My first miserable case of chiggers this years...itchy, inflamed, etc. And I hate them!

... and so sneaky. You never suspect a thing - until later!

Yes...until the itchy reddish bumps appear...and eventually drive you absolutely crazy! Little rain, nothing. Add some real rain to hot weather, instant chiggers!

Ever since we moved here 10 years ago we've had summer itches and welts on both of us. We never see mosquitoes and know we don't have bedbugs! We've checked us and our dogs for fleas. We can't find a thing, but from May to Sept we both get covered in red itchy bites. I just noticed we are on the chigger maps, so that may be the culprit. We've never seen any, but just suddenly have new welts every day. Do they bother dogs too? Our dog is super itchy right now.

@plantmanager
Sounds like chiggers to me, Karen. You really can't see them easily without using a magnifying glass of some sort. They are super tiny. I believe like many blood suckers, they will get on most warm-blooded animals. That would include the dog. I think flea/tick controls for dogs and cats also work on them. At least my dog doesn't seem too itchy after he's been out and about - which is a lot. Also, chiggers tend to have a season since they are larva and neither the nymph nor adult bite, just in that stage. I think right now 'til toward the end of August is their prime season in the continental U.S. Use DEET when you are out and it will probably keep them off. Spray socks, lower pants and waist bands especially. For some reason they prefer snug areas, but of course will bite otherwise. The itch reaction is waaaaay out of proportion to their size .

Thanks, it must be that. We've been trying to figure it out all these years. We even asked our dermatologist and he'd look at the welts and claim it was allergies or scabies, and we knew it wasn't either of those. The itching is really bad, and it's always where clothing keeps the itch going. Antihistimines aren't doing that much good.

Clear nail polish protects bites from itch-stimulating clothing.

Thanks, pork. I'll try that.

Benadryl Itch Stopping Gel has worked the best for me. The sooner it's applied, the better it works. But some bites you do have to reapply when it starts itching again. Works on chigger bites, but has been especially helpful on a tick bite which have a lot more staying power on me than other bites.

I hope I don't regret mentioning a brand name again . I'm sure there are other itch remedies out there and I haven't tried them all by any means. I stopped trying them when I found one that worked well.

I have that and have been using it. It doesn't last long and I have to keep putting it on. I'm also trying the nail polish trick.

Hmm. I used Chiggarid before and it was nail polish with another ingredient or two. I haven't seen it in stores for years, but I ordered it from the manufacturer a couple of years. Maybe I should order again if it's still around. I've got a first aid spray that helps a bit. And there's a couple of things left over that my dermatologist ordered for another itchy problem. But also, warm to hot baths or showers really do help. After you've been in a chiggary area, take off clothes and preferably wash with hot water if possible. Take your hot bath or shower, which in itself will help, then apply any remedies to affected skin. Keep in mind you don't want the chiggars indoors, so either wash clothes right away or put in sealed plastic bag until you can. BTW, chiggars are not insects. They are kin to ticks and spiders.

I'm happy our years long mystery has been solved. They have made our summers miserable for so long. I tried the nail polish yesterday and it definitely helped. I've been looking everywhere, but so far haven't been able to find any, yet they must be plentiful here. We both end up covered in welts for the entire summer.

porkpal said:Clear nail polish protects bites from itch-stimulating clothing.

I agree and other colors might help too...


No chiggers here yet... (((( she says while knocking on wood )))) but y'all are making me wanna itch.

I didn't have clear, so I'm using colored polish and it does help. Fortunately all the spots are where they're covered by clothing!

I'm having a miserable time with the chigger bites this week. Too many of them! But I actually was able to see a couple of the teeny tiny mites moving around on my skin when I tried to see them. Reddish-brown. Shoot, I may have even see one while it was feeding...but not totally sure about that. Anybody ever use something called Chig Away? I was talking to a couple of people that work in pharmacy jobs and one mentioned that stuff. Anyway, I need to get some sleep tonight. All the itching is turning me into a crab!

We're the same way, Linda. It's horrible. I'm using nail polish, oral antihistimines, Benadryl gel and I still itch badly. I'll try to find something specific for the chiggers.

So anyway, after reading this thread I decided to kill some time surfing around for 'chigger info'.

1st, forget about nail polish. It's a myth that's been around a long time. Theory is that chiggers burrow under one's skin and nail polish will suffocate them. Reality is that they stay on the surface of the skin and — STOP HERE IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH — use sharp, jaw-like claws to make tiny holes in your skin. Then they inject saliva that turns some of your cells into mush. To a chigger, those liquefied cells are food. When they get on you, they can stay attached to your skin for several days while they eat. Eww. Shiver just ran down my back. Eww.

Other than avoiding chiggers to begin with, there's a bunch of DIY remedies for what to do when you get bit. First thing to do is to strip nekkid and throw your clothes directly into the washing machine. Not on the floor or anywhere else. Next thing is variable. Some sites recommend a hot bath or shower. Other sites say a cold bath or shower. Just don't scratch. (right)

Aside from all of the home remedies that people swear by -- and some sound pretty dang weird but maybe they work for some — I saw a lot of recommendations for Chigg Away. It almost sounds too good to be true because it's supposed to repel chiggers as well as provide itch relief. However, it's made in Texas and is supposedly #1 with the military. Here's a link.
https://www.chiggaway.com

Oh, almost forgot. Dusting your shoes and socks and pant legs, etc., with "flowers of sulfur" (aka sulfur powder) is supposedly a good repellant. It can be found in hardware stores and some pharmacies.

That's all for now, folks.

I *think* that's what I had in Kindergarden? A big of some type buried himself behind my knee. It had to be surgically removed
They said the bug came from the sandbox at daycare? Does that sound right? I still have the scar.

The nail polish does help with the itching for some reason.

plantmanager said:The nail polish does help with the itching for some reason.

I wonder if 'New Skin' - or whatever it's called - that you use on blisters and small injuries on the surface of the skin would do the same thing? I think depriving the surface of skin of oxygen and moisture is effective on some things. There are even special clear bandages that dermatologists use. They all serve to keep the fingers from the actual site, as well. I keep some the liquid bandage stuff here and use it from time to time. Smells a lot like I recall nail polish remover smelling. Or maybe nail polish, even. Don't they smell fairly strong?