Thread: chiggers

Since i'm from Michigan primarily (just happen to be currently residing in Oklahoma) and I've spent a good portion of my life playing outdoors with no encounters with these wonderful, invisible inhabitants of the Oklahoma landscape, I didn't even think about them when the girlfriend's mother wanted a shed built on her property. Two days later the shed is long since finished but the itching hasn't even begun to subside. Anyone have any remedies or solutions? I'm willing to give almost anything a shot at this point...

'Redbugs' if you haven't scratched them to swelling, take a piece of duct tape, firmly press on the area and remove. sometimes this will pull them off. I then apply the juice from one of those 'After bite' sticks.

Calamine lotion or clear nail polish. The damage has already been done and all that's left are those treatment options that will make the spots itch less. It takes a week to ten days, usually - sometimes as long as two weeks.

Lavender essential oil works wonders for itching. I used it after being covered in fire ants replacing an underground pipe. The smell is strong but it works almost instantly to calm the itching. https://www.planttherapy.com/lavender

Originally Posted by witler

'Redbugs' if you haven't scratched them to swelling, take a piece of duct tape, firmly press on the area and remove. sometimes this will pull them off. I then apply the juice from one of those 'After bite' sticks.

While the duct tape may work, the little S.O.Bs have made their way to some areas that i'm unwilling to apply duct tape to. Would they still be there two days and multiple showers later?

For the private area, clear nail polish.

Take it from someone who views chiggers and ticks as an occupational hazard and not just an occasional nuisance A cup of bleach in a warm bath is the best and cheapest method​ I've found. It will leave you smelling like a laundromat and it isn't pleasant, but that helps prevent future attacks for a day or three.

We use products containing Deet as a deterrent, and we use it liberally. Better than the tobacco juice we used growing up.

Originally Posted by DRH

Take it from someone who views chiggers and ticks as an occupational hazard and not just an occasional nuisance A cup of bleach in a warm bath is the best and cheapest method​ I've found. It will leave you smelling like a laundromat and it isn't pleasant, but that helps prevent future attacks for a day or three.

I had a pharmacist tell me about the Clorox bath back in the sixties, it works! Just don't get the bath water in your eyes.

Originally Posted by FinChaser

I had a pharmacist tell me about the Clorox bath back in the sixties, it works! Just don't get the bath water in your eyes.

I hate thinking about getting the water directly in my eyes. The vapors alone gets to my eyes and sinuses after fifteen minutes or so.