chiggers.)
I've got my sulphur powder now, and I bought pantyhose for everyone today! We're working on getting boots for everyone (thrift store!) and also I now have to look for baggy jeans. Seems the rattlesnakes are thick around there. Anything else? :wr_shrug:
toastedoat37
Well-known member
what about the fire ants and scorpians?
