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?
Miss M":5i3lpedz said: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:
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